GENSOKYOBOUND
by SKOOLATOON
Summary: Hikari Hakurei is Reimu's own daughter of eighteen years. Her quiet demeanor's brought by social inexperience and natural introversion. Night of Gensokyian New Year party, Hikari wakes to a strange meteorite falling from the sky. While many of Gensokyo's finest are in drunken comas in the shrine, Hikari takes it upon herself to investigate. It'd be a long time before she gets home.
1. Rise And Shine, Hakurei

Hikari Hakurei was asleep.

In another room, Reimu and Marisa were celebrating a year well done- in the way you'd expect, of course.

"Oooh, ho ho ho!" Yukari giggled with glee as she sent enchanted sake bottles slowly twirling through the air, the drink spilling everywhere.

...It also happened to be a wild, drunken party.

"Wazzafrazzawazza…" Reimu grumbled, her head on the counter.

"Ya...y'know Reimu…" Marisa brought her arm around and slammed her friend in the back.

"Yaae!" Reimu squealed, sitting up.

"Yer daughter's been awfully quiet, zee~hehehe…"

Reimu turned to her friend, giving an uneven glare. "Shesh… Alwaysh quieht!"

"Aye dunno…" Marisa rolled her head around.

"Shaddap!" Reimu smacked Marisa on the back of the head with her sake bottle, knocking her out cold.

One of the twirling sake bottles then flew near Reimu, and she violently lashed out at it, causing an explosion of sake.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

ThudThudThud!

"Waaaugh!"

Hikari's eyes blinked open. ' _...W-what…_ '

Rising from bed, she walked near the door to her room, only to hear the murmur of a merry party, coupled by her mother's tendency to inflict violence on moving objects when drunk.

' _Oh. Mom's drunk again. Not entirely surprised._ ' Just the Gensokyo way of celebrating the new year, she supposed.

ThudThudThud!

"D-damn it, Yoohkari!"

Smash!

Thud!

"A-aaa~h!"

' _...She's a little rowdier than usual. I guess it's just the party atmosphere. I don't want anyone to get it wrong, Mom's not a drunk… but when she did get drunk, I really couldn't say so with confidence_.'

Hikari looked a lot like her mother did around her age, but they've got a major key difference of being very different in attitude. Where her mother was typically quite headstrong and brash, she was far more reserved. Whether or not this would be a good trait for the Hakurei miko has yet to be determined.

She was also far less vocal, and far less experienced than her mother had been at this age. She'd seen a few places, namely the human village and the forestry around the shrine. She's gone down to the Misty Lake before and been through the Forest of Magic a few times, but only to get to Marisa's house- a friend of her mother's. She's seen a mansion across the lake, but only from afar.

Her room was plain, but there was a plentiful bookshelf near her futon. There were also some clothing supplies in a dresser nearby, and in the corner of the room was an oversized present.

' _...I don't remember that last thing._ ' Hikari narrowed her eyes as her eyes ran across the present.

Approaching it, she kneeled down and opened it gingerly.

Inside was…

Hikari obtained Hand-me-down Gohei!

Hikari obtained twenty Ofuda!

Hikari blinked. "...Ah."

' _...I guess it's a step up from that wooden pole I had before._ ' She looked across the room to the wooden pole she had been using in place of a gohei. Her mother wanted to make sure she _knew_ how to use one before she did, but considering her mother used it the overwhelming majority of the time as a whacking stick, she really couldn't see why.

' _It's about time. I'm already eighteen…_ '

She gave a lopsided smile to the ofuda.

' _I already know how to make these, too… but I guess more couldn't hurt._ '

She moved up to her window. Looking out, Hikari was able to see the bright cluster of stars and other colors in the night sky. ' _Mom always said that Gensokyo had the best sky of anywhere. I could probably count the number of times she's been outside of Gensokyo on two hands._ '

Or so Hikari thought, anyway. She didn't really know, even though her mother told her a lot about what she did in the past when she was her age.

' _...I'm not really inclined to believe most of it, though. Just like I'm not inclined to believe that I'm having a self-reflective session. I think too much in bed._ '

Comparing life then, versus now? Either her mother and her mother's friend were losing it, or for whatever reason life got ten times as mundane when she was born. The most spectacular daily thing was fairy shenanigans, and the most spectacular occasional thing was either 'aunt' Yukari playing practical jokes or the occasional youkai who actually means business- whom her mother would seal readily and without hassle.

As such, books seemed relatively more exciting right now.

She was about to look away from the window, when outside she saw something. For only a moment, though.

' _Aunts are family friends, right? I'm just going to assume they're family friends and not blood relatives or something…_ '

…

' _Wait, there… there!_ '

Hikari's eyes widened when she saw an orange comet descend. It was coming closer to her shrine… and kept coming closer…

Eventually, it landed in the forest-

Boom!

-just outside the shrine, and beneath the grand slope of the Hakurei hillside.

The shrine shook as the meteor struck nearby forestry.

"Yeaa~h!" cheered the drunken crowd inside, oblivious to the source of the noise.

Hikari froze up. ' _...Of all the times for my mother to be drunk off her ass…_ '

…

The partying inside the shrine was still going on as normal.

Hikari sighed. ' _I guess it's up to me, now…_ '

She looked down to her pajamas. ' _...Not in these, it's not, though._ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Leaping from the window, now clad in her miko outfit, Hikari readied her new gohei and ofuda as she marched into the darkness of the night.

' _Next time this happens, I don't care how drunk Mom is. I'm marching out there, pointing her in a direction, and just letting her go to town._ '

An angry, drunken Reimu was a scary Reimu, and also a very tanky Reimu, which more than made up for her intoxication.

It was for this reason Hikari only drank on occasion… and in moderation. ' _If I ever decide to._ '

Barreling down the hillside, Hikari quickly exited the shrine grounds, and in no time she was in the forest. Despite some of her friends knowing flight already, Reimu told her it was one of the last things she wanted to teach her, mostly so that she wouldn't endanger herself by exploring somewhere with vastly less considerate and more powerful youkai.

Wherever Reimu took her, though, the Hakurei were met with swell reception.

The sudden shuffling of leaves caused Hikari to stop on a dime.

' _...Someone's here!_ '

Hikari pointed at the shimmering leaves. "Sh-show… you-yourself!"

' _...When you haven't talked all night, and you suddenly talk and it comes out all weak. Dang it..._ '

Hikari wasn't one for linguistics.

Out of the tree's leaves came a crow. It was a crow wearing sunglasses.

Hikari blankly observed it.

"Caahahaaw!" The crow sneered at Hikari, appearing more like a cartoon character than an actual crow.

'...Just _what the hell is this?_ '

It wasn't any youkai she had ever heard of, and most of the fear inducing ones were humanoids. Yet, this thing… it was unique.

Hikari felt a trace of something she didn't like, though.

"Cahahahaw!"

It was laughing, apparently.

Suddenly, Hikari was forced to shield herself as the crow swooped for her eyes.

' _Egh…!_ '

She stumbled back as it pecked at her arms, cutting her skin with surprising force.

' _Da-damn it…_ '

Hikari winced at the new, bleeding cuts she obtained, and shook her head.

"St-stupid crow!"

' _...Could I really not think of anything better than that?_ '

She winced at her own verbal jab, and readied the gohei.

"Cahahahaw!"

Bracing herself, Hikari swung the gohei as hard as she could-

SMAAAA~SH!

"Caaa~w!" The crow flew back, and landed on the grass with a thud. It stopped moving.

…

' _...Was that it?_ ' Hikari furrowed her brows and examined the gohei. ' _Surely a stick this thin isn't this strong…_ '

Suddenly, a red mist emanated from the crow.

' _Of course…_ ' She braced herself for a tough fight ahead.

The mist took to the air, whirling around in a seemingly idle pattern, before dissipating, becoming too thin to see anymore. In its wake was a normal crow.

"Caaaw!"

It flew away frantically, flapping its wings desperately.

"...Oh."

' _That happened._ '

Advancing forward, Hikari was on guard for more adversaries.

Pressing forward, finding no adversaries, she found herself staring down into a hole…

' _...I think I found the culprit._ '

...and found herself looking at a bright, orange, glowing meteorite.

' _Now what?_ '

...

Suddenly, there was more rustling amongst the bushes.

' _Ah. Well, at least I'll have some better lighting…_ ' Hikari readied herself, assuming something else had come to take a chance at her.

Out of the bushes came guardsmen, from the human village.

Hikari relaxed. ' _Oh… I suppose they'd have felt it, too. Now I feel silly, coming out like this by myself…_ '

One of the guards walked up to Hikari. "At ease, Hakurei. We're the town guard."

' _I'm not putting this gohei down._ ' Hikari's adrenaline was still spiked after that vicious crow attack.

The guard stared at her as she still held the gohei and ofuda, not bothering to put anything away. "...We came to check out this disturbance."

' _From the looks of it, there wasn't really much to check out…_ '

There was only the glowing meteor. Not terribly exciting, Hikari had to admit.

"...Say, uh… Reimu, if I can call you that…" The guard began.

Hikari didn't say anything. ' _Who are you?_ '

Stepping in place idly, he gave his best attempt at a casual smile, scratching the back of his head. "...How's uh… how's my man doing? How's Hikari coming along, too?"

...

' _This is awkward…_ ' Hikari half wanted to not reply, but the silence began to feel crippling.

She scratched her head. "...We-well, you see…"

The guard instantly recognized the voice. "O-oh, sorry! You're, uhm… Hikari, aren't you? Sorry about that… you just act a lot like your mother did- _does_... It's late at night, and… yeah…"

' _...Mom's not nearly as scrawny as me. She's not nearly as awkward, either._ ' Hikari wouldn't say anything, though.

Suddenly, some guardsmen were elbowed aside by a particularly chubby member of their ranks.

"Hey!"

"Agh- watch it, buddy!"

"The hell!?"

A tubby, childish looking man dressed in overalls with bits of armor adorning them barreled his way through the guards.

"Out of the way! Make through! Come and get… em? Whatever!"

Hikari sighed deeply. ' _Not this clown again…_ '

The guardsman near Hikari groaned. "Aw, geez…"

The manchild glanced at Hikari, and suddenly did a double take. "Aaww, look who it is! Reimu Junior decided to actually do her _job_ for once!"

' _This gohei is going_ so _far up his ass._ '

"Wha-what're you doing here, Porky...?"

' _Damn it, voice box..._ ' Hikari felt herself strain to get the last part out, running out of breath prematurely.

"What am _I_ doing here!?" Porky Minch looked around to the other guardsmen in faux exasperation. None of the other guardsmen humored him, all just settling to stare at him awkwardly.

"What are _you_ doing here!?" He jabbed his finger towards Hikari abruptly. "Shouldn't shut ins like you be reading books while mommy goes out to do... whatever it is stupid mikos do?" He accented his final point by flailing his arms in the air lackadaisically.

' _He's an even_ bigger _shithead past bedtime. Who knew?_ '

Withholding a sigh, she tried to continue talking. "Yeah, y-yeah… What are-"

Hikari's quiet voice is cut off. "Look, look, look, Hikari, you're getting in the guard's way! Just go back to bed, and in the morning I, the _great_ Porky, will stop by to tell you _all_ about tonight's great adventure! Just you wait!"

As much as Hikari wanted to beat the shit out of him then and there, she contained herself. After all, she didn't want the first impression with the town guardsmen to be beating up the captain's son, no matter how much he deserved it.

With another sigh, Hikari began walking away.

"Ah-ah, wait!" The guardsman from before called out to her, but she didn't stop.

' _Typical…_ '

After a long trudge back up the hillside, she reached her window, and she climbed in.

' _What a waste of time. I should be sleeping, now…_ '

Stripping herself of her miko attire, she decided she was too lazy to throw the pajamas back on and just decided to sleep in her bindings. ' _It's not like it made any difference anyway. Aside from being a little uncomfortable..._ '

The sound of partying had died down too, everyone having presumably drank themselves into comas or something. Hikari didn't really care about the specifics, as long as it was quiet...

…

Hikari is now sound asleep, snoring peacefully.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Hikari _was_ sound asleep.

Violent shaking stirs her awake.

"Hu-huh- what!?" She shouted, the comfort of sleep quickly leaving her.

"Hi-Hikari! Hikari~! You gotta wake up!"

' _What the hell!?_ '

Hikari normally doesn't like foul language all that much, she'd like to believe.

Sometimes the reaction is completely warranted, though.

"Hikari~! Hikari~!"

She flails her limbs at the person shaking her. "I-I'm up! St-stop!"

She rolls out of the futon, taking the covers with her.

"Hi-Hi-..."

...Hikari realizes she had nothing but her bindings on… and the person waking her up was Porky.

Standing up and whirling the blanket around herself, Hikari glares at Porky.

' _What the hell is he doing here!?_ '

Porky grins. "Heheh… You know, for such a stupid miko, you're hot!"

Hikari blushes... ' _Rea-really?_ '

...and then violently shakes her head. ' _No! No! What the hell!_ '

Blushing, he stuffs his hands into his pockets. "...You know, I _guess_ I wouldn't mind if you wanted to, y'know, make out with-"

Porky didn't get to finish his sentence as Hikari's foot went into his crotch.

"Mee- _heeeee~!_ "

"Ge-get out…" Hikari glared at Porky.

"B-but… Hikari…!" Porky whined, his voice now high _er_ pitched.

"Get out! _Pervert!_ "

Bam! Porky was kicked in the chest, and despite his armor bitlets, he was sent flat on his butt.

He held out his arms to defend himself. "Augh! W-wait, Hikari…!"

Those efforts were in vain.

Bam! Hikari's foot slipped past his forearms, hitting his upper torso.

"St-stop!" Moving to grab her ankles, Porky missed.

Bam! He was pushed against the floor by another kick from Hikari.

"N-no…!" Putting up his dukes, Porky readied to fist fight the incoming feet.

Repositioning herself, Hikari readied to put the guy into a coma.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Winded, Hikari fumbled for her gohei to deal the finishing blow. After grabbing it, she was swifter...

SMAAAA~SH!

Porky was knocked unconscious…

"Hah… ha~h… hah…" Hikari panted, finished venting her frustrations.

' _...I suppose I should get my clothes on, now…_ ' She was still seething. ' _Porky doesn't deserve_ shit _, especially not a glance at_ any _woman's body._ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

"My-my brother! He came out after me, only to get his stupid butt _lost!_ I mean, who does that!? Come on!... Please, Hikari! Help your best friend out! C'mon, old buddy!" Porky playfully nudged Hikari in the side, as if they were old friends.

' _Seriously?_ ' Here she thought she could sleep in peace. ' _Apparently I can just write_ that _one off the list…_ '

Fully dressed and armed, Hikari marched around the shrine now other knickknacks, abandoning Porky in her room. ' _Maybe he was never here at all. I'm just having a bad dream, or something._ '

She was free to roam into the shrine grounds because everyone was in an alcohol induced coma. It wasn't that her mother didn't want her out and about; quite the contrary, Hikari simply didn't like the party atmosphere.

Stepping outside her room, she was greeted into the room by the strong scent of alcohol.

Porky was followed her, because he was awake.

"Whe-where're you going, Hikari!? You have to help me! If you don't, I'll say something rea~lly mean about you!"

' _Oh, the dread. The sorrow. The agony._ ' Hikari smiled to herself. "Look, Porky, I'm just looking for some things to set out, first."

"Pffft! Like your mommy? Hahaha- oof!"

Hikari stuffed an ofuda in his mouth. "Shut it, lest you wake up the sleeping dead."

' _I'm quite proud of that one._ ' Hikari felt she was getting the hang of this whole 'witty banter' thing.

"Mmph!" Porky found that his vocal chords didn't transcend paper.

Hikari tip-toed around the sleeping forms of multiple very uniquely dressed women, as Porky loudly stomped behind her. She recognized a few faces here, and a few others she didn't recognize.

Byakuren Hijiri, the 'superhuman'. ' _Mom says she's really a youkai, and so do a ton of villagers… not that the village is that great of a place, usually. She's really nice and stuff, and I saw her during… last new years, I think? I can't bring myself to trust her._ '

Remilia Scarlet, an unaging vampire mistress. ' _She's come over a few times, but I've never really talked with her. She seems kinda mean, really… and Mom keeps telling me to be wary of her. She's definitely a real vampire, though._ '

Tenshi Hinanawi, some kind of heavenly super person. ' _I really don't hear too much about her, but she's stopped by sometimes. She brought me peaches once, too. I didn't talk with her for more than a few minutes. She's kinda all-over-the-place._ '

Yuuka Kazami. Her folks said she was a monster. Everyone she met says she's a monster. Why she's sleeping under a pile of smashed flower pots and dirt, she'll never know. Hikari was still pretty confident she was a monster, though.

These were just a few of the faces Hikari could make out from her mother's tales. It was a little surreal seeing them all just… here.

Porky worked the ofuda out of his mouth. "Duu~de… Look at all these _hot babes_ …" he spoke in a hushed whisper.

Hikari glared at him. "If you touch any of them, they will wake up and literally rip your dick off. Mark my words."

Porky scoffed. "Yeah, okay, Hikari. You just don't want me getting _sexy with mommy_ , do you?"

' _What's with him and my mom!?_ ' Hikari twitched. "... _No_ , I just don't want to have to clean up your _blood_ once _Yuuka Kazami_ over there turns you into a fine mist."

Porky smiled widely. " _Yuuka Kazami!?_ Why the hell would-"

Porky's eyes stopped on Yuuka's sleeping form.

"...Ok-okay, I'll be outside the window. Follow me... if you're not _chicken_ …" With that, Porky fled.

' _Stupid_.'

...If there was one thing Hikari learned from her mother, it was that a little thievery went a long way… and who else to practice it on than family-friend Marisa, the acclaimed master thief?

Tip-toeing up to her sleeping figure, Hikari reached for her pocket…

" _Whad'dre_ ya doin'!?" Marisa suddenly sprang up towards her, holding up her arms and grinning widely.

"A-ah…!" Hikari leaped back, and tripped over, falling onto Suika, resident oni and drunkard.

"Heheheh… Shoulda seen your face, ze. Priceless…" Marisa grinned jovially.

' _Classic aunt Marisa…_ ' Hikari clambered off Suika's sleeping figure. This wasn't the first time Marisa thwarted her efforts, and it certainly wouldn't be the last.

' _I'm a bit relieved I fell on Suika. I know she's not waking up any time soon…_ '

"Thought you could one up your 'ol aunt, now?" Marisa let her teeth show as she grinned. "You're gonna have to try a 'lil harder than that, da ze."

' _That's not how being an aunt works…_ '

She ran her eyes up and down Hikari's figure. "...I see yer all dressed up and ready to go. You've even got that gohei… Heheh, you look so~ much like Reimu s'almost scary..."

' _I get that a lot. Particularly from you._ ' Hikari smiled casually.

"I heard that stupid village kid in here. I dunno what you kids are up to, but it's pretty late, so y'know, be safe and all that, alright?" Marisa's grin shifts to a more sincere smile as she stares at Hikari.

"I will, _aunt_ Marisa…" Hikari somewhat awkwardly assured her 'aunt'. ' _I think she's still drunk…_ '

"Heheheh… Go get'em, Hikari-chan." With that, Marisa laid her head back down on the bar counter that was set up in the shrine. "...I'll just catch a little shuteye. Got one he~ll of a hangover, ze…"

' _I probably can't try the whole 'thieving' thing again for now. But..._ ' She looked over at the other party guests, particularly Remilia and Yuuka. ' _...Nuh-uh. No way. Not worth it._ '

With that, Hikari entered her room once more, and made for the window.

"Psst! Hikari! Out here! Out _here!_ " Porky yell-whispered from the window.

"Shut it." Hikari snapped, leaping into and out the window in a few fluid motions.

"Oh, crap!" Porky ducked, not expecting Hikari to fluently leap out the window.

"Come on, we don't have all day." Assertively, she begins to try bossing the manchild around.

Porky jerked his head back. "Day? It's night, dummy." It didn't work so well.

"I don't care." she replied simply. ' _Ugh…_ '

"...'Cause you're stupid."

'... _You know,_ _Porky's a real piece of shit sometimes._ ' Hikari thought the obvious.

Hikari raced down the hillside while Porky took his sweet time slowly stumbling down the whole way. Even if she wasn't taught how to fly, Hikari still knew how to manipulate the wind to guide her running a bit. ' _I'm going downhill, too- the perfect combination for a sweet superspeed run!_ '

' _Those were the days…_ '

One of her old hobbies was seeing how fast she could take off down the Hakurei hillside- and how far she could ride that speed until she defaulted. Unfortunately, the climb back up was always a chore. ' _Once I learn how to fly, I could effortlessly try over and over!_ '

' _I'm getting excited just thinking about it!_ ' Hikari grinned, bringing her arms together, long having reached the bottom of the hill while she was recollecting nostalgia.

"...What stupid miko stuff are you doing now?" Porky sighed. "Look, dad's gonna beat me rea~l bad if you don't find my brother Picky quick! You're the Hakurei Miko, do something!"

' _Look, Porky, can you stop being…_ infinitely _insufferable, for literally just_ five _seconds to let me enjoy myself? The sooner a youkai ambushes us and decides to take off with him, the better._ ' She'd make sure to tell nobody. Porky? She never saw a Porky that evening, not after she went home and went to bed. ' _Perfect cover story._ '

The bushes rustled. ' _Could the Hakurei god- whoever it was- be answering my plea? Are they sending a youkai to whisk Porky away?_ '

"Awoooo~!"

It was the piercing howl of…!

...a stray dog.

' _You're kidding me._ ' Hikari hunched over.

"Oh-.. oh my _God_ , What is that!?" Porky held her hands to his face, and began tearing up. "Do-do something, Hakurei! _Do something_ already! Let it eat you first!"

"It's a dog, dumbass." ' _Seriously._ ' Red mist poured like smoke from the dog's hide, quickly and gradually calming until it rested on the dog's flesh, as if more like mist. ' _...That mist really makes me wonder, though…_ '

It still undoubtedly looked like a dog, and she knew Porky didn't know his lefts and his rights, let alone anything about unholy mists… ' _I mean, I still confuse left and right myself, sometimes… I don't think anyone knows, though. Besides Mom._ '

' _...Look, I never had to really think about it that much!_ ' Hikari argued with herself mentally.

The dog leaped forward, and leaped back, prompting Hikari to take a defensive stance.

' _Wh-what am I doing? I can't afford to be careless now…_ '

"Arf! Arf!"

The dog charged for Hikari, who swung her gohei at it.

Thwack!

The dog reeled back, but quickly brushed its head past the blow, and charged into Hikari.

Crunch! Its teeth sunk into her thigh, which was exposed by her dainty shrine maiden clothing.

" _Aaaa~h!_ " Hikari wailed, the dog sinking its teeth deeper into her thigh when she tried to pull away.

' _Shit! Not good, not good…!_ '

"You-you good for nothing, _stupid miko!_ If I die- if I die… I hate you!" Porky began crying, because that helps.

Thwack! Thwack!

Hikari smacked the dog, forcing it to release its hold on her leg.

"A-ah…" Scrunching her face, Hikari began crying, pain forcing her to clench her teeth.

As the dog ran back, she took this moment to lob an ofuda at it.

' _Di-die, you stupid, awful thing!_ '

The ofuda struck the dog, and emitted a holy white light.

"Ar-arf! Awooo-"

Flash!

Bam!

The dog was blown back into a tree. A red mist was violently shot from the dog, which promptly faded away in the light of the ofuda. Moments later- free of violent red mist- the dog shook itself, as if getting water from its hide. Red mist continued to violently expel from it as it awkwardly strutted away, the ofuda fluctuating in brightness wildly.

…

"A-ah...a-aah…" Tears streamed from Hikari's wide eyes, as she examined the open, bleeding bite mark in her leg.

' _Th-this can't-... it hurts…_ '

Rarely before had she had to really deal with serious injuries like this.

' _It-it hurts…_ '

She watched the blood flow from the wound. She always had someone around when she was hurt.

' _Ma-make it stop…_ '

Porky was babbling something, but Hikari wasn't listening. Someone was always there to pick her up when she fell down.

Her voice cracked. "Mo-mom…"

…

' _...make it_ _ **stop!**_ '

Hikari shut her eyes.

With one last forceful thought, combined with Hikari's will and focus on her injury…

Hikari Hakurei learned Lifeup α!

...Hikari opened her eyes, and the pain was gone. Her wound was gone.

"Wh-what…?"

She blinked in realization of what had just happened.

' _Did I just…?_ '

Her hearing expanded again, now including Porky's incessant babbling.

"If-if you die, then my dad will beat me _super_ hard, and then- and then Reimu will hurt me and- and I'll be like, grounded for for… for… I don't even kno~ho~hoow! Don't die, idiot!" He began jumping in place, chanting. "Don't die! Don't die! Don't die!"

' _...That's somehow the opposite of heartwarming._ '

Now that she thought about it... ' _Why couldn't that dog have bitten Porky? Surely no one would have missed him._ '

Pressing forward, they eventually reached the meteorite again. It was where it always was, still glowing and everything.

"Just where the hell is your brother?" Hikari was fed up with this evening.

' _Surely you must have_ some _idea…_ '

"I-I don't _know!_ That's why I got _you!_ You forget _already!?_ " Porky scoffs, his voice still louder than normal, as he was still uppity from before.

' _...Does this guy come with an off switch?_ ' Holding up her gohei, Hikari considered finding it.

...

"Po~rky! Po~rky!" A tinier voice called from the nearby brush.

' _That's probably him._ ' Sighing in relief, Hikari relaxed her posture.

"Hey!" I call out, because apparently Porky picked this time of all times to shut up.

Picky makes his way through the brush, and emerges into the clearing. "Porky, there you are! I've been looking everywhere for you!"

Porky is suspiciously quiet.

' _...Hold on…_ '

Hikari swiftly turns her head towards him. "Di-did-"

Picky interjects. "Yes, Hikari, Porky got scared and ran away when all the guardsmen ran off without him. I tried to come out and find him when they came back without him, but he was long gone by the time I was at the meteor."

' _Porky, you insufferable sack of-_ '

"Did _not!_ It was just dark and- and I had to scout for the patrol! Yeah!" Porky's face reddened up, his eyes flaring.

Picky rolled his eyes. "Whatever, Porky. Look, let's just get back before dad breaks out both shoe horns."

Porky blanched. "Wh-what!? They know!?"

Holding his arms out, Picky yelled back. "How could they _not_ know, Porky? How could they _not_ know!?"

With that, the two brothers began to walk off into the night- only to stop in their tracks.

"Say… do you hear a buzzing sound?" Porky questions.

"Porky, please…" Picky tiredly sighs. "I'm supposed to be the _little_ brother, here."

"No! I definitely hear it!" Porky whirls back around, eyes wide and mouth open in complete mystification.

' _...He might not actually be wrong about this one…_ ' Hearing it herself, Hikari looked around in a more reserved, casual manner.

Hikari turned to the meteorite, when suddenly a beam of light shot from it, into the air.

' _Wo-woah!_ '

Her eyes widened as the beam faded out.

...

BuzzBuzz…

That buzzing was louder than before.

BuzzBuzz…

Out from the meteorite flew a large bee, prompting Hikari to brace herself.

' _Is- is that a bee? If it's possessed- ugh…!_ ' The night's end could not come faster for Hikari.

"No! Not the bees! Anything but the bees!" Porky hollered. "A-aaah!"

"Please wait, my friends! I have news from ten years in the future!" The bee's extremely high pitched voice began to conduct diplomacy.

' _...That bee just_ talked.' Hikari blinked. ' _...There's no way I_ can't _be sleeping right now._ '

...After a few moments, Hikari started smacking herself in the face with her gohei at an irregular pace.

"Hakurei miko, please! Do not harm yourself!"

' _...Well, my mother's stories have been weirder…_ ' She was still never going to buy the one where the moon was somehow stolen by an alien clinic.

' _...even if I did see some of the 'characters' from that story unconscious inside the shrine._ '

Whirling through the air, the bee circled Hikari and her… 'friends'. "I bring terrible news! The future of Gensokyo is in your hands!"

' _Yeah, that_ is _a pretty terrible future. Gensokyo, in my hands? We'll be dead by tomorrow evening._ '

"The forces of the evil Giygas are coming! We must make haste!" It dutifully informed them.

' _The evil guy gas? I'm sorry?_ '

The bee began flying towards the village, only to stop as another beam of light shot down from the sky.

Porky back away from it, and looked back to HIkari. "Ooo~h, you're in bi~g trouble now Hikari… Just wait until your mom finds out!"

' _We're not on a playground, you dolt._ ' Hikari shook her head at Porky.

Out from the light was a strange humanoid figure. The entire figure was clad in a grey suit of sorts, which Hikari couldn't really recognize.

' _...What is that?_ '

"Buzz_Buzz…" began the grey suited humanoid.

"Stay back, comrades!" Buzz Buzz, the aptly named bee, commanded.

"I_have_come_from_ten_years_in_the_future_to_stop_you. I_will_squash_you_like_a_bug!"

Hikari blinked. ' _Did I just walk into one of Alice's saturday morning puppet shows? What is this!?_ '

Buzz Buzz tried PSI Shield Σ!

Hikari was protected by the pale blue psychic shield!

Porky was protected by the pale blue psychic shield!

Picky was protected by the pale blue psychic shield!

Buzz Buzz was protected by the pale blue psychic shield!

"Useless_endeavor!" the humanoid bellowed.

Hikari examined the cyan aura of the shield around her and her friends. ' _...Well, that's new._ '

"Aaaah, aaaa~h!" Porky was screaming.

"Shut up, Porky!" Picky shook his brother.

The humanoid tried PK Fire β!

Everyone's psychic shield made the flames disappear on contact!

Fwoom…!

The flames lashed out from an initial fire blast, easily overtaking the trees and starting a fire.

"Ho-holy…!" Hikari stumbled back from the display of pure power. ' _What the hell!? Where did that…!?_ '

"Don't worry, friends!" Buzz Buzz assured the party.

' _I'm worrying, friend..._ ' Hikari sarcastically thought towards the bee. ' _How could I not worry!?_ '

Buzz Buzz tried PK Freeze Σ!

FwwwwWaash!

A bright flash quickly showered the nearby forestry in ice, freezing trees and producing snow everywhere.

Everyone's psychic shield made the incoming frost disappear on contact!

"Aaau-_Gaah!" the grey figure shouted, its suit now coated in frosty artifacts and imperfections.

"You_will_pay,_Earth_insect!"

' _I'm having a hard time taking this thing seriously._ '

The grey figure raised both of its arms. Arc lightning spontaneously shot from them, continuing towards the four.

A long stream of lightning reached out towards Buzz Buzz, but...

Buzz Buzz's psychic shield made it disappear!

Hikari flinched, jumping back as the lightning shooting from its other arm went for her, but…

Hikari's psychic shield made it disappear!

"Hey! Pick on someone your own size!" Buzz Buzz shot towards the grey figure!

Fwww-BAM

Hikari's ears rang, since Buzz Buzz shot forward like a bullet, producing an immensely loud noise.

' _Wh-what's going on!?_ ' She felt like hiding.

"Grah… Aragh!"

Boom!

The grey figure exploded into light particles, bits of its suit raining down around the forest. Weird glowing parts blinked and fizzled on the forest floor, before all went quiet.

...

' _...I didn't even interact. That… that just sorta happened._ '

Suddenly, Buzz Buzz floated up to Hikari from the battlefield. "It is you, Hikari! The chosen hero!"

Hikari jerked her head back once the bee flew close to her face. ' _Whoever chose me was an idiot… Hold on, how did it…?_ '

"The prophecy said that the three girls and one boy will be the chosen ones!"

' _Do I get a say in any of this?_ '

Porky nervously pipes up. "Uuhh, mister bee… That boy wouldn't be me, would it?"

Buzz Buzz turned to Porky, then turned back to Hikari.

"I will follow you, chosen hero!" It ignored Porky's question.

' _This night…'_ Hikari shook her head. _'I now have a psychic bee companion, and I have to escort this manchild and his brother, at what I can only assume is three in the morning, all the while getting assaulted by rabid animals and assassins from the future. Life is good._ '

"W-well, come on, Hikari! We need to get home!" Porky quickly moved behind Hikari.

Picky just sighed.

' _Gotta burn that midnight oil, I guess._ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Reaching the village walls, Hikari walked up to the guard stationed there.

The rather average man narrowed his eyes. "You look a little _young_ to be the Hakurei…"

Hikari moved over, gesturing to Porky before commenting, "And he looks a little young to be out this late."

' _...And a little old to have a curfew._ ' Hikari wished she had said that, but by the time she thought it up, it was too late.

The guard blinked. "...Oh, there he is… I don't know who you are, but uh… Oh! You must be her daughter, then! Aaahh, I~ get it now…!"

The guard smiles into the night, now incredibly smug.

' _...Freak._ ' Cynically, Hikari stared on.

Porky stomped in place. "My parents are going to be _soo~_ pi~ssed! Let me in, let me in, let me in!"

Taken aback, the guard moves to open the gate- "Al-alright, just let me open the-"

Smash! Porky barreled straight through said gate with the might only a manchild could possess.

"-gate…"

…

"To-to be fair-" Hikari began, but the guard suddenly ran in after Porky.

' _Me and the adventures of my nonexistent voice. I was gonna go 'to be fair, if a youkai wanted to bust in, they probably could if Porky did it' but now that's not really a big option._ '

Picky sighed, and walked through the gate after his brother.

' _I suppose I'll see where this leads._ ' Idly, Hikari trailed after Picky...

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

' _Walking into the Minch household is always a cringe inducing experience._ _It's like a 'what not to do' regarding parenting, though I suppose it's none of my business._ '

"Oh, if it isn't Hikari! How are you on this fine day?" greeted the captain of the town guard, Man Minch.

' _...Don't ask me what kind of name 'man' is. I don't know, either._ '

Man suddenly scowled. "...I'd have a lot more work if it wasn't for your meddlesome mother. Why doesn't she just take the memo and know where she's unwanted?"

Hikari blinked. ' _You sure you should be having this conversation with me? I suppose there's nothing I can do about it, but… it's a little weird._ '

"Just know where your boundaries are, little girl." Man glared at her.

' _This is escalating quickly._ ' Hikari hoped she didn't have to fight the captain due to his accelerating steam train of a temper. She was also pretty certain she couldn't take him head-on right now, but it wouldn't be nothing a little running couldn't save her from, she was sure.

"Si-sir…" That guard was also just awkwardly standing about, watching the squabble commence.

"What!?" Man barked, turning to his cohort.

"Don-don't you need to speak with your kids, sir?"

Man twitched. "...Oh! Yes, yes, right, I am terribly sorry for the _trouble_ they caused you, miss Hakurei, I'll be just a moment…"

Man walked into the back room.

...

Boink! "Yeeow!" Porky wailed.

Whomp! "Yeeaae!" Picky yelled.

Hikari sighs. ' _This is going to be a long night._ '

Man stomps back out of their room, and sits down at the couch, face extremely red.

' _He looks like he's going to explode._ ' Mildly amused by his demeanor, Hikari grinned to herself.

Mrs. Minch, ' _Whatever her name was…_ ' walked out of the back room after her husband.

"Hee~y Hikari! Look! I think you should go!... now!"

' _Did she always have to shout…?_ ' Hikari rubbed her ears.

Buzz Buzz flew out from behind Hikari and landed on Mrs. Minch's hair.

Mrs. Minch recoiled violently. " _Eeew!_ I think it's a dung beetle! It needs a _goo~d_ squishin'!"

Hikari grinned. ' _I can't wait to see that bee just_ destroy _her…_ '

Whack!

Buzz Buzz promptly nosedived towards the floor, and crashed.

Sprinting- bumping into some chairs- Mrs. Minch quickly mobilized. "Let me get the mallet! Stupid beetles!"

Mrs. Minch marched off mirthfully.

...The guard started backing out of the house. "...I think I should uh… go now…"

Hikari kneeled next to the bee.

' _Is… is it dead?_ '

"Pl-please… List-listen…"

Saddened, Hikari shook her head. ' _Yeah, it's dead. I guess it was too good to be true. A pet bee, I mean._ '

"Hakurei! You are the chosen savior…!"

' _That's got to be the tenth time you told me._ ' Hikari's eyes lowered in annoyance.

"Here, take this… it's the Sound Stone…"

Suddenly, a rock dropped next to the bee. It had a musical note engraved on it.

' _...Sure. Why not?_ '

"Yo-you need to record… the eight sacred melodies of Gensokyo…"

' _Any excuse to do some exploring. Honestly, this is the most exciting thing since that time I just decided to sprint into the forest of magic. Too bad Alice was there to reel me back in, though… she was really, really fast. I don't even know how she found me, I took so many turns._ '

Then, Hikari spent the time thinking about her other short explorations in dangerous places. ' _...There were a few other times, but compared to this crazy night, they seem a little mundane in comparison…_ '

Hikari pocketed the Sound Stone.

"What-...whatever you do… don't let Giygas take over Gensokyo…!"

' _Who?_ '

"My-my life… is _fading_ …"

' _Sucks to be you, bee person._ '

Buzz Buzz ceased buzzing.

…

Standing up, Hikari looked back over to Man, who was still fuming and staring at the wall from his chair.

' _I think I should go, now…_ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

A faint blue glow tinted the village. The sun was beginning to rise…

' _...Was I really doing things that long? Geez… I guess going to sleep is out of the question…_ '

...Looking around, Hikari decided to pick a direction and walk.

"Hmm…" While walking, she thought.

' _...So, Sound Stone, and chosen ones, and all that…_ '

She looked into the horizon, thinking.

' _...Just what have I gotten myself into all of a sudden?_ '

Villagers began moving about. Guards changed their shifts, and the shuffling of commerce and agriculture in the village began once again.

Hikari grinned to herself. ' _If I actually told anybody about this quest, they'd call me crazy. I mean, chances are I_ am _going crazy, but you never know…_ '

Suddenly, she saw Keine Kamishirasawa, the village ambassador, psuedo-leader and school teacher.

Keine was charging down the road after two very questionably dressed villagers.

' _Are… are they wearing gimp suits? You know what, I don't want to know…_ ' There were some doors just best left unopened, and this was one of them. Hikari had enough weird for one day- and the day had just begun.

Walking through town, Hikari stopped at the square and just stood around. Villagers passing her gave her a questioning glance or two…

"What's the Hakurei disciple just doing standing around there?"

"What's wrong with her?"

"I wonder if an incident is about to occur…"

' _...My mother left me quite a reputation, didn't she?_ ' Hikari tried to tune out the judging opinions of the villagers.

' _...Let's see… something about magical locations? I wonder what qualifies as magical enough to be considered a special place, here…_ '

' _Maybe I'll ask around, or something. Someone_ has _to know something._ '

Just as she was about to walk across the square, another man dressed in what Hikari could only consider a gimp suit hopped by on a pogo stick.

' _...It's official, the village has gone to shit._ ' Hikari snorted. ' _...It didn't have very far to fall, to be honest._ '

She liked the homey atmosphere, but she liked the outright outlandish mishappenings even better. Men in gimp suits in broad daylight were a first for her, though.

Walking up to a fruit market on the corner, she approached the vender.

"Hi…" Hikari cleared her throat, because she pretty much needed to.

The man looked up and did a double take at his customer. "O-oh! Hello! What can I do for you, miss Hakurei?"

"Do-do you know of any special magical locations around here…?"

' _...I could have phrased that_ so _much better. I am a freaking… moron…_ '

The man blinked. "...Well, not that I really know of myself. I wouldn't be the person to talk to about that… I'd go to Keine or the town guard if I were you. That's what I would do."

' _...Surprisingly more helpful than I had anticipated._ ' Hikari nodded. "Tha-thanks…"

The man smiles softly. "Any time."

' _...He probably thinks I'm weak because of my voice…_ ' Hikari grimaced as she turned away.

' _The bad part is that he wouldn't be entirely wrong._ '

...Leaving the fruit stands, Hikari looks around for Keine.

Looking over at the north road, she considered her options. ' _...I saw her head down that road just a moment ago…_ '

Following the road towards the northern end of the village, Hikari put a spring in her step as she felt the cold Fall winds gently blow past her.

' _Nothing like temperate breezes._ '

Out of nowhere, an individual dressed in gimp gear shredded on their skateboard out in front of Hikari. "Hey, lamer! You're on the turf of the Wild Wolves! If you don't get off, that gives us permission to like, to~tally own you!"

' _...Uhh?_ '

"Mother said to never talk to strangers." Hikari scowled at the skateboard gimp.

The skateboarder jerked their head back. "Ahaha-alright, _noob!_ You asked for some _pwnage!_ "

Despite the road being dirt, the skateboarder managed to skate in circles around Hikari.

Hikari was unimpressed. "...Is uh…"

Suddenly, the skateboard abruptly cut into the dirt and shot towards Hikari.

"Wh-wha-!?"

Barely dodging, Hikari's side was scraped as the skateboard grazed her.

' _Agh!_ '

Hikari felt her side, and then moved to glance at it, and saw a red slash where the board cut her. Her hand had a small splotch of blood on it.

' _Damn it…_ '

The skateboarder laughed. "Hahah! Dude, I'm too cool for school! You're just a goodie-goodie!"

Glaring, Hikari readied her gohei. ' _I can't afford to be careless here…_ '

' _I don't know if I can heal myself again… but I don't think I'll have to._ '

Looking around tensely, Hikari watched the skateboarder do circles around her.

' _I don't want to be in a situation where I have to heal myself again._ '

She carefully stanced herself, moving with the skateboard as its rider moved it around her in a circle again. Abruptly, the board cut in the dirt and shot towards Hikari again. As the boarder made it jump, going for her torso again…

Whack!

Hikari had sidestepped and gave a clean whack to the torso of the skateboarder.

"Ouch! Dude… not cool!" The gimp chastised Hikari for her violence. "It was just a prank, bro!"

' _When I shove this gohei up your ass, I'll make sure to use that excuse._ '

The skateboarder was now skating in an irregular pattern in front of Hikari.

"...Come on, then." Hikari tried provoking the skateboard gimp!

Pausing, the skateboard gimp, stared at Hikari. "You're going down! Old style!"

' _Old style._ '

Suddenly, the skateboarder quickly skated towards Hikari!

Hikari braced herself, except…

Swoosh!

The skateboard suddenly slid around her at surprising speeds. Hikari dove out of the way onto the dirt path, barely dodging a direct hit from the skateboard.

' _Ugh…_ ' Hikari grimaced. ' _Now I'm all dirty…_ '

The gimp blew a raspberry at her. "Nee~rd!"

Standing up, she gripped her gohei tightly. "Geh…"

Spinning around, the skateboarder was pretending to show off…

...when suddenly he stopped on a dime and rocketed towards Hikari again!

Surprised, Hikari raised her gohei and slammed it down in front of her with all her might.

SMAAAA~SH!

The board stopped harmlessly at Hikari's sandals.

"... _Duuu~de_ …"

The gimp fell onto the dirt harmlessly, neutralized by the force of the blow which connected directly with his forehead.

' _That's why you wear a helmet, asshole._ '

Suddenly, the gimp began having a spaz attack. "Egehuh! Egagaga!"

Hikari stepped back, and warily watched it unfold. Black mist emanated from the gimp, and as it faded…

...a child was revealed inside, unconscious. One of Keine's students, no less.

' _...Oh. This is probably worse than I thought._ ' She realized the implications of all of Keines vulnerable school children being turned into delinquent gimp people.

...Next to the unconscious kid was a wrapped hamburger. Hikari picked it up.

' _...Rinnosuke had a few at his shop. They didn't taste good when heated up, and he said that they needed to be eaten right off the grill or something._ ' The weird part is that this was exclusive to the rather messily made, wrapped hamburgers.

' _This one is strangely warm, so~..._ '

Unwrapping the hamburger, Hikari casually took a big bite out of it.

' _...!_ '

...Hikari takes a few more munches.

' _That's actually not that bad. It tastes like it's not good for me at all, but that doesn't mean it tastes bad…_ '

The gash in her side was already starting to feel a little better.

' _...Nothing a good meal can't fix, I guess… even if it's not necessarily a good meal._ '

Hikari looked around for a trash basket to place the wrapping and remains of the burger in. They weren't entirely common on the streets, but she saw a few.

Finding one, she placed the waste in. For whatever reason, she had to resist the urge to dig through the trash can for sweet loots.

' _...Come now, you're a Hakurei, not a beggar…_ '

Shaking her head, she walked back out into the road and set in the direction she thought Keine had headed in.

"...Hmm."

Hikari paused as the road split two ways, ending at the wall of the village.

' _...I'm going to assume right. My mother always bragged about the Hakurei intuition…_ '

Looking down the right road, she saw nothing. Looking to the left, she saw a bunch of gimp-suited fellows.

' _...I don't think I'm willing to believe in that, though._ '

A skateboarder, hula-hooper, and a pogo sticker sighted Hikari.

"Dude, check out the babe!"

"Dude, swee~t!"

' _Oh, no…_ '

The skateboarder circled Hikari, while the pogo stick rider bounced in a slower circle around her. The hula hoop hooligan just slowly spun towards, Hikari, prompting her to focus on simply avoiding the three's natural movements.

"Bro, check out this sick kickflip!"

The skateboard cuts in the dirt and shoots towards Hikari. The gimp leaps in the air, and the board twirls into the air under it.

Hikari dives out of the way, ending up on the floor.

The gimp lands successfully, and the other two cheer.

"Yeah, gnarly, brother!"

"Totally rad!"

Gritting her teeth, Hikari hopelessly writhed on the floor… ' _I don't like this…_ '

Hikari decided she'd focus on the skateboarder again. Attempting to stand up-

Bonk!

"Aagh!" Hikari's face met the dirt after a pogostick bounced off her head.

' _Ou-ouch…_ ' She closed her eyes for a moment, before her adrenaline flared.

Deciding that getting up was imperative, Hikari quickly scrambled to her feet as fast as she could, paranoid that she would get struck again.

She just barely avoided a very abrupt attempt to slice her from the hula hoop gimp's hula hoop.

' _Woah!_ ' She stumbled back, before her eyes hardened, and she brandished ofuda. ' _I'm going to need these at this rate…_ '

She tosses one at the hula hoop gimp, but suddenly his hula hoop spun a lot faster and sliced the ofuda out of the air.

' _Wh-what!? You can do that!?_ '

"Look at this kid, broskis! She's just throwin' her _papers_ at us!" He grinned at her, mocking.

The other two hooligans laugh in response.

' _...Maybe I should run…_ ' Cringing inward, Hikari considered getting away...

...She makes a very telegraphed ofuda tossing motion-

"Hah!"

-only to toss none and instead bolt down the other street.

…

As she runs, she turns and sees the skateboard gimp caught up with her on his board.

' _No-no way…_ ' A sinking feeling began to settle in her stomach, as she glared at the hooligan.

She was suddenly rammed aside by him, and ended up sliding to the floor again.

"Ugh…!" Hikari's eyes narrow, the flesh of her thigh grating against the rough dirt path, a scrape forming. ' _Damn…!_ '

Slowly, Hikari stood back up, and by the time she did, the other two gimps caught up.

"What should we do wit'er, bros?" the hula hooper asks his friends.

"I 'unno." The pogo sticker shrugged, which threw off his rhythm, resulting in a few awkward bounces before he replied again. "...Take 'er back to the club? Maybe she'll wanna join!"

' _N-no…_ ' Hikari didn't want to become a gimp.

"She is kinda hot, bro. Maybe you can even ask her out!" The skateboarder replied, stopping to grin at his hula hoop cohort.

"Bro!" The hula hooper tried to attack his friend, only for him to skate away.

"Psyche!"

Hikari vainly watched the exchange from the floor. ' _I-I can't be captured by these idiots…_ '

The skateboarder looked to Hikari. "So… who's gonna be carryin' her?"

His pogo friend rolls his eyes. "Du~de… Which one of us has free hands, bro?"

Both gimps stare at the skateboard gimp.

"...Oo~h. Right. My bad."

Skating up to Hikari, he stops and lifts her.

"Mo-mom…" Hikari exhaled, realizing how many wounds she collected throughout the fight, their collective pain weighing on her.

The skateboard gimp snorts. "Du~de, she wants her mommy!"

The other gimps didn't hear her say it, though. The pogo gimp shakes his head. "Dude, she's out. Just bring her back, I don't think she's even tuning in, bro."

' _...I_ _ **don't**_ _want to fail you!_ '

Hikari shut her eyes, focusing on her captors…

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: FLASHBACK VIEW ====

Hikari stared at the brilliant light the bullets produced in the night sky.

"You see that?" Reimu pointed at the display. "That's danmaku."

"Wha~..." Hikari blinked at the display.

' _It's so pretty…_ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

"...And that's how we got the moon back from the lunar aliens." Reimu finished, smiling

Hikari smiled back.

' _...That story's always so stupid, but at the same time…_ '

' _Maybe it held a grain of truth in it, somewhere. One could dream..._ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Hikari returned home from the village, finished with her weekly chores.

As she walked into the shrine, there was no one around… at the moment, anyway.

' _...At least I don't have to waste time speaking with anyone, then…_ '

Swiftly walking through the shrine, Hikari made her way to her room, and to her bookshelf.

' _Maybe I can finally finish this book in peace. It's rather silly in retrospect, but… it's a book about european vampires. My mother bought it for me because she thought I'd like it. It was even made somewhere in Gensokyo…_ '

'... _to think there's actually writers somewhere in Gensokyo… then again, I don't know a lot about Gensokyo._ '

The plot didn't have any specific direction, but the characterization drew her to it, even if the idea was a little farfetched. ' _Sometimes a story was good just to be a story._ '

Fantasy was Hikari's favorite genre.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIKARI'S VIEW ====

Hikari Hakurei learned PK Fantasy α!

Hikari opened her eyes, and suddenly felt power draining from her. It was as if her willpower itself began to drain away…

Then, the barren road lit up brilliantly. Brightly colored particles of red, blue, and yellow rained down with alarming power from the daytime sky-

Fizzle!

-striking everyone around Hikari… which was just gimps at the moment. Technicolor, bright energy flowered across their bodies, and the dirt of the street. The walls of nearby buildings flashed brilliantly, bright enough to hurt Hikari's eyes.

Fizzle!

More particles struck the ground like water drops, creating splashes of destructive telekinetic energy.

Hikari focused on the gimp holding her, his cracked glasses and fearful eyes looking down at her. Hikari's eyes flashed.

Bw~ash!

One final blast of psychic rainbow energy shot from Hikari, turning all the gimps back to children.

She fell to the floor, the gimp holding her now an unconscious kid far smaller than she was.

"Oof!"

…

' _Tha-that took a lot out of me…_ '

Lying on the dirt path, Hikari stared straight into the sky.

' _...Wha-what did I even just do…?_ '

Slowly, her eyes began to drift shut.

' _...A-ah…_ '

Hikari was fast asleep.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Hikari slowly came to after a dreamless sleep.

"...Haa~h…" Hikari yawned.

Looking up from the bed, she was in a house she didn't recognize.

' _...Where am I?_ '

She quickly realized she was in a bed, too, instead of a futon.

"U-uh…"

She clambered out of the bed, and fell to the floor.

"Oof…"

...She groggily rose to her feet, and stretched. She was still clad in her shrine maiden getup, which wasn't the most comfortable for sleeping, but it was better than that dirt pathway.

She looked to her side, and saw that it was bandaged up.

' _...Wherever I am, it's somewhere hospitable, apparently…_ '

Hikari walked through the bedroom door into the living room.

She was greeted by Keine Kamishirasawa, who was examining a layout of the village. "Oh… good morning, Hikari. Did you sleep well?"

She nods.

"...That's good…"

Keine went back to staring at the map.

Hikari walked up to it, and looked at it herself.

' _...What am I looking at?_ '

She knew it was a layout of the village, but it was quite complex and detailed.

' _...I don't really have the time to look at this indepth._ '

Hikari went to leave through the front door, but Keine called out for her.

"Hol-hold on… It's dangerous out there, you know? You just got hurt, after all. It wouldn't do any good to just throw yourself into harm's way again."

Hikari considered her words. ' _She's right… but nothing's going to get done if I just sit here and pray for safety._ '

Afterall, when was the last time the Hakurei gods actually helped with anything?

Acknowledging Keine's concerns, but choosing not to heed them, Hikari opened the door and left.

Keine sighed. "That girl…"

Keine moved to the window in time to see Hikari walk down the street.

"...Just as troublesome as her mother."

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Hikari examined her surroundings.

"Let's see…"

' _If I'm at Keine's, the school should be just to the right a bit…_ '

As Hikari expected, the school Keine managed wasn't far away. It wasn't in session, however; it seems to have been graffitied.

' _Not what I was expecting, but I probably should have been._ '

Looking around, Hikari saw another pogo stick riding gimp.

Said gimp also saw Hikari.

"Hehehe~y!"

He started hopping towards her, but Hikari was prepared this time, and vaguely pissed.

' _This time, you're going down!_ '

The pogo hopping hooligan hopped around Hikari in a circle. Hikari tracked his movements, and once he suddenly hopped towards Hikari…

' _Now!_ '

Hikari stepped out of the way and brought her gohei back…

The pogo gimp saw what was coming, but couldn't change the trajectory of the bounce.

SMAAAA~SH!

The gohei struck the gimp like a baseball bat. He flew off the pogo stick, which bounced away a little before falling over, its rider lost.

"Wh-what? Bro…" The gimp reached into the air, but let his hand drop moments later. The suit faded away into black mist, revealing a child on the inside.

This time, however, the child was awake!

His eyes were watering.

Hikari stared at it gingerly. ' _...Uhm?_ '

"...Waaa~h!" The kid began crying!

"Wh-wha~!?" Hikari jumped at the loud noise.

"Waaaa~h!"

' _...He-he's awake, huh…_ '

Hikari suddenly realized she kinda left all those other kids for dead when she freed them. Whoops. Well, with any luck other good willed people were there to clean up shop…

"..." The kid was sobbing. "Hi-Hikari…?"

' _Huh. The kid recognizes me._ ' Hikari didn't think anyone from the school would actually bother to remember her name. She only stopped by it now and then.

"...I-I'm so sorry, Hikari…"

' _Maybe he knows something!_ ' Hikari's eyes lit up.

"...Say, do you know what happened to you?" Hikari began softly.

' _I can do soft._ '

"...I-I don't know… Some mean lady…"

' _...That helps._ ' Hikari sarcastically commented to herself. ' _With that description, it could have been my mother._ '

"What did she look like?" Hikari kept her voice soft, but she was slightly annoyed by how vague the last statement was.

"Sh-she… Mean…"

Hikari sighed. ' _That didn't help at all._ '

The kid began wailing again. "Waaa~h!"

' _You're like eight! Stop crying!_ '

"Wa-wah… Waaa~h!"

"I-it's going to be okay…" Hikari tried comforting the child, but his crying was too loud.

"Waaaa~h!"

"Stop crying!" Hikari commanded.

Hikari Hakurei learned Hypnosis α!

Energy rippled around the child.

"Waa-aah… ahh…"

…

The child was fast asleep.

Hikari blinked. "...Well."

' _That works..._ ' Hikari was thankful she didn't accidentally blow the child to pieces with something more potent.

Lifting the kid, she quickly made her way to Keine's house…

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Keine jumped as the door to her house opened.

"...Hikari?" Keine questioned. She suddenly saw the child on Hikari's shoulder.

"Here." Hikari stated simply, placing the kid on a chair.

Keine recognized the student. "A-ah…"

She moved towards the student to see if he was alright, and he was.

"...Do you know who could have caused this? The-the incident, I mean…" Hikari asked.

' _Me and diplomacy aren't going to get along, I feel._ '

Keine paused, and turned towards Hikari. "...No, I don't. That's what I've been trying to find out."

' _I suppose I'll have to ask around some more…_ '

"...See ya." Hikari graciously gave her goodbye and left out the front door within seconds.

Keine watched her brief exit. "...At least she's a better diplomat than her mother."

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

END OF CHAPTER 1

Protagonist: Hikari Hakurei, Disciple of Paradise

-Inventory-

Weapon: Hand-me-down Gohei - Ability to whack stuff really hard. Critical hits enabled.

Arms: Iconic Hakurei Arm Sleeves - Keeps arms warm. A Hakurei tradition. How they stay on is a Hakurei family secret.

Body: Nothing

Misc: Nothing

-Skills-

Attack: Quickly! Swing your gohei at them for massive damage!

PK Fantasy α - Bombards the enemy with pain in the form of flashing colors. Deals magical damage.

PK Hypnosis α - Puts weak enemies to sleep for a short time. Works better on tired or exhausted foes.

PSI Lifeup α - Heals target a little.

Ofuda Toss - Throw a holy ofuda that does massive holy elemental damage to youkai and dark elemental foes. Effect lessens the more holy the thing you're attacking is, to the point of healing holy things.

α-α-α-α

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

welcome to a new adventure friends

started as a freewrite that i really wanted to develop because yeah

also working with a FAR MORE QUIET main character this time for variety's sake, and the idea appealed to me

updates will be far more inconsistent than my current continuing work (mind you they were never consistent to begin with anyway)

updates for this will probably be published one at a time / whenever i feel like it

have fun

==== NEARLY A YEAR LATER ====

welcome to a new adventure INDEED

i am BACK from NEARLY THE FINAL CHAPTER. i took a look at this, and was like "well it gave me the cancer" and decided to fix it so that it'd stop giving people cancer when they walked in

the later chapters are going to take a dip in quality unless ai bother revising them ever, so be warned that things will get worse before they get better! i pretty much had to fix like every three lines in here with either stylistic changes or just general corrections because i made some pretty terrible, cringe-inducing, nightmare-bending mistakes back here

so anyway yeah as it turns out i uploaded like thirty more chapters of this

see you all next chapter!


	2. One Small Step for Hakurei

Hikari Hakurei saw a suspiciously out of place figure amongst the marketplace of the village.

' _...For whatever reason, I don't think such attire is terribly fitting with today's weather…_ '

Hikari takes a moment to look at her exposed shoulders, but shakes it off.

It was a maid clad in blue, dressed in what Hikari recognized as a western manner. Afterall, one of her favorite books had a western maid in it.

Then again, when you live in the far, far east, everything's technically 'western'.

The maid stumbled about, clutching her head, going to and fro the stalls.

Hikari walked up to her. "...You."

' _Good start._ '

The maid sighed, and turned towards her. "...Yes?"

She then paused. "...Hikari? Hikari Hakurei?"

' _She knows who I am?_ ' "...That's me."

The maid nods. "Hmm… I don't think we've met before. Regardless, now's not the best time, you see-"

Hikari interrupts her. "I'm trying to locate… a troublemaker."

' _Real smooth, me. Again._ '

...She blinks. "...I just got here. I don't know anything. I have a hell of a hangover, so please… just leave me to my devices."

Hikari's face lit up in realization. ' _She was at that party last night, wasn't she? Along with that vampire…_ '

That vampire seemed very similar to something she read in a novel, too. The one in the novel had a sister, though, and as far as Hikari was aware, Remilia didn't.

' _Hmm. Food for thought._ '

"A-alright…" Hikari quietly replied, as the maid went about her business at the stalls.

She was right when she said she hadn't met Hikari before then. The vampire didn't often stop around the shrine, and when she did Hikari wasn't around to meet her.

At least, not in recent years did the vampire stop around often.

' _I don't really remember…_ '

Regardless, she didn't know anything about the latest incident at the village.

Wandering the village square, Hikari found herself at a stand still.

' _It doesn't seem like most of these regular villagers know anything about what's going on…_ '

Hikari considered her options.

' _I could visit Akyuu and see if she knows what's going on… or I could wander around aimlessly until I find someone suspicious..._ '

…

' _I already kinda did the last one, so I think I'll just go find Akyuu._ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Approaching the home of the Child of Miare, Hikari observed the state it was in.

Graffiti was present on most of the walls of the manor-esque structure that Hikari could see.

' _...I should probably investigate. Just maybe._ '

She knocked on the door.

A servant slowly creaked it open. "...Who is this?"

Hikari thought of what to say for a moment. "...H-Hikari. Hakurei…"

The servant gasped, then swung the door open. "Hakurei!? Come in, come in!"

The servant was some old, balding man.

Stepping inside, Hikari took a cautious look around. Some servants were clad in pots and pans, and a few were graffitied themselves.

"Lady Hieda has been expecting you, Hakurei." The man warmly stated, moving through the manor with precision. Hikari followed him.

' _Akyuu's place was always quite grand. I wouldn't mind servants myself..._ '

"You see, we've had quite a… predicament, as of late."

' _I can see that._ '

Eventually, they stopped before a rather decorated door.

"Continue as you see fit, Lady Hakurei." The man bowed.

' _...Never got that kind of treatment here, before._ '

Hikari opened the door to Akyuu's room.

Akyuu was seated at her fancy arm chair, facing the door already.

"...Hikari?" Akyuu tilted her head.

"...H-hey."

' _I expect Akyuu to already be familiar with my inability to form words._ '

Akyuu stood up from her chair, moving to greet Hikari. "...Quite a day to be doing errands in the village, isn't it?"

Hikari nodded. "...I'd say so."

Akyuu was always a rather strange fellow, Hikari noticed. It was only after a conversation with her mother that she found out that Akyuu's mind was far, far older than her physical appearance.

' _It makes her strangely easy to relate to sometimes, though. I suppose that's what living through childhood ten times does to you._ '

"Is your mother in the village today?" Akyuu questions, moving towards the dresser next to the room's doorway.

"Not as far as I'm aware…"

' _She's probably home nursing her inevitable hangover… and seeing to the many, many others either still in comas or waking up to hangovers._ '

Hikari was glad she wasn't home at the moment.

Akyuu looked over to her. "...I know I've said this way too many times, but you really do look almost exactly like your mother did."

' _It's not just you, lady._ ' Hikari was a little tired of being constantly compared to her mother.

"...You're probably tired of hearing that by now, aren't you?" Akyuu smiled.

' _I still don't know how she does that sometimes._ ' Akyuu may have not been psychic, but she was probably the next best thing.

"...So, what brings you here? I doubt you've come this way just to chat up an old soul like me, especially with the village in such a state."

' _Nah, I came to talk about the weather._ '

"...Do you know who's behind the current incident?"

Akyuu nodded. "...To be honest, I was expecting your mother to be here to ask that question, but I suppose you're old enough to give it an attempt yourself."

' _...What's that supposed to mean?_ ' Hikari was certain she didn't have _that_ much trouble with the hooligans, except for the time that she did.

"...From what my servants have reported back to me, the harbinger of these disturbances has been a rabbit youkai of some form. No one actually placed who it was specifically, however."

' _...Well, it's something to work with._ '

"If I were you, I'd check… hmm…" Akyuu paused. "...I'd try the school, if I were you."

"...The school?" Hikari questions. ' _I was already there, and it looked pretty deserted…_ '

"Yes. It was one of the other locations targeted, wasn't it? The only places being targeted currently are places with abundances of books, and in that case, the highest priority for them would be a place of education."

' _I guess that makes sense._ '

Akyuu nods, satisfied. "...I'll just be here. It'd do me no good to leave my servants alone, you know?"

Hikari stared at Akyuu. "I wasn't going to take you with me, you know."

Akyuu laughed. "Hahahah… Just as I would expect. Don't try too hard out there."

Rolling her eyes, Hikari left Akyuu's room and made her way out of the mansion.

' _...Smart ass._ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Hikari approached the school again.

' _Still looks pretty empty to me…_ '

She walked up to the front door, and upon pushing it, she found it to be locked.

' _...How am I supposed to- oh…_ '

Looking to the right, she noticed a window was busted open. There was no light inside the building, aside from that which made it through the windows.

' _...Let me just…_ '

Using her gohei, she cleared out some of the glass in the window through percussive maintenance.

Whap!

Krr~ack!

Hikari winced. ' _I didn't expect that little glass to be_ that _loud…_ '

Observing the gap, she saw it was more suited for living beings to pass through it.

' _Now… all I need is to…_ '

...Hikari found some boxes around the building's side, and pushed them up against the window.

' _There._ '

With the box in place, Hikari climbed onto it and crawled through. On the other side, there wasn't a level surface waiting for her, unfortunately.

' _...I'll just have to chance it._ '

Hikari pushed against the edge of the box, and focused on using the wind enchantments she typically used for running to propel herself inwards.

Woosh!

Hikari shoots herself through the window and into a support pillar.

Thud.

"A-aah!"

…

She slowly slid off the pillar and onto the floor.

...

' _...Not my best idea._ '

On the upside, no one saw her do that, so she could just brush it off.

Hikari stood from the floor…

"Hey, bro… What was that?"

Her grip on her gohei tightened. ' _I'm not alone, it seems._ '

"I dunno, dude. The air?"

"Bro, bro, bro, you heard that right!?"

Hikari slowly crept around the cylindrical pillar, and made her way near some desks.

"What, the glass? Dude, we break glass all the time. Who cares?"

Looking under the desks, Hikari saw two gimp-suited goons with skateboards walk into the classroom.

"No, it sounded like a girl, bro. Like a girl."

His friend turned towards him. "...Dude. You need to, like, get out more…"

The other gimp jerked his head back. "Bro! I ain't playin'!"

"Don't even try it, dude. Just stop."

The other gimp sighed.

Hikari slowly made her way near the exit of the room, taking care in not producing any sudden or noticeable noises.

The gimps were about to turn around towards the exit.

Hikari tossed an ofuda under the desks, striking the locked door's bottom.

Thunk!

One of them whirled around. "Bro! Didn't you hear that!?"

His friend turned around. "U~gh, du~de… This place is _old_!"

Hikari stood and cautiously stepped towards them.

Only then did she notice the fact her sandals were made of wood.

Clack… clack… clack…

…

One of the gimps whirled around. Jumping back, he pointed at Hikari. "Duhuhuu~de!"

His friend shook his head. "Alright, quit screwing around, what the hell are you-"

Clack clack clack…!

SMAAAA~SH!

Hikari ran up behind the unaware gimp and smashed him across the back of the head.

He fell to the floor like a rock.

The other goon was startled by how fast his friend went down. "Dude, no!"

He brought up his board to defend himself. "I told them! I told them the village had tougher guards! Freakin' assassins! No one listened!"

' _Assassin, huh. I kinda like the sound of that…_ '

Hikari smirked at the skateboard gimp. "Lay down the board… or lay down your life."

' _The only reason I got that to come out well was because it's a quiet room._ '

He shook his fist at Hikari. "N-no way! You're crusin' for a brusin', girl!"

Hikari sighed. ' _It was fun while it lasted. It probably wouldn't be the best idea to make much more noise..._ '

She focused on the skateboard punk.

' _...If only I could make him fall asleep as easily as I did with that child…_ '

Maybe she could, if she put her mind to it.

Hikari squinted at the gimp.

' _...Fall asleep!_ '

Hikari tried Hypnosis α!

…

The skateboard gimp stumbled around, but remained standing.

"Whah… whazah…"

Hikari blinked. ' _...I felt something. Apparently it worked… kinda…_ '

…

While the gimp was trying to become alert again, Hikari brought her gohei up like a baseball bat.

She grinned at the blissfully unaware gimp.

"...Sorry."

SMAAAA~SH!

Thud.

The body dissipated into smoke, another unconscious kid left behind.

Hikari looked to where the body of the other gimp should have been, and saw another unconscious kid.

' _...That takes care of that._ '

Hikari moved towards the school's exit. She pulled the handle and opened the door.

Looking around, she saw the outdoors.

' _Figures it'd be unlocked on the inside._ '

Hikari closed the door, then went across the room to the classroom's exit into the rest of the school.

Opening the door, she found herself in an empty hallway.

' _...I guess I'll go right._ '

Going right, she found another door to the outside.

' _Nevermind, then. Left it is._ '

The hallway went a short distance before it lead to the school's front lobby. There were numerous doors to classrooms on the sides of the halls, but most of them either had unwanted attention or nothing of value in them.

' _Best to ignore anything that'd risk more encounters. I'm looking for a rabbit youkai, here…_ '

Hikari heard a voice coming from the front lobby, one that wasn't a typical gimp's voice.

"Is everyone here yet!?"

Murmuring followed.

...Hikari rounded the corner to the hall segment that led to the front lobby, and she saw someone at the front desk of the main lobby.

There was a girl with rabbit ears.

' _There we are!_ '

Hikari ducked back behind the corner, not wanting to risk being seen.

"I _said_ … is everyone here yet!?" The rabbit girl barked at her audience.

' _I'm going to need to find a way to get near her discreetly…_ '

Hikari backtracked to a broom closet she saw.

' _...This will do._ '

Opening it up, she dug around inside for something she could use to conceal herself. Unfortunately, she was too big for most of the carts and objects in it to be of much, if any, use.

' _...This might be harder than I thought…_ '

There were some maintenance carts in the broom closet, but they weren't anything that would be useful. There was also a clothes rack with janitor uniforms hung up, but Hikari was pretty sure they wouldn't buy a janitor cleaning a school under siege.

' _Come on…_ '

Hikari eyes saw a small, flat board. It wasn't as obnoxious as the skateboards the other gimps had used, and it was not an actual skateboard; it was a creeper board.

' _As far as I'm aware, this school doesn't have any large machinery, nor do the students have any luggage that would justify something like this…_ '

She takes the board, and then examines the broom.

' _...I've got an idea…_ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Using the janitor's suit, the end of a mop, and some dark colored construction paper from a classroom, Hikari had constructed herself a very lackluster gimp suit. She had even made sure to scribble profanities on the creeper board.

' _There's no way this should work, but it'll be funny anyway._ ' Hikari nodded to herself. If the situation got hairy, she could just run down the way she came and exit the school the way she came in.

' _I doubt the skateboarders could handle doors well, anyway._ '

Taking one last moment to make sure everything was set and ready to go, Hikari walked out the door. Most of the classroom doors in the hallway were open now, other gimps having gone to converge in the front lobby that weren't before.

"For the love of… Is this everyone yet!? It's been an _hour_ , already!"

Hikari power-walked towards the lobby.

' _...Should I say something?...I don't think so…_ '

Clack, clack, clack, clack…

As it turns out, there were no boots supplied for janitors, so Hikari was still in sandals. Truly the most punk getup.

The rabbit girl turned to Hikari.

"Wha- you! You're… late…?"

She trailed off, staring at Hikari's state of dress. Hikari's entire torso was covered in a very clumsy tarp made of taped together black and blue construction paper, and she had the end of a mop on her hair. She was holding a board that had 'fuk school' written on it with red crayon.

Hikari grinned sheepishly. "U-uh… I-I'm kinda new here, so…"

"Look, I don't care anymore. You the last one?" The rabbit girl pointed at her.

Hikari nodded.

"Good. Sit down, and shut up."

Walking in, Hikari turned to see a crowd of gimps as the audience.

Murmurs broke out amongst the crowd.

"Dude, when'd we get a girl!?"

"Sweet board, toots!"

"What brand of suit is that!?"

A loud bang was heard at the front desk.

"I said shut up!"

Everyone quickly did as commanded.

Hikari made her way to the crowd. No one was sitting down, because chairs are an academic thing.

She stood next to a pogo punk, who was leaning on his pogo stick.

He turned to Hikari. "...Hey there, baby. After this, wanna go grab a bite to eat?"

Hikari shrugged.

' _No._ '

"Wicked…"

The rabbit girl was fuming.

"What did I just say…"

The pogo punk suddenly stood at attention.

"...Good. Great. Alright, now… let's get down to business."

Everyone's eyes were on the rabbit youkai. Well, a few were on Hikari, but _most_ were on the rabbit.

"It's come to my attention that a miko has showed her face in the village, as expected. Do you all remember what I told you to do to her when you find her?"

All the gimps looked around, as if expecting each other to answer.

"Uhm… boss lady, what's a miko?"

"Are they hot?"

"It's a her!? Du~de, sweet!"

The rabbit girl's head hit the desk.

…

"Um… boss la-"

"Shut up."

She lifted her head up. "Look. There's a girl with _red_ crap on… and _white_ crap on…"

Everyone except Hikari nodded. Hikari got the memo, and nodded a little late.

"...If you see her, kill her."

One of the gimps raised his hand.

"...Yes?"

"Uh… so, she'll be covered in crap, right?"

The gimp next to him nodded. "Yeah, that part kinda confused me too…"

The girl sighed. "...You guys suck. Okay, look, if you see someone wearing red and white, just…"

"Kill them?" The same gimp who answered the question replied.

"Yes. Kill them." She nodded slowly. "...Aside from that, you are free to do whatever you want as long as you attract attention. Do I make myself clear?"

A hula hoop gimp raised his hand.

"...Yes?"

"Excuse me, miss Inaba?" The gimp began.

"I just gave you the go ahead."

"...Ahem, right…" He composed himself. "...I understand the whole 'down with the authority figures' stance we are taking within the village, but I would also like to know why you request that I sound like I failed elementary language courses."

…

A few gimps turned to him.

"...The hell's this dude saying?"

"Dude, I do not even know _what_ you just said."

"What a weirdo…"

'Miss Inaba' sighed. "Just… yeah. Just be painfully stupid like the other idiots, okay? It makes it easier for the both of us."

Her gaze shifted to Hikari. "...And _you_."

Hikari looked around at the gimps around her. '... _Me?_ '

"Yeah, you. What's with that getup?"

Suddenly, the other gimps spoke out.

"Dude, lay off her, man! She's cool!"

"C'mon, don't pick on the girl just 'cause you're not hot!"

"Don't be a lamer, bro. Don't be a lamer…"

'Miss Inaba' scowled. "You… idiots…"

All the gimps quieted down.

"...I _gave_ you life. I can take it _away_ , too."

…

"...Allow me to demonstrate."

She raises her palm to face Hikari.

"Die."

…

Hikari blinked.

…

"...I said die!"

…

The gimps grinned at her.

She suddenly jerked her palm to a random gimp. "Die!"

Poof.

The gimp she pointed at went up in a puff of smoke, the child inside freed.

Thus, everyone was confused… but 'miss Inaba' knew exactly what was going on, now.

' _Uh oh. I think the jig is up…_ '

Suddenly, the rabbit girl leaped onto the counter. Despite being clad in a business suit, she was actually surprisingly short in stature. She was about as short as one of the eight year olds who attended the school.

The gimps backed away from her as she leaped down from the counter and stomped towards Hikari.

Hikari didn't move back with them, though. She braced herself for conflict.

' _...Surely, this couldn't be an overwhelmingly difficult fight…_ '

Hikari knew, though, that when it comes to youkai, size doesn't mean everything.

Suddenly, the rabbit girl jerked forward, and ripped the construction paper gown from Hikari.

The gimps gasped. Underneath that cool suit… was a red and white outfit!

The mop top slid off of Hikari. She slid her gohei out of her shrine maiden outfit. ' _...This situation's a little more enclosed than I'd like it to be, though…!_ '

"Who the _hell_ did you think you were fooling!?" roared the bunny girl.

"...You." Hikari said on impulse.

"Wooaaa~h!" The peanut gallery cheered.

"Shots fired, shots fired!"

"Oh, sna~p!"

"Sick burn!"

Gritting her teeth, the bunny girl finally reached the breaking point.

"...Die!"

Poof.

"Die, die, die, die, die!"

Quickly, the gimps were all getting wiped out. A few tried to lash out at the rabbit, but vanished before they even got close to her.

Before long, all the gimps were returned to children. A few children were awake, and upon seeing the rabbit girl, fled without another word.

Hikari blinked.

' _...I didn't even have to do anything. That just kinda happened._ '

...The rabbit girl pointed at Hikari, panting.

"Hakurei…"

…

"They call me Tewi. My gang calls me Terror Tewi… and I… am _undefeatable_!"

' _...When she had a gang, that is._ '

Hikari brings up her gohei in a combat stance.

Tewi brings out a small knife and a large mallet from seemingly nowhere.

' _...I wonder if I can put her to sleep like-_ '

Hikari is forced to throw herself to the side as Tewi abruptly slides towards her, jabbing her knife at her.

"Hah!" Tewi laughs, jumping away just as fast. "You can't even hit me!"

Tewi strafes to the side, almost as if she was dancing with the way she was moving her arms.

Hikari readies her gohei like a bat, strafing herself.

Suddenly, Tewi slides towards her again for another jab, but Hikari makes sure to get out of the way and swing.

Thunk!

"Gah!"

Tewi ran forward, flailing her mallet behind her and ducking to avoid more hits.

Hikari smirked. ' _...This fight shouldn't be so hard after all._ '

Tewi whirled back around to face Hikari. "Get this!"

She began spinning around rapidly, using the momentum to make a deadly weapon out of her mallet.

' _N-not good!_ '

Hikari ran towards the counter, and ran to the other side of it.

Tewi was forced to stop spinning. "Oh, come on! That's not fair!"

Hikari and Tewi race each other around the counter, with Tewi stopping to point her knife at Hikari every now and then.

The front door to the school bursts open.

"Put your hands in the air!"

Keine rushes onto the scene!

...She stops to watch the interaction infront of her.

"Get back here! Hey, hey! I'm gonna getcha!" Tewi yelled, sliding a little as she ran around the counter after Hikari.

' _...This is going to take a while, isn't it?_ '

Tewi leaped up onto the counter. "Ha~h!"

She jumped off it, mallet in the air. "Raa~gh!"

Hikari moved out of the way.

Bam! The mallet hit the floor.

Hikari awkwardly swung the gohei at Tewi, not expecting to have a moment to do so.

Thwack!

"You-!" Tewi flailed her knife in Hikari's general direction.

"Ah!" Hikari accidently let herself get nicked on the ankle. In a fit of retaliation, Hikari kicked Tewi.

"Agh!" Tewi was jerked to the side. She quickly got back to her feet, using the counter to do so.

"..." Keine wasn't quite sure what to do at this point. She then saw the unconscious children, and moved to help them.

Tewi was panting. "Y-you're going down…!"

She slowly swung both her knife and mallet forward at once, and Hikari took the opportunity to hit her back.

SMAAAA~SH!

Tewi flew onto her back.

"Augh! Damn it…!"

Hikari pointed her gohei at her.

"Tch…" Tewi glared up at her.

…

"You think you've… won?" Tewi smirked. "...You'll see why everyone calls me… Terrifying Tewi!"

' _Didn't she say it was Terror Tewi a few moments ago?_ '

Tewi ripped open the side of her business suit, and then slammed down on a button that was on the inside.

…

Hikari blinked. ' _What was that all-_ '

Boom!

Hikari jumped as the wall behind the counter was blown open, a large machine lurching out through the newly created hole.

"Meet the Tewinator! Mach two!" Tewi's eyes went manic. "You'll never make it out alive!"

The machine was a large, steampunk contraption that ran on two treads. Both 'arms' of the machine ended in two mallet ends. The face was in the likeliness of Tewi, with a large pipe coming from the neck to let out steam.

' _What the hell!?_ '

Hikari backed away from Tewi, who began crawling away towards one of the diverging hallways.

...Fwooosh! A large puff of steam was emitted from the machine. It moved forward and destroyed the front desk.

Hikari looked behind her, but Keine and the children were already gone. ' _No way… I'll have to do this myself…_ '

She contemplated running, but then considered the idea of a large metal machine running loose in the human village.

' _...I'll just have to face it, then._ ' Hikari put on her best brave face, readying her gohei.

...Fwooo! Fwoooo!

The steam pipe whistled, and the machine's treads began spinning unrealistically fast, tearing up the wooden floor.

"Wa~h!"

Hikari pumped wind into her sandals as she leapt away, but the machine clipped her legs as it charged, sending her sprawling.

Thud!

"Aa~gh!"

Hikari quickly scrambled from the floor as the machine turned itself around to face Hikari.

' _W-what am I supposed to do about this!?_ '

Hikari briefly considered her repertoire of skills.

' _...Will this work?_ '

She tossed an ofuda at it.

Tink!

' _...Apparently not…_ '

...Fwoooo~!

The machine's steam pipe sounded off, indicating it was preparing itself for another attack.

' _T-there has to be something…_ '

She couldn't put it to sleep; it wasn't alive in the first place.

She couldn't just throw ofuda at it; it wasn't alive.

' _...W-what else…_ '

Fwooo-Fwooo~!

The machine's torso spun around on its base, and realigned itself to face Hikari.

Fwoosh!

The mallet head on one of the arms shot out on a chain. Hikari felt it pass her arm.

Fwoosh!

Hikari didn't react in time as the other mallet shot out and clipped the arm of hers that held ofuda.

"Aaa~h!"

She flew back into the wall, dropping her ofuda and gohei to clutch her arm. "Ow-ow-ow-ow…!"

ChinkChinkChinkChinkChink…

The mallets were slowly being pulled back into the machine as it lurched along.

"...Ugh…" Hikari stood up with a groan. She picked up her gohei and abandoned the ofuda.

She ran along the side of the machine, and swiped at the side of it.

SMAAAA~SH!

…

Nothing happened.

' _That wouldn't work, would it?_ '

The machine slowly turned to face her.

' _I never thought I'd end up in a battle like this._ '

Fwoooo~!

The machine was building up steam…

' _Stuff like this only happens in novels, doesn't it?_ '

The torso spun around to realign itself, before eventually facing Hikari properly.

' _Things like these… are the stuff of_ _ **fantasy.**_ '

Hikari focused on the metal machine before her.

' _ **Fantasy…**_ '

Hikari tried PK Fantasy α!

Technicolor particles phased in from the room's ceiling, striking the broad surface of the machine before her.

Fizzle!

Once more, the particles phased in from nowhere and struck the machine. Each blow let an echo of colors rebound outward, shaking the entire machine.

Fizzle!

Finally, Hikari focused her entire mind on the machine before her.

Blam!

A colorful psychic wave shot outward, rocking the machine. The torso was forced to spin around from the power that struck it.

' _...So that's... how you do that…_ ' Hikari panted, her vision blurring.

Fwoooo~!...

The machine was still active.

' _...Even after that…!?_ '

…

' _I-I can't stop here!_ '

Hikari tried PK Fantasy α!

The rainbow barrage began again.

Fizzle!

Fizzle!

Hikari used the last of her concentration to focus on the machine.

Blam!

The torso spun around farther this time.

Boom! Boom!

Parts of the machine began exploding. One of the arms fell off, and the mallet of another arm slowly drooped out of it, its chain giving way.

' _I-I think… I did it…_ '

Hikari weakly tossed her gohei at the machine.

Tink!

Kaboom!

The machine exploded, metal parts going everywhere.

"Gufuh!"

A large metal part clipped Hikari, sending her sprawling.

' _I-I… did it…_ '

Hikari smiled, staring up at the school's ceiling. She was lying flat on the floor.

Blam!

The machine kept exploding, but Hikari wasn't paying attention to it.

' _I'm… happy…_ '

…

'...'

Hikari was fast asleep.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

…

' _...We meet again, Keine's guest bed…_ '

Hikari sat up, looking around.

' _I'm not entirely surprised that happened again._ ' Spamming that powerful attack pretty much took everything Hikari had.

She climbed out of bed. ' _...Oh. That was not, infact, Keine's guest bed._ '

Looking around, she determined her location…

' _The school?_ '

Hikari took in the sterile white walls of the school's infirmary.

Walking around, Hikari confirmed she had all her belongings on her, sans the ofuda she dropped during the last battle.

Walking outside, she turned to see that rabbit girl from earlier.

"...H-hey."

' _My voice's incapability knows no bounds. I did just wake up, though._ '

Tewi jumped, turning to Hikari. "A-ah!"

…

"O-oh, hey…" Tewi sighed. "...Look, I don't know what the hell came over me. Hell, I don't even know why I'm in the human village, of all places. I haven't been here since that one party!"

' _That one party. Am I supposed to know what you're talking about?_ '

For all Hikari knew, she was referencing a kid's birthday party. Tewi looked pretty young, after all…

"...I gotta build more robots like those, though. I don't know how I thought it up, but I'll be damned if I don't unleash one of those on Reisen."

' _...Is she talking about that salesbunny who comes to the village every now and again?_ ' Hikari remembered her. That rabbit woman came to the village square every week or so to sell expensive medicines. They talked a few times, for vendor purposes.

"...Hello? You alive?" Tewi waved her hand in front of Hikari's face.

Hikari blinks, coming back to reality. "Y-yeah…"

"...You're a weird kid, y'know that?" Tewi grins. "Weird, but ya got guts."

' _...Thanks, I guess?_ ' Hikari was conflicted on how to feel about that comment.

"...I know I told you earlier, but I wanna do it properly, this time. The name's Tewi Inaba!" Tewi sticks her arm out and gives a thumbs-up. "Prankster extraordinaire!..."

Tewi looked down to the business suit. "...and I hate this suit! How does Reisen wear these all the time!?"

' _Suits are strange._ ' Hikari never saw a reason or purpose to wearing them. ' _Apparently they're a formality in the outside world, but If that's the case, I can't see why they're still worn here sometimes._ ' She always heard weird things about the people from the clinic.

"...Anyway, you're a Hakurei, right? Must be the daughter of Reimu, by the looks of it…" Tewi leans back. "...I wouldn't have guessed it by how you act, though… or by how you fight." She giggles.

Hikari raises a brow. "...What?"

Tewi stops laughing. "...Whadda ya mean, what?"

"What's wrong with the way I fight?" Hikari stared at Tewi.

"Well, if it weren't for those ofuda, I don't think you'd be any good against youkai…" She brought a hand to her chin. "...and last time I checked, whacking things with your gohei only works if you're fighting little kids and idiots!"

Hikari was a little troubled by the truth of these comments. ' _...I-I did do those other things though, and I guess she doesn't really remember much from when she was acting strange…_ '

"I-I'm still in training…" Hikari defends herself.

Tewi blinks. "Wha~? Really? You're, like, as old as your mother was when she went around cracking skulls!"

' _Heard it before._ '

"...Well, whatever. I'm sure you'll turn out fine, kid." Tewi added nonchalantly. "If you're even half like your mother, I'm sure you've got some sort of completely broken ability in your sleeve somewhere."

' _...She's probably not going to be wrong about that._ ' Hikari agreed with her. ' _Still, I can't just take whatever I'm developing for granted. I'm still obviously very incapable of combat…_ ' Ofuda only gets a miko so far, if her mother's proven anything.

Hikari begins to walk off, sensing that the resulting silence meant the end of the conversation.

As she walks off, she feels Tewi's hand rest on her shoulder and stop her.

"Ah?" Hikari turns around.

"...Are you looking for Giant Step?" Tewi asks suddenly.

' _Looking for what, now?_ ' Hikari tilts her head.

"...There's like, three things I remember from when I was going insano. One: kill the Hakurei, you. Two: that sweet robot, and three: stop the Hakurei from reaching Giant Step. I'm gonna take a wild guess here and say the real source of the incident here is at Giant Step." Tewi explains.

' _...Someone's_ seriously _out to ruin my day, apparently._ ' Hikari determines.

"...Now uh, here's the kicker." Tewi giggles sheepishly. "I dunno where Giant Step even is."

' _Oh. Well, great. Thanks._ '

Hikari now at least knew the name of… some place.

' _What do I care about that place again?_ ' Hikari searched her memory…

…

' _...Wasn't there eight places I had to find, or something?_ ' Hikari furrowed her brows. ' _...Hmm._ '

Hikari took out her sound stone, and Tewi stared at it with her.

"...Nice rock. Good luck on finding Giant Step, and all that." Tewi began to walk off.

Hikari stopped to consider saying thanks, but then thought against it. ' _Probably would be awkward, all things considered._ '

Hikari began to backtrack through the school, making her way to the outside.

Opening the door, she walked out into the bright, sunny, day.

The wind blew in her hair, prompting her to take a deep breath.

' _...Time to ask around, then._ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Hikari's first stop was, of course, Keine. Both because it wouldn't be entirely awkward, and also because if anyone knew of anything magical around the village's perimeter, it was Keine.

' _As it turns out, it became entirely awkward._ '

Hikari and Keine were in the latter's house, having a meet and greet.

"Are you hurt? I couldn't find you in the school after that explosion- is everything alright?" Keine asked, already examining Hikari like a worried mother.

' _Yeah, I was hurt. Mostly exhaustion, though. Not that I'll tell her that, any-_ '

Keine lifted the side of Hikari's shirt, and saw a big bruise. She gasped. "What? W-where did you get this?"

Hikari sighed. "The _one_ injury you find, and it's the _one_ time that giant robot hit me."

Keine raised a brow. "Giant robot? Wait… _you_ fought that thing!?" Keine's worry levels were intensifying…!

' _Crap._ ' Hikari scratched the back of her head. "It, uh… wasn't a big deal. It was unstable anyway."

' _Yeah. Unstable._ '

Keine put her hands on her hips. "I don't know…"

Hikari stared tiredly at Keine.

"...I'll take your word for it, then. At least you came out okay." Keine answered, not entirely convinced.

"Look," Hikari began. "I came here to ask you something."

"...What, now?" Worrying was not good for Keine's health.

"...Do you know of a place called Giant Step?" Hikari popped the question.

Keine paused. Then, she furrowed her brows. "...Giant Step, Giant Step… I can't say it rings any bells." She shakes her head.

"It should be a magical site near the village, or something." Hikari elaborates.

"Magical site near the village…?" Keine blinks, then moves towards a shelf. "...I have some documentation on nearby magical sites. You see, there are _many_ things that can be classified as magical sites near the village. This is Gensokyo, after all, so it's only natural."

She flips through some folders in one drawer before moving onto a different one.

"...Well, there's nothing named Giant Step specifically, bu~t…" Keine pulls out a folder. "It's something that fits the name."

She spreads the folder out onto the counter. There's a bunch of complicated documents inside.

"You see, the village _did_ do some documentation on nearby magical anomalies. It stopped when the board that managed it started defining everything as a magical anomaly… like a giant footprint in the ground that, for all we know, was left by Suika or something…" Keine sighed. "Here's the document on 'a large magically dubious footprint in the dirt', as the board had dubbed it. It's about as magical as a normal sized one."

' _...Well, I got my answer._ '

Keine glanced at Hikari, and smiled. "Oh, look at me rambling on, again. Giant Step is actually in the forests near the Hakurei Shrine… leading me to believe that Suika did create it, or something."

Hikari nodded. "Thanks."

"By the way…" Keine began, before Hikari could even begin to walk away. "Where did you hear of it from? If I could hardly find documentation on it, then…"

Hikari shrugged. "Reasons."

Keine glared at her.

"...I stand by my reasons." Hikari reasserted herself.

"...Alright, go on, then. I won't stop you." Keine sighed again.

Hikari quickly made herself scarce.

"...I can't decide whether she is or isn't like her mother, at this point…" Keine rubs her forehead.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

"Be safe, out there!" The guard sees Hikari off as she marches down the path.

' _...My mother's shrine is to the right somewhere, so…_ ' Hikari promptly marches into the brush and stuff. It was significantly easier than in the summer because it was fall right now, and all the leaves were gone already.

The guard furrowed his brows.

"...The hell?" He shook his head. Did that miko just walk off into the forest for seemingly no reason? Hakurei sure were weird…

…

Meanwhile, Hikari was still exploring.

' _...There's not a lot interesting going on out here…_ ' she noted.

Hikari decided she was far enough from the village, and began sprinting, letting the wind guide her.

Fwoo~sh!

She quickly covered more ground, uncaring of the fact some of the brush scraped her legs here or there.

Woosh! Hikari dodged to the left, avoiding a tree.

She just had to make sure to avoid trees, since those you kinda can't run through and just ignore.

Woosh!

…

After awhile of doing that, she was deep into the forest behind her home. She had passed the side of the Hakurei hill, as she dubbed it, and had passed the meteorite from earlier.

' _...Thanks for the help, Keine. 'near the shrine' helps a lot when there's a lot of forest I could call 'near the shrine'._ '

…Hikari stopped running to rest for a bit.

"Hahh… hahh… hahh…"

...As she was resting, her eyes were drawn to some not-so-subtle ants marching out of the brush. They were bigger than normal ants, and looked like they were made of candy instead of anything biological. They were probably the size of a small chicken.

' _...That's interesting._ ' Hikari noted.

"Ebadebadabe!" Ant A exclaimed in a tinny voice.

"Ebadababeba!" Ant B was angry.

They slowly marched towards Hikari.

' _...What?_ '

"Eeeee!"

Ant A shot a very slow, solid laser in Hikari's direction. She quickly looked up at it, and stepped aside.

"Eeebaah!"

Ant B wiggled its antennas around.

Ant B tried PSI Lifeup α!

…

Ant A's health was already in perfect condition.

'Must be some form of lesser youkai…' Hikari figured. She reached for her ofuda…

'... _What!?_ '

She had forgotten her ofuda at the school!

Stepping back, she readied her gohei. ' _Guess I'll have to do this the hard way, then…_ '

She runs up to Ant A with her gohei, and slams down with it as if she were hitting a mouse with a broom.

Thunk!

"Eeyyaah!"

The ant sat on the floor, half-squashed and sad.

"Eeeee!"

Hikari began strafing as a slow, solid laser made its way towards her.

"Hah!" Hikari lept forward and slammed her gohei down on the second ant.

Thunk!

"Eueuugh…"

…

Hikari rose from the floor, dusting herself off.

' _I don't think I needed to use that much force…_ '

She stretched. "...Hnnngh…"

' _...I may have accidentally killed those youkai._ ' Hikari looked at the obliterated ants. One was blatantly annihilated, but the first one was just sad.

' _Oops._ ' ...She didn't think anyone would notice. Or care.

She walked off, leaving the sad ant to its devices, and went further into the back woods.

' _If I go any further, I'll probably just end up in the plains leading to the other woods._ ' There was a large, uninteresting plain behind the Hakurei woods, and behind that was the Youkai Forest which lead up to Youkai Mountain.

Y'know, home of youkai.

' _The youkai better call it something different themselves, or they suck at names._ '

…

Hikari scrunched her face when she realized 'Hakurei Woods' is an equally unimaginative name.

…

Before long, she reached the edge between the forest and the plains.

' _Time to turn back around._ '

Hikari turned around and decided to trail along the edge of the woods for a good entry point.

' _...This is taking awhile…_ '

Hikari then saw a light somewhere in the woods.

' _...?_ '

It vanished quickly, but Hikari's eyes locked on where it was.

' _I don't need Hakurei intuition to help me, now._ '

She continued in the direction the light was, in the woods.

…

Hikari eventually came to the hot springs set up behind the shrine.

' _...I've just come full circle, haven't I?_ '

Technically, Hikari was back home, even if the hot springs were pretty disconnected from the main shrine.

She heard sloshing in the hot spring.

"Aaaa~h…"

Peeking out from behind a tree, Hikari saw her mother.

…

' _New objective: find a way to go without being seen, or it might be awkward._ '

"Cowabunga, ze~!"

Splash!

"...Maa~risa~!" Reimu yelled.

' _...Well, there we go._ '

Directly next to the hotspring was a cave from which part of the water emerged from, flowing into it. Hikari quickly power walked towards it, and went inside, making sure she was just quiet enough to not be heard.

' _...I was undetected!_ ' Hikari smiled happily. ' _Now I don't have to explain everything that happened so far!_ '

Hikari continued into the cave…

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

' _...Now where am I?_ '

Hikari wandered through the cave, and aside from a few of the extremely inept ant youkai, there wasn't much for Hikari to be worried about.

The cave wasn't expansive, but it still felt big. There were numerous diversions and offshoots that lead nowhere. 

She trudged up an incline in the cave, and as she reached the top, she saw what looked like a path out of the cave, except it only lead to more black.

"This is your first 'Your Sanctuary' location." a flat voice stated from somewhere.

' _W-what the hell…?_ '

Hikari looked around, looking for the source of the voice.

"But it's mine now." it continues, smugly.

' _Okay…?_ '

"Come and take it from me… if you _dare_." The voice got nasally near the end, and suddenly a flash of light blinded Hikari…

' _W-woah!_ '

…

Once the light faded, Hikari blinked as her vision readjusted.

Before her was a really big ant, for some reason. It was bigger than her, and walking on its hindlegs.

' _...Okay. Sure._ '

"I… am the guardian… of Giant Step." the large ant announced. "I am your first obstacle, Hakurei, right in your own home."

' _I don't necessarily consider an oversized ant an obstacle of any sort. What will he do, fire a larger laser?_ ' Hikari was not very intimidated by the Titanic Ant.

Hikari aimed her gohei at it. "Look, just stand down. I've ki- uh, _beat up_ a few other ants on the way here."

' _I don't think telling it I accidentally killed its brethren would do well for its mood._ '

"You think you can squish _me_?" The ant grinned.

' _You said it, not me._ '

"Hakurei, I'll break you first!"

The ant stomped towards Hikari in an endearingly unrealistic manner.

' _What._ '

Hikari stepped back deeper into the cave as the ant marched after her.

"You're not escaping from me, Hakurei!"

It lunged forward for a biting attack, forcing Hikari to flinch away, flailing her arms in surprise.

"Wha-!?" Hikari was taken by surprise by the ant's ferocity!

The ant reeled its head back, and continued cartoonishly stomping towards Hikari.

' _Not letting it do that again…!_ '

Whack!

Hikari took the moment to whack it in the shin.

"Ebeba!" It yelped akin to its ant brethren. "You are as strong as the generals said, Hakurei!"

' _Generals? Ants have_ generals _?_ '

Then again, these were youkai ants. Petrifying.

"However, your strength will prove useless against my titanic might!"

Titanic Ant tried Shield α!

The Titanic Ant was protected by a shield of light!

"Recognize it? It is the power of the Hakurei!" The Titanic Ant gloats. "My prolonged life and newfound powers on these holy grounds have granted me power similar to the Hakurei mikos of present and old!"

…

Hikari moved towards it and whacked it again.

Whack!

"Eeehh…" The ant still flinches, but noticeably less than before. "...Your efforts are futile, Hakurei!"

The ant walks forward slowly, lunging at Hikari repeatedly as it did so. Hikari tried to whack it back, but one of the lunges surprised her and it sunk two pincers into her stomach.

"Aa-aaauugh!" Hikari wailed at the sudden stinging sensation the impalement brought.

The ant quickly retracted its pincers. Blood flowed from Hikari's new wounds.

"Hehahaha!" The ant laughed. "You will be defeated right here, Hakurei!"

Hikari focused on her wounds.

' _T-that was bad…It hurts..._ '

Hikari tried PSI Lifeup α!

…

The wounds on Hikari's stomach healed slowly!

The ant jerked its head back. "What!? That was no power of the Hakurei! You are but a fraud!"

' _Can this thing just shut up?_ '

"Allow me to end this!"

Titanic Ant tried PSI Magnet α!

A wave of purple rectangles travel along the floor and ceiling towards Hikari. Reaching her, they overlay her form.

' _W-what… is this…?_ ' Hikari felt her stamina draining.

The attack ended.

"Hahahah! Now you cannot use any more psychic attacks, human child!" The ant gloated. "Now you must allow me to consume you!"

' _Only in fantasy would villains be this cheesy…_ ' Hikari grinned at the ant's cringe worthy manner of speaking. Her eyes shut abruptly.

Hikari tried PK Fantasy α!

Drops of technicolor energy phase into the cave's walls, striking the Titanic Ant.

Fizzle!

"Ebabada~gh!"

The process repeats, and the ant shields against the previous barrage's direction. The new barrage comes from the opposite direction. The drop's impacts echo off the ant and the cave's surfaces, as if flowing like water.

Fizzle!

"Ebaahaa~h!"

Hikari snapped her eyes open.

Boom!

A wave of power rocked the Titanic Ant to its core, sending it sprawling.

"Ebada!"

…

The ant slowly got up, its figure shaking.

The shield of light disappeared!

"...H-human…" The ant began lowly.

Hikari, drowsy and shaking, readied her gohei.

' _I-I can't stop now…_ '

In truth, her use of that move took her entirely by surprise. She hadn't even thought of using it, she just did, and it felt right.

' _...I don't know why that happened. It wasn't very strategically viable at that moment…_ '

"I now realize that you… are the one I need to destroy." The ant stated.

' _Do you, now? Did the clothes give it away?_ ' Hikari deadpanned to herself.

"Prepare… to die!"

The ant lethargically stumbles towards Hikari, who brings up a lazy, half-guarded guard.

"Hrragh!" The ant lunges forward.

Hikari stumbles out of the way as the ant slowly snaps forward towards her.

"N-no!" Hikari protests, her voice strained. She brings her gohei down on the ant's head.

Bonk!

The ant was only annoyed by the weak strike. "Come… on…!"

It slowly turns around, and Hikari takes the moment to hit it in the shin.

Bonk!

"Ebaa~!" It yelped, stumbling back. It suddenly lost its balance and headbutted Hikari as it went down.

"Guh!"

Thud, thud.

The two fell to the floor.

…

"Like this… I'll finish you!" The ant now crawled around like an ant normally should, except it did so drowsily. If Hikari were standing up and watching it, she'd call the ant drunk.

Titanic Ant tried Defense Down α!

A wave of blue light washed over Hikari.

Hikari's defense dropped!

' _I-I feel so weak…_ '

Hikari rolled onto her side, facing the oncoming ant.

' _I-I want to go to bed…_ '

Hikari tried PSI Hypnosis α!

…

A wave of energy flowed outward from the Titanic Ant. It stopped crawling towards Hikari…

It fell asleep!

…

"T-that... works." Hikari said aloud, and allowed herself to release a breath she didn't know she was holding.

...Sitting still for a few moments, she slowly got up. Her legs and arms trembled uncontrollably.

' _I feel so defenseless…_ '

"Ebebebe…" The ant slowly stirred.

Hikari turned to the ant as it slowly woke up. ' _N-no! I can't! I can't fight anymore!_ '

Panicking, she runs up to the Titanic Ant and starts flailing wildly at it.

Thwack! Whack! Bap!

The ant started frantically scrabbling forward, alarmed by the sudden barrages of attacks as it was just waking up.

' _Get down! Stay down!_ '

...If one were to stumble upon this sight, they'd see a dirtied and cut up miko chasing around a large, metallic ant and weakly beating it with a stick.

The ant continued scrambling forward until it reached a wall with which to support itself as it stood again.

"H-human…"

Whack!

"Ebeh…"

Hikari panted loudly. "Haa~h… Haa~h…"

"Y-you are at your… Human limit…"

' _I-I could really use a bottle of water right now… Anything, r-really…_ '

"T-the Hakurei always… looked down… on youkai like, a-ah… I…" The ant struggled to get out its words.

' _Probably for good reason…_ '

"...A-and here I am, on the brink from some… Human child…"

Whack!

It flinched violently. "...W-would you cut that out!?"

Hikari glared as hard as she could at the youkai.

"Tell me… Is every human child this strong?"

' _Yeah. Totally._ '

…

Hikari stopped to contemplate how odd her unexplained powers were, but she shook it off.

' _Now's not the time for that…_ '

Hikari looked up at the ant.

"...Yeah."

It shook its head. "...I-I really stood no chance… did… I?"

Hikari shook her head.

…

The ant attempted to lunge forward at her, but fell onto its side.

' _...Well. That's sad._ '

"...I'd kill you if I had the chance." It spoke from the floor.

' _Nevermind._ '

Hikari stood over it, readying her gohei…

The ant silently resigned itself to its fate.

SMAAAA~SH!

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Hikari lethargically stumbled her way out the door of the cave she worked her way up to. It was open now, light pouring into the cave from it.

Coming out into the clearing, she looked around. She was on the top of the more minor hill next to the Hakurei Shrine's hill, this one accompanying the hot spring.

This portion of the hill, however, was an indent. A few scattered trees stood on the upper walls, all of which were too steep to climb, making this place seem like a bad idea to go for most people.

...Unless you could fly, like the majority of Gensokyo's populace.

' _It's times like these I-..._ '

She was cut off as she looked into the center of the clearing.

' _...!?_ '

Hikari sees a vision of a small, snuggable turtle.

' _...Huh. That's nice._ '

Walking forward, her eyes lock on the imprint in the Earth in front of her, as the image of the turtle fades away.

' _...It's a large foot print…_ '

She had found Giant Step.

…

' _...Now what?_ '

She stared at the footprint in the ground for awhile.

' _...I still feel like crap, and… there's nothing obviously magical about this place from just looking at it…_ '

Her head twitched as she realized something.

' _What did that crazy bee want me to do with this…?_ '

Hikari took out the Sound Stone.

' _...Still looks like some cheesy antique from a gift shop._ '

...She held it up to her ear.

' _Why did I think this would work?_ '

She brushed it by her forehead when changing ears.

Hikari swore she heard a noise.

' _...?_ '

She brought it back to her forehead, and stopped it there.

"H-huh…?"

She heard a melody play.

 _A gentle breeze rolled through Giant Step, caressing the indent in the hill…_

…

…

...

A beat continued to play after the first few notes, but no more actual music continued to be produced by the stone.

' _It… feels like the world's heartbeat…_ '

Hikari felt the breeze wash over her face, and through her hair.

She blinked.

' _...I feel fine, now._ '

...Sitting down on the grass, Hikari made herself at home.

' _It's like I never left home. What… is this place?_ '

Maybe that bee wasn't as crazy as she thought.

Hikari walked along the sides of the walling that boxed in this small section of plain. She felt nostalgic as she did so, even though she had no recollection of ever coming up here before. She'd explored the Hakurei Woods with her mother before, plenty of times, but seldom did they ever explore caves… or climb this hill, for that matter.

' _...I can't stay here for too long, though…_ '

She had to leave home, earlier. Leaving this place wouldn't be any different.

…

Hikari exited through the cave she came in.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Reimu stared at the cave's entrance as rainbow light flashed out of it.

"...What the hell's going on in there?"

Marisa looked up at the flashing cave entrance. The flashing stopped soon after.

"...I dunno, ze. I don't really feel like getting out to check it out."

Reimu had to agree. "Yeah. It can wait."

…

"Miss me?" Alice slipped into the hot spring.

"Ohio, Alice!" Marisa enthusiastically greets her. 

Reimu sighed, waiting for either a lover's quarrel to soon erupt, or for them to get lovey-dovey and make everything awkward.

"He~y!"

Reimu sighed again, in relief. If Sanae was here, those two would be less likely to molest each other in front of her…

Sanae walked in, and quickly slid into the hot spring. "Aa~h!... That's great…"

…

Suddenly, a bunch of large ants fled from one of the caves where water flowed from.

"Ebadebaebada!"

"Ariba! Ariba!"

They all fled in the opposite direction of the shrine, apparently running _from_ the hills.

"...Okay." Reimu decided to ignore that.

"Yeah. I agree." Marisa knew her well…

"What was that all about…?" Alice furrowed her brows at the cave's entrance.

"Did you hear those sounds? So cute!" Sanae cheered.

…

Hikari stepped from the cave, walking through the shallow stream of warm water.

' _Those ants had better be scared. They're literally incapable of stopping me as I am now._ ' Hikari smiled, proud of herself.

' _...How many more of those supposed 'magical sites' did I need to visit again?_ ' Hikari cursed herself for not taking notes.

"H-Hikari?"

"There she is! Toldja she'd show up sooner or later, Reimu-ze!"

'... _Crap._ ' Hikari froze. She was spotted!

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

END OF CHAPTER 1

Protagonist: Hikari Hakurei, Disciple of Paradise

-Inventory-

Weapon: Hand-me-down Gohei - Ability to whack stuff really hard. Critical hits enabled.

Arms: Iconic Hakurei Arm Sleeves - Keeps arms warm. A Hakurei tradition. How they stay on is a Hakurei family secret.

Body: Nothing

Misc: Nothing

-Skills-

Attack: Quickly! Swing your gohei at them for massive damage!

PK Fantasy α - Bombards the enemy with pain in the form of flashing colors. Deals magical damage.

PK Hypnosis α - Puts weak enemies to sleep for a short time. Works better on tired or exhausted foes.

PSI Lifeup α - Heals target a little.

Ofuda Toss - Throw a holy ofuda that does massive holy elemental damage to youkai and dark elemental foes. Effect lessens the more holy the thing you're attacking is, to the point of healing holy things. Only works if you actually have ofuda, though!

α-α-α-α

Author's Note:

huhuheey

welcome to die, part 2

srsly thou welcome friends

we got HIKARI IN THE HOUSE YO castin' PK FANTIZZLE- okay i'll stop

that's GIANT STEP done, and it only took me like a week to write it… (cough i work slow cough)

anyhow, fun times friend ahead

… it'll take a lot longer for the other places, i'm sure

if i haven't mentioned it yet, my normal proof reader's not interested in this fic, so i've got a other fella doin' some proofreading and idea suggestin' / checkin' on it.

yeah i've got me some connections

...i've also got me some enemies! yeah, there's that review up there that's a carbon copy of the same reviews from FREAKIN GENSOKYO that bashed me for seemingly no constructive reason

which is normally fine by me but i now know it's some guy who actually knows me and is all butthurt about some childish disagreement, which makes it a different story from mindless internet flame wars

no one needs the details on that; anyone with the mind to understand my work has the mind to see truth from deception

also, is the action okay? does it seem too ex-machina-y, or too "oh but at the last second HIKARI DID DIS HOH HOH HOH"-ish? that's kinda hard to avoid considering earthbound's narrative was just cheesy like that; it was never meant to be taken too seriously in the first place

grains of salt, everyone, grains of salt

...that's enough running my mouth

see you all next time!


	3. Hakurei Fight Night 2016: Starring Noobs

Hikari sat at the bar counter her mother had set up in the shrine, with a glass of orange juice.

' _I should have spent some time thinking of what I'd tell her…_ '

Marisa downed another mug of sake. She was already halfway through it.

' _Who drinks sake from a mug?_ '

"...Isn't it a little early to be doing that?" Alice reprimanded her.

"...Yeah!" Marisa agreed, and kept drinking it anyway.

Alice sighed.

Reimu shrugged, having been the one who served Marisa.

Hikari looked around at some familiar faces.

' _Sanae, Alice, Marisa, Mom…_ '

She didn't notice the other party-goers, though. They must have left earlier, or something. She was out long enough, anyway.

Hikari took a sip of her orange juice.

' _Aaa~hhh… Nothing beats a glass of this after a day of chores… or crazy quests, in this instance._ '

Mostly one in the same, anyway. Except for the whole 'nearly died numerous times' bit.

Her mother approaches the adjacent space behind the counter to her.

"...Where exactly have you been today, Hikari? It's not like you to just rush off for an entire day…" Reimu questioned her daughter.

' _...I expected this question, but still don't have an answer._ '

"...I-it's a long story." Hikari nodded.

' _...Well, it actually is._ '

Reimu stared at her daughter for a moment, then sighed. "...It's fine if you don't want to tell me just yet. I know you like your privacy, and everything…"

' _Well, there's that._ ' Hikari sheepishly thought to herself. ' _There's also the fact my story would make absolutely no sense so far._ '

Sanae suddenly came up from behind and hugged Hikari. "Ooo~h, Reimu, your daughter is so~ cute!"

' _Yeah, this was gonna happen._ ' That was just how Sanae rolled.

"You can tell me, wi~ght, Hikawi?" Sanae giddily questioned.

' _I'm not a pet!_ '

Hikari struggled against Sanae's embrace, and broke free!

Sanae blinked. "W-woah! That was fast…"

Marisa giggled. "You're getting _o~ld_ , Sanae!"

"S-shut up!"

Hikari smiled. ' _Well, this hasn't changed one bit._ '

Reimu tapped on the counter, and Hikari looked over to her. She handed her daughter a list.

"...Those were today's chores, but since most of the day is gone anyway, you can save them for tomorrow. They're nothing of importance, just some errands at the village that I don't feel like taking care of myself."

' _Trust me, I already did a couple engaging errands the other day…_ '

Hikari sipped her orange juice again.

…

"How's dad?" Hikari asked while the other women were off causing a commotion amongst each other.

"He's doing well." Reimu smiles. "He wanted me to give you a new years present."

' _It better be a really big hammer, or a sword. I'm probably gonna need one…_ '

Reimu takes out a pouch, and hands it to Hikari.

...Hikari opens it to find 5000 Yen!

' _That works too._ ' Hikari was fine with cash prizes. Maybe she could get her gohei temporarily enchanted at the temple or something…

' _Or buy snacks. I think I'll buy snacks with this when I get the chance._ '

Reimu chuckles. "I take it you like it?"

Unbeknownst to Hikari, her own eyes had practically lit up like danmaku particles.

"Y-yeah…"

Thuds were heard nearby.

Hikari turned to see Marisa and Sanae had gotten into a tussle of sorts, with Alice standing off to the side, looking displeased.

"I shall feel the softness!" Marisa exclaimed boldly.

"N-not unless I feel yours first!"

It was, in fact, a groping competition.

Reimu slammed her hands down on the counter. "Hey, hey, hey! Not in front of Hikari, you dopes!"

Marisa paused in the middle of the skirmish. "...Aww, c'mon, Reimu-ze… Hikari's like, eighteen! She should be over here doing this instead of me!"

Alice glowered at her partner. "And someone your age shouldn't still be using 'like' as a filler word."

"It's a free country." Marisa argued. "Sue me."

"Maybe I will…" Alice grinned.

Reimu shook her head. "Aah- Hikari, look, maybe you should…"

Hikari had the perfect idea to resolve this.

She focused on the three other women, and concentrated…

' _I don't really care what they do, as tiring as that last excursion was…_ '

Hikari tried Hypnosis α!

Energy rippled only around Marisa.

Alice paused. "W-what…?"

Sanae's mouth was ajar. "Whaa~?..."

Marisa blinked. "What's go-...going…"

Thud. Marisa was asleep!

' _So it only targets one person at a time. Hmph._ '

…

Alice stared down at the unconscious ordinary mage. "...What happened there, exactly?"

Sanae sat up and shrugged. "Tuckered herself out, I guess…"

Reimu blinked, then looked to her daughter, who noticeably didn't react with surprise to the occurrence.

…

"I suppose… I'll carry her to the guest room, then." Alice resolved, going to lift Marisa.

"Here- let me help…" Sanae moved to help.

With that, the two women got their human mage friend up and worked together to move her somewhere else.

…

Reimu eyed her daughter. "...Do you know what that was all about?"

' _Heh heh heh…_ '

"U-uh… A little? I don't know?"

' _Graceful._ '

Reimu rolled her eyes. "I'll take that as a no."

' _That makes things easy, for now._ '

…

Hikari got up, taking her orange juice with her, and went to her room.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

' _Eight melodies, huh…_ '

Hikari finally remembered the bees' specific words. The eight melodies of Gensokyo…

' _Or something._ '

She looked out her window, still recalling the path she took to that meteorite earlier.

...Sip.

' _...I should probably go about my business in the town right now. I have the money to do so, anyway._ '

Hikari readied herself to leap out the window again, but paused…

' _I should probably finish my orange juice first._ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Hikari came up to the gate to the village.

"Halt! No trespassing! Who are you!?" The guard points his spear at Hikari.

"E-easy there!" Hikari leapt back.

"Identify yourself, youkai!"

Hikari blinked. ' _Either people instantly recognize me as mom's daughter, or they don't even recognize the shrine maiden getup. I don't get it._ '

Suddenly, a piercing howl was heard near them.

' _A-another dog!?_ '

Hikari's guess proved correct as another stray dog threw itself towards her from the bushes.

SMAAAAA~SH!

Hikari swung on instinct, and sent the dog flying down the opposite end of the path.

…

"...N-no way…" The guard stepped back from the miko. "W-with a gohei…?"

Hikari turned towards him, smug. "Hikari. Hikari Hakurei."

He snapped to attention. "H-Hakurei, yes! Right in, go!"

As the guard scrambled out of the way, Hikari proceeded into the village.

' _Less troublesome than expected, at least._ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Walking through the village, Hikari eventually reached the town square…

' _Candy, candy, candy…_ '

She did a full three-sixty in the middle of the square.

' _Where are the candy stalls? There's usually at least one…_ '

She pauses as a frazzled looking bunny woman passes her.

' _That must be, uh… Raisen? Risen? Reisen. It was Reisen…_ '

Hikari didn't know her very well, if that needed to be said.

...She was still curious about the candy stalls, though. She approached the bunny.

The bunny girl had moved into an empty stall, the one big corner stall she usually took regularly, and was beginning to set up shop.

Hikari tapped against the counter with her gohei.

Reisen looked up at her. "R-Reimu?"

Hikari shook her head.

"...A-ah, you must be Hikari. I'm setting up shop right now, so if you could come back-"

"W-wait…" Hikari clumsily interrupted Reisen. "I-I was just wondering if you knew where the town's candy stalls were at the moment."

' _...I just realized how juvenile that sounded._ '

Reisen shrugged.

' _...Not like I'll meet her much more, anyway. She'll probably forget about me in like a day or two…_ '

Hikari began walking off, but Reisen called out for her. "W-wait!"

' _What?_ '

Hikari turned back to her.

"...I-If you could help me set up, that would be greatly appreciated…"

Hikari didn't see why not. "Sure."

She entered the stall, and examined a plethora of things that needed to be done.

"M-master wants me to put up all these decorations for it, even if I'll only be out here a day…"

' _Not a lot I can do there. Without flying, decorating the upper portions of the stall would be too troublesome to bother with._ '

"I can do some of the lower decorations…" Hikari offered.

Reisen nods. "Alright, here-" She pulls a large box from around the counter. "...If you've seen the stall before, I don't think I'll need to explain where most of them go."

Hikari nods.

…

After a moment, Reisen goes to dig through another, equally large box. Hikari nears hers and begins to dig through the decorations.

' _...Alright, I think I know how this is going to go…_ '

Hikari drags the box outside with her. Most of the decorations were a sterile blue, as they usually were. Some red crosses were on key pieces.

Hikari furrowed her brows. ' _...I didn't see some of these pieces before…_ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Hikari looked unsure of her final product.

' _...Kinda glad I didn't do the top bits._ ' Hikari didn't know how she was supposed to attach blue countertops to already existing wooden countertops. She was a shrine maiden in training, not a carpenter.

...Therefore, she did what she could with some super glue. It came with the box, and was meant for the smaller papercrafts, but…

' _...Well, it came in handy… somewhat._ '

…

One of the plastic blue side plates fell off.

' _Maybe I should have actually used the hammer and the nails… or the pressy-nail-tool-thing._ '

Hikari didn't have much experience with power tools.

She looked around for Reisen, who had apparently gone elsewhere at the moment.

' _...Wasn't she…_ '

Hikari looks around, confused.

' _...Maybe I should leave before she gets back. I think I uh, got it started for her good enough…_ '

Innocently, Hikari weaves through the villagers on the main path and flees from the disaster zone.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Approaching Keine's house, Hikari sighed to herself.

' _Crossing my fingers that I never meet Reisen again…_ ' She surely wasn't happy after that stand thing.

Opening the door, she lets herself into Keine's house.

Keine, who was at the main table again, jerked her head to look at Hikari. "...Ah, you're back. Did you find Giant Step alright?"

Hikari nods. "Yeah."

"Good…" Keine smiled. "I suppose you got what you were looking for?"

"Mmm…" Hikari nodded again.

Keine turned back to the layout of the village on the main table.

It was at this moment Hikari remembered what she came to the village in the first place for.

"...Keine, do you know where the town's candy stalls are today?"

She turned to Hikari. "...I don't know, actually. I think they're all closed for today because of recent events."

' _What!?_ ' "Ah…"

...Keine went back to examining the map. Hikari still couldn't tell the details of it from a glance.

' _...I suppose I should go through with that enchanting thing, then._ '

"...I'm going to the temple." Hikari announces, heading for the door.

Keine pauses, and reaches out towards Hikari. "Hold on. Isn't it a little late to be doing things?"

...Keine wasn't wrong. The sun was going down now…

"...Alright." Hikari reluctantly agrees.

She moves back towards the depths of the house.

"You can stay here the night, if you want." Keine offers.

"Sure." Hikari accepts.

' _It's rather novel to sleep in different beds…_ '

Moving into the guest room, Hikari plops down on the covers.

"Ha~h..."

' _I should have lied down sooner…_ '

…

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

' _Hello? Hello?_ '

Hikari focused on the thoughts that weren't her own.

' _Can you hear me? I'm a friend you haven't met yet!_ '

Hikari attempts to respond, but she is unable.

' _...Okay, that sounds pretty stupid, I know, but hear me out! I'm-_ '

The thoughts stop.

…

They resume. ' _Help me out here! I know if anyone can do it, it's you, girlie! Again, I'm in-_ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Hikari's eyes flutter open.

' _...Well, that was something._ '

She didn't know how to feel about that dream.

Crawling from the bed, Hikari found herself re-energized.

' _Now to finally get that enchantment…_ '

She wasn't sure what she was expecting, but she was confident it'd be worth the five thousand yen she was willing to spend in one place.

Hikari eagerly booked it for the front door.

"H-hey, don't you want to stay for-"

The door slammed shut.

"...Breakfast?" Keine blinked.

Hikari slowed down now that she was out of the house. ' _I really just want to get going, here…_ '

She power-walked to the western edge of the village with no further interruptions… until she reached the west gate.

She found that, for whatever reason, it was both guarded _and_ shut.

' _It's usually one or the other, not that I actually take this path often._ '

Myouren Temple was not a place Hikari frequented.

She approached one of the guards.

He turned to her. "Look, miss, there's kind of an incident going down outside this gate at the moment. We're gonna have to keep it closed for public safety reasons- I'm sure you understand, right?"

Hikari blinked. ' _...Does he just choose to ignore the outfit, or what?_ '

"Hakurei business." Hikari tried the authority angle.

"Public safety business, miss. Take it or leave it." The guard sassed her.

' _...Annoying._ '

"Look, look…" He put his arms up compromisingly. "I don't make the rules. I just enforce 'em. You can talk with the captain about this. I'm just doing my job."

"I'm a shrine maiden." Hikari extends her arms.

The guard extends his arms in return. "Look- there's nothing I can do! Captain Man- he'll talk it over with ya."

' _Captain Man._ ' Hikari mentally groaned at the unfortunate nature of the captain's name.

"...Where do I find him?" Hikari's hands went to her hips.

"...He'll be over in the captain's shed, over to uh…" He squints, and holds his hand to the right. "Go down that wall a ways, and take a left into the third door."

' _But your hand is gesturing to… nevermind…_ '

Hikari proceeds to the third door on the left in the wall.

She pauses. ' _A shed… in a wall._ '

Turning around, she instead makes for the actual shed a few feet in the opposite direction.

The door creaks as she opens it.

Inside the shed was Captain Man, standing at ease as he stared into a fireplace.

He turned to Hikari, scowling. "Ah… Hakurei. You've arrived, I take it?"

' _You take it?_ ' Hikari raised a brow.

"...No, I didn't."

Captain Man laughed. "Hohoho!... You Hakurei were always the ones to be troublemakers, weren't you? You see, trouble making is the problem of today's youth! Why, if I had a yen for every time…" He kept rambling furiously, as if imitating a public speaker.

Hikari wasn't sure what his problem was, but she just kinda tuned him out after that.

"...The village elders ought to know…"

' _Boring._ '

"...There was this time on the corner of…"

' _Yawn._ '

"...Every single time that waitress…"

' _Is he even talking about the same thing anymore?_ '

"...And then I would wake up in the middle of the night, and-"

"Ahem!" Hikari cleared her throat.

"...I see. You have no respect for the viewpoints of others." Captain Man stated lowly. "Typical Hakurei behavior."

' _What a nice person._ ' Hikari smiled awkwardly, half amused and half annoyed by his antics.

"...What is it, then, Hakurei? Have you come to collect the taxes, have you? Come to retrieve my debt? Come and take it, then!" He shouted, his face turning red.

…

"I think you need to take a nap." Hikari suggested.

Captain Man glared back.

' _...I think it'd actually help him. Well, I guess he's a little beyond helping, but still…_ '

"...I'd, uhm, like to leave through the west gate-"

"No! Absolutely not!" Captain Man's eyes practically bulged out of their sockets.

' _Yeah, I figured as much._ '

"For all I know, _you_ were the one who caused this disturbance!"

' _Trust me, I'm about to cause a disturbance in a moment, here…_ '

"If I let you through, I might as well-..." He paused, staring into the aether.

…

' _Did he finally have a heart attack?_ ' Hikari was hopeful.

"...Yes, actually. That's perfect…" Captain Man grinned wildly. He turned to Hikari, realizing she was still there. "You! Yes, you… Stay there. I'll be _ri~ght_ back…!"

The door slams behind Hikari as Captain Man had raced out.

' _...Okay._ '

...Hikari starts twiddling her thumbs.

' _...What the hell is this shed…?_ '

Looking around, the shed just had a single fancy chair and a fireplace. No windows, even. It had two doors, though.

' _Captain's shed, huh. Probably what the inside of his head looks like._ '

Hikari hears the door open, and she turns to see Captain Man march in with five guards in tow behind him.

"Alright, men! Attention!"

The guards all stand stiff as boards.

"I have gathered you all here today… to dispose of a troublemaker!"

...The guards kept looking straight forward, most of them glancing at Hikari.

Man walks up to the middle guard. "You! Do you have any idea who this trouble maker might be…?"

The guard steps back. "U-uh, aah… T-the youkai, or something, outside the gate, right?"

…

Pausing, Captain Man furrows his brows. "...What would have _ever_ given you such an impression?"

"W-well, there's the miko there, and the west gate's been sealed for a while, and-"

Captain Man cuts him off. "Yes! The miko! That's it!"

The guard is confused. "T-the miko, sir?"

"Yes! That damned Hakurei miko!"

The guard tilts his head. He looks around, only to notice the others are still perfectly postured.

"Why? Is there something wrong with that?" Captain Man steps towards the guard.

"N-no, sir! Not at all…"

"Good!"

...Captain Man turns to Hikari. "...Here. Let me give you a… proposition, Hakurei."

…"I'm listening."

"If you can beat five of my strongest, most capable men…" He nods, as if satisfied. "Then you will be able to leave through the western gate. I'd even escort you myself."

' _That'd be nice._ '

"However! That will not happen, because this is where I send the message of the people! The Hakurei are not welcomed in this village!" Captain Man smirks. "Now, men, show her the valor of the town guard!"

The guard on the very left goes first, stepping towards Hikari. They seemed to be going one at a time, for some reason. "Hey there, kid."

Hikari readied herself. ' _...No swords?_ '

The guard didn't draw his sword or shield, instead reaching out with his arms as if ready for a bar brawl.

"Look, I know this is probably scary for you, and all. It doesn't seem right to me, either…" the guard begins, before making a moderately paced grappling attempt.

Hikari brought her gohei down on his head.

Thwack!

"Augh!" he yelled, clutching his head. "The hell…!?"

Recovering from the blunt trauma, he glared at Hikari. "Alright, little girl. The gloves are off, now!"

Waving his hands through the air like a wannabe martial artist, he charged towards Hikari and kicked at her.

Hikari saw the kick coming the moment he very overdramatically swung his leg back, so she moved out of the way and compromised his balance with a kick of her own.

Thud!

"W-whoah!"

Thud.

The guard was on the floor, scrambling to get up. "God, damn it, this little girl!"

Hikari quickly moved for the finishing blow.

SMAAAA~SH!

She swung her gohei at the man's head like a golf club. The strike forced him to faceplant the dirt, from which he didn't move from… for a few moments.

"Uuu~gh…" he groaned, prying his face from the dirt floor of the shed. "I-I've gotta go, guys… I gotta get out of here!"

He scrambled on all fours to make for the door. The door swung open and slammed against the wall as he was pulled along with it.

…

' _That… was underwhelming._ '

"He's fired." Captain Man stated offhandedly. "Next!"

The second from the left came up.

"That last guy was a stupid weasel…" The man spit onto the floor, then drew his sword. "You'll know why they call me Nick, the Iceman Swordsman, Hakurei!"

' _He's marginally more intimidating than the last guy, to be sure…_ '

He suddenly swung forward with his sword. "Boo!"

Hikari swung for the flat with her gohei.

Thunk!

The sword was forced up from the strike. Nick suddenly brought it down.

"No way! I wasn't raised in a barn like _you_ , shrine kid!"

Hikari snorted. ' _...Considering farming is one of the village's most valued occupations, that's sort of an unfitting insult…_ '

The man spun around slowly, and swung his sword at Hikari once he finished spinning.

Hikari had already moved way out of the way, though.

"...What was that?" Hikari dared asking.

"It was the final thrasher! You're pretty good if you got out of the way of it, though…!" Nick grinned. "Now… I'll show you why they call me the Iceman!"

He reached into his pocket, and pulled out a box.

...He stabbed his sword in the floor, and began fiddling with the box. "Give me a moment, here…"

…

… "Almost…"

…

Hikari folded her arms. "I don't have all day…"

"Give me a second, damn it!"

…

"There!" The box opened, revealing ice cubes. "Eat shit!"

He threw the ice cubes at Hikari, who was forced to shield herself with her arms.

The ice bounced off her sleeves and skin and onto the floor, where they sat there.

"Now you'll slip and fall, and when you do, I'll strike you down!" Nick gave a thumbs up. "How's that for a starter like you, huh?"

…

' _What a weirdo…_ '

Nick moved forward and stepped on the ice himself. Instead of slipping wildly out of control, however, he viciously swung forward at an angle.

"H-huh!?"

Hikari moved her gohei to block.

Thunk!

"A-aah!"

Hikari winced, the blade slipping into her left bicep.

Nick disengaged, tearing his blade out and sliding back.

"Aa-aaa~h!" Hikari yelled, the abrupt removal of the blade sending her pain receptors flaring.

"That's the power of the Iceman!" Nick posed, both arms in the air.

' _I-it hu~rts!_ '

Hikari focused on her wound with rapidly tearing eyes…

' _Come on, come on, come on!_ '

Hikari tried PSI Lifeup α!

…

Her wounds were healed!

' _Sweet relief…_ ' Hikari let out a sigh of relief.

Nick did a double take. "Whuh-wha-wha~t!?"

The rest of the guards were a little more attentive. Captain Man stayed completely stoic.

"What the hell… that must mean…"

Nick pointed his sword at Hikari. "You _must_ be a youkai! It all makes sense now!"

' _Oh, boy…_ '

Nick glared at Hikari. "No matter what, Nick the Iceman Swordsman will take you down!"

Nick tried the same attack again, even copying the previous angled slice.

Hikari tried harder to block it this time, making sure to try and deflect the blade instead of directly block it.

Thunk!

"Geez, girl…" Nick spun around, then stopped at the edge of the ice cube field. "You and that stupid stick…"

Hikari looked down at the ice.

' _Maybe I could…_ '

She stepped onto the ice, and slid.

"W-woaah, ooaah~!"

SMAAAA~SH!

Hikari accidently flailed the gohei into Nick's face at high speeds, clotheslining him.

Thud! He hit the floor.

' _...That could have gone way worse._ ' Hikari grimaced.

Nick quickly began scuttling back. "D-dude… That damn stick…"

He backtracked until he left the shed, then got up and ran away.

…

' _T-three more, still? Geez…_ ' Hikari was having second thoughts.

"He's fired, too. Next!" Captain Man didn't bat an eye at the fight.

...The third guard doesn't move, so the fourth, or second from the right, begins moving.

This guard was a burly man. "The name's Bruno." He takes out a questionably sized hammer, which seemed more fit for construction than combat. "You're fuck."

…

' _You're… sure._ ' Hikari didn't care anymore.

"Die."

Bruno lifted the hammer as if it were heavy, then slowly fell forward towards Hikari.

Hikari stepped out of the way…

Bam!

The entire shed shook from the impact of Bruno with the soil.

He slowly got up, and Hikari took the opportunity to strike him on the head…

Thwack!

…

Bruno didn't even acknowledge the strike.

"You… don't… believe it!" Bruno exclaimed, stomping towards Hikari and slowly raising his tiny hammer into the air.

' _You're right. I don't._ ' Hikari was growing concerned for the village's well-being.

Bruno slowly flopped forward again, and HIkari sidestepped it again…

Bam!

' _There has to be some way of doing this…_ '

Bruno slowly rose again…

' _...Oh, I know._ '

Hikari tried Hypnosis α!

…

It only somewhat worked on Bruno!

"O-oough…" Bruno wiped his eyes. "...Die."

Bruno slowly raised his arms. Hikari stepped out of their reach as they came forward and threw themselves in Hikari's general direction.

' _If this doesn't work, I might be in trouble…_ '

Hikari tried Hypnosis α!

…

Bruno fell asleep!

Bam!

He crashed into the floor, snoring peacefully.

Hikari ran up to the sleeping figure, and began wailing at the head.

Whack! Bam! Thunk!

SMAAAA~SH!

…

Bruno woke up slowly. "Aaaugh… Head hurt…"

Slowly rising to his feet, he shook his hammer at Hikari. "Sky girl death."

"No." Hikari countered.

Hikari tried Hypnosis α!

…

Bruno fell asleep!

Bam!

"Second verse, same as the first!" Hikari felt the need to announce.

Whack!

SMAAAA~SH!

Thwack! Thunk!

Bruno slowly fluttered his eyes open again. "...S-sorry…"

He got up slowly, and stomped towards the exit. "Gotta go. Need… pain killer at shop."

With that, he walked into the door and took it with him.

…

' _Well, that wasn't so bad. I probably would have died if I had gotten hit, though…_ '

While that may have been an exaggeration on Hikari's part, she probably would have at least been crippled by such an impact.

The very right guard was now up to the batting cage.

"Ahem…" The guard cleared his throat. He was an old, grey-haired man with a fancy moustache and a fencing sword. "I am El Verde Avangarde the Third. I have served in this town's guard for well over sixty years, and in my time I have come to realize the the Hakurei have played little role in our defense."

' _That sounds made up._ ' Hikari was skeptical.

"As such, I see it within my power to eliminate you." The man flails his fencing sword about. "En garde!"

Hikari takes caution, positioning herself.

' _That sword is unlike the swords of most guardsmen…_ '

He swivels it through the air, and jabs towards Hikari despite the distance. Hikari tries to swing for an intentional parry, but the swift nature of the sword allows it to avoid her gohei completely- and even make a swipe through the air that made Hikari jump back.

' _W-woah!_ '

The old man grins. "I have dealt with many a swordsman and woman in my time, you know. You couldn't possibly stand a chance against a bladesman of my caliber. Lay down your weapon, and my task will be far easier."

' _Like that would ever happen._ '

The two strafe around, with the man taking cautious jabs at Hikari now and then and Hikari avoiding and attempting to parry where necessary.

The man still holds his previous grin. "...You _do_ realize I've been assessing your skill all this time, you know?"

"A-and?" Hikari attempts to retort, but her voice happens. ' _Ugh…_ '

"This battle will be a piece of cake."

Swish!

Thunk!

Hikari barely blocks an ambitious slash.

' _What is he-_ '

Swish!

"A-ah…!" Hikari gasps, feeling the sting of a swift slice that went straight through her miko garb.

She moves to parry the blade,

Swish!

"U-uh…" Hikari grimaces at the next slash that connects. On one hand, they didn't cut deep.

' _T-that hurts…_ '

The man leaps back. "Come on, Hakurei! Make your move, chop chop!" He beckons her.

' _It'd be a bad idea to just charge him head on…_ '

"I was told you Hakurei are headstrong! I'm not very much seeing that quality right now, I'll have you know!" The man slowly stomps towards Hikari.

' _I can't do anything about those slashes, but… I need to…_ '

Swish!

Thunk!

Hikari luckily parried one, quickly backpedaling to avoid more.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

"F-fuck…" Hikari cursed. ' _That one…_ '

"You know, I expected more from the Hakurei than this…" The man scowls at her. "You are nothing more than a child, it seems."

Hikari steps back. ' _My mother would take cuts like these, no problem. I'm sure of it…_ '

"You should let me make this swift."

Swish!

Thunk!

Hikari leaps back with force, using the wind to force her away from the resulting slashes.

Swish! Swish!

"Come, now…" The man is disgusted at her use of magic to avoid combat.

' _I need to get stronger…_ ' Hikari focused on her body's weak form. ' _I-I can't possibly win if I don't take those slashes…_ '

Putting on a brave face, she readied herself to endure…

...only to quickly backtrack from a silent but deadly jab that nearly connected.

"Hmph. The next one won't whiff."

Swish! Thunk!

The man used the parry to jab again.

"G-gaa~h!" Hikari wails, the jab stabbing clean into her.

' _O-oooucch!_ '

...Sl~ick. The blade slides out of Hikari's torso.

"You lose, Hakurei."

Hikari stumbles back, focusing on her wounds. ' _N-no… I-I can't lose, now…_ '

Hikari tried PSI Lifeup α!

…

' _T-thank goodness…_ '

"Haa~h…" Hikari sighed in relief, her wounds closing themselves.

The man sighed deeply in disagreement. "That unholy magic… How we've not prosecuted the Hakurei clan for witchery yet is beyond me."

He swivels his sword around in the air fancily. "Nonetheless, I care not how many times you fuel yourself by unholy means! My sword's end shall pierce your youkai heart!"

' _I hate old people._ ' Hikari decided.

Swish! Swish!

Hikari decided to just step back instead. He tried another jab,

Thunk!

Swish!

' _W-well, that's not_ as _bad as a jab…_ ' Hikari paid a bittersweet thought to her new cut.

"Have at you, youkai!"

Swish!

' _I need a way to just wail at him. I don't really want to use…_ that _move yet._ ' Hikari didn't want to trigger PK Fantasy by accident, either.

Swish! Thunk!

Hikari sidestepped a jab.

' _I need a way to protect myself…_ ' This gohei alone didn't seem to be getting her very far.

' _Protect myself…_ ' Hikari thought back...

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: FLASHBACK TIME ====

A fifteen year old Hikari leapt back from the seemingly generic youkai's sluggish swipe.

"A-ah!" Hikari squeaked.

A storm of amulets suddenly bombarded the youkai from the right, sending him flying.

"Gowaah!"

Thud.

Reimu floated onto the scene, a little troubled by the difficulty her daughter was having.

"Honestly… Look…"

She moved her arm forward and cast a barrier of light. "It only requires a little faith manipulation and practice. I showed you earlier, right?"

Hikari nodded. _'I-I didn't really get the hang of it… but I think I understood it well enough. I think._ '

"Alright, you try it, now. If you need to, shout something like 'Cautionary Barrier'. It helped me when I was your age."

' _Right…_ '

The male wolf youkai thing was reeling from the previous impact. He slowly stumbled back towards Hikari… "D-damn you…"

Hikari threw her arms forward. "C-Cautionary Barrier!"

A small square of energy shot forth, but disappeared just as quickly.

The youkai grinned. "Hah! I've got you-"

Blam! A yin-yang orb sailed into the youkai, sending him flying-

Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!...

-through, in fact, multiple trees.

Reimu sighed. "...I guess we'll need more theoretical practice, then."

Hikari gave a lopsided smile, knowing she'd messed it up.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: FLASHBACK OVER ====

' _...We never really went over it again, but…_ '

Hikari glared at the old man in front of her.

' _...It wouldn't hurt to try._ '

Swish! Thunk!

"Got you!"

Hikari uses a boost of wind to evade a somewhat telegraphed jab.

"Hmph… I've gotten careless." The man shakes his head rapidly. "Come on, wake up…"

Throwing her open hand towards the man, Hikari shouted. "Cautionary Barrier!"

Hikari learned Shield α!

Hikari tried Shield α!

Hikari was protected by the shield of light!

...Blinking, Hikari examined the shield of light. It was nothing like her mother's barriers, nor was it a Cautionary Barrier. It was more like… a dome of translucent, yellow energy.

' _...I mean, if it works, it works. I'm not complaining._ '

The man smirked. "Finally, a Hakurei technique!"

' _Aren't you a genius?_ ' Hikari recognized that it was not, infact, a Hakurei technique. For all she knew, it was just the result of throwing magic around and getting lucky.

"Now I can see what Hakurei magic is _truly_ capable of!" The man gleefully exclaims. "I've waited far too long for this day!"

The man swiped at Hikari with renewed vigor.

Swish!

' _...Now it just feels like he's whacking me with a ruler._ ' Hikari would know, too. She and rulers just didn't get along.

Swish!

Hikari didn't try to block or dodge. The resulting swipe failed to even cut her.

"W-what!? What is this sorcery?" The old guardsman steps away, taken aback by the magic.

"Hakurei magic." Hikari lies.

She swings her gohei at the man. He reacts faster and swipes her-

Swish!

-but Hikari continues her attack anyway.

Thwack!

"Hgh…" The guard winces. "It will take more than-"

Swish! He reacts quickly as Hikari slowly and deliberately stomps towards him.

Thwack!

"Y-you…"

Swish! Swish!

Hikari is cut a little, but she ignores it.

Thwack!

The guard leaps back. "How about this!?"

Hikari actually bothers to dodge the jab, a move the guard wasn't prepared for. As she moved to the side, she readied her gohei like a baseball bat.

"Wha-"

SMAAAA~SH!

…

Thud.

The old guardsman was down for the count, unconscious on the floor of the shed.

' _Finally…_ '

...Hikari's eyes rest on the lone guardsman.

…

"Well? What are you waiting for? You're my last man, after all, surely you've saved the best for last?" Man glares daggers at the final guard.

"...N-no way! I'm outta here! Screw that!" The final guard books it out the front door.

…

Man turns to HIkari. "Well… it seems all of my men are complete and utter failures to the village…"

' _I'm inclined to agree. Those last few seemed capable of fighting youkai, but the rest were dopes. I guess that's why the village fights in numbers..._ '

Man's face gets ridiculously red. "...I will just have to use my _super tango foxtrot martial arts_ on you, now."

' _Wait, what?_ '

Captain Man comes out swinging, pumping his fists back and forth with vigor as he slowly accelerated towards Hikari.

' _I don't think a punching attack could-_ '

Bam.

Hikari reeled back from a hook Captain Man used, her saliva knocked from her mouth. Stumbling back, she clutched her jaw with her free hand.

' _G-geez!_ '

Hikari also noticed her shield of light was gone, having been dispelled by the strength of Captain Man's strike.

' _Guess I can't just brute force this fight…_ '

At least, not in the same way.

"Huuuaagh!

Hikari's eyes widened, and she flung herself across the room aimlessly.

Thud! She hit the wall.

She looked back to Captain Man, who was flailing inhumanely in the direction of where she previously was.

' _No human's limbs move like that!_ '

"I… will… _annihilate_ … you!" Captain Man shouted with increasing volume and strain while his limbs flailed about like deadly wet noodles.

Hikari soaked in the surreality of the situation. ' _...Super tango foxtrot martial arts, huh. I have some 'super tango foxtrot martial arts' of my own…_ '

She shut her eyes.

Hikari tried PK Fantasy α!

Technicolor splashes rained into the shed, phasing through the walls.

Fizzle!

They splashed against everything they came into contact with, including Captain Man. Despite his flailing, the waves of energy flowed over his body seamlessly.

Fizzle!

Like that, Hikari's eyelids shot open, and she let loose a powerful blast of psychic energy- originating from Captain Man's location.

Bwaash!

"Aaaa~h, aaaa~h!" Captain Man wailed in agony, the blast tearing portions of his captain uniform asunder, armored bits flying across the room. He kneeled, panting…

Hikari was panting, too. "Haah… G-give up?" She pointed her gohei shakily at Captain Man.

He looks up at Hikari, glaring. "...A-are you talking… to me?"

"...Y-"

"Are _you_ … talking to me!?" Captain Man stands up straight again. "You are _not_ talking to me!"

Captain Man loses his temper!

Hikari feels the vibrations from the man's shout. ' _H-holy crap! I wouldn't be surprised if the entire village heard that!_ '

Captain Man began stomping forward at an alarming pace. Taking the hint, Hikari boosted herself to get out of the way of the charge.

Bam!

Captain Man ran straight through a wall, taking out the wood with him as he ran outside.

' _W-woah… Is this guy not a youkai himself?_ ' Hikari had to give him credit for moving like that after taking a PK Fantasy to the face.

The fact he cleared a wall was pretty suspect, however…

Bam!

"A-ah!"

Hikari dove out of the way as Captain Man came in through the wall behind her. She felt her legs get clipped by his as he ran, but thankfully they only knee'd hers.

' _My energy's kinda low. This is gonna be difficult…_ '

Captain Man stopped in the middle of the room again. "This is the _la~st_ straw, Ha~kurei!"

Hikari ran up to him while he shouted into the opposite direction of her.

SMAAAA~SH!

Captain Man was seemingly unaffected.

' _...Great._ '

Man whirled around to face her, eyes bulging. "Wha~t!?"

Hikari was ready again, swinging her gohei like a baseball bat.

SMAAAA~SH!

...Still nothing.

' _Uh-oh._ '

Captain Man grabbed her by the arm. "Hooah!" He whirled around, and tossed her into the wall.

Thud!

"Ugh!"

Hikari fell onto the floor, eyes tearing a little. '... _Ouch. That could have gone worse, but…_ ' Hikari rubbed her back.

"Are you listening to me!?" Captain Man hollered. "Whadda you wanna do with your _life_!?"

Hikari grinned through the tears. "...I wanna rock!"

Hikari tried PK Fantasy α!

Once more, the color barrage began.

Fizzle!

Captain Man got assaulted by the technicolor shitstorm.

Fizzle!

Hikari focused on Captain Man.

Bwaaash!

"Wooaaa~h!"

Captain Man flew backwards, into the wall. He didn't go through it though; he just thudded against it and slid to the floor.

…

'...'

Thud.

Hikari was out cold.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

' _Hello? Is this thing on?_ '

Hikari heard that one voice again.

' _...You there? This cell's gettin' kinda cold, you know…_ '

She couldn't really respond.

' _...Guess I gotta see about breaking out myself, or something._ '

The thoughts stopped coming.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Hikari awoke from her marginally sleepless slumber.

"Hnnhh…"

' _Ugh…_ ' Hikari's body and mind were in unison at this given moment.

Slowly, she sat up on the floor of the shed, dirt caking her somewhat tattered miko outfit.

' _...Another one of those dreams…_ '

Looking through the damaged portions of the shed's walls, Hikari could determine that it was either sunrise or dusk.

' _Probably dusk._ '

She slowly and sorely rose from the floor. ' _...Great... I'm still here._ '

Looking across the room, she saw Captain Man sitting up against the wall, looking stressed.

"...It is with… great shame…" Captain Man begins, noticing Hikari was up and about. "...that I shall allow you to pass the western gate…"

' _About time._ '

Captain Man stiffly rose on his feet. ' _...F-follow me. I'll escort you to the gate myself… that was the deal, right?_ '

Hikari walked aside the injured captain as they made their way to the western gate, which wasn't too far away. The guards were still there, blocking the way.

"...H-hey, there bo-... Boss!? The hell happened to the both of yous?" The guard ran up to the two. "We heard those noises earlier, but those stupid high ranks told us to not go check on you and that you'd be fine!"

Captain Man held up his hand. "C-Carl… please."

Carl, as he was named, went silent.

"...I want you to let this miko through whenever you see her. Regardless of the situation at hand." Man nodded.

"...A-alright?" Carl was a little confused by the specific order.

Man turned to Hikari. "...I hope you don't last longer than ten seconds on the outside. Mark my words, young Hakurei, the youkai will eat you alive."

With that, Captain Man walked off, beginning to limp for an unknown reason.

' _...I always knew you were a good person, deep down._ ' Hikari satirically added. ' _...Didn't you accuse me of being a youkai conspirator earlier? I'll say it again: I'm worried for this village's safety…_ '

She sneezed.

"Achoo!"

' _Damn dusty floors…_ '

Carl looked concerned. "...Geesh, kid. Sounds like the boss really has it out for yas…"

"I guess so…" Hikari concedes.

' _I don't really even know why, either…_ ' That kinda frustrated Hikari, but she couldn't dwell on it too much.

Carl moved out of the way. "Well, if you've got business with the monks… I s'pose I shouldn't be stoppin' ya."

Hikari nods, and walks forward.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: ? VIEW ====

A lone man of eighteen years sat in his cell.

' _...Still no response? Peachy._ ' He sighed.

Brushing off his worn magus robes for the tenth time in thirty seconds, his eyes turned to an absurdly sized stuffed bear in the corner of the room.

"...Just what the hell is that thing?" He giggled to himself.

' _I should practice my magic on it…_ '

He heard banging on his cell's bars.

"Hey! Keep it down in there!"

He sighed. ' _Stupid fatass kid…_ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIKARI VIEW ====

Hikari paused in the middle of the woods, confident she was a good ways away from the village walls…

Hikari tried PSI Lifeup α!

…

Hikari felt a little less stiff.

' _That's better…_ '

…

Hikari reeled her head back.

"Achoo!"

…

' _Please don't tell me…_ ' Hikari feared the worst.

…

' _I seem fine for now…_ '

Hikari continued into the woods, until she saw a walking mushroom.

' _...Don't see that every day._ ' Minor youkai were always an enigma to her.

The mushroom had two legs, and that was it. It started running in place, and then began slowly accelerating towards Hikari.

' _...Okay._ '

Hikari reeled her gohei back like a golf club as the mushroom slowly accelerated towards her…

SMAAAA~SH!

She brought her free hand to her forehead as she watched the mushroom fly away into the depths of the woods.

' _Terrifying youkai. Definitely need to seal the village from that thing._ '

Continuing into the woods, Hikari paused.

' _I haven't really gone to the temple much before._ ' The last time Hikari remembered was years ago, when the buddhists there were hosting one of the new year's' celebrations themselves.

Her mother flew her there that time.

' _I suppose I'll just have to try and remember the way…_ '

...She began wandering aimlessly.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

SMAAAA~SH!

' _There's a lot of these little things…_ ' That was probably the fifth walking mushroom thing Hikari encountered.

…

"Achoo!"

' _I'm catching a cold._ ' Hikari deduced. ' _...Shit._ '

She wiped her nose on her hand.

"Ugh…"

' _This is gonna be_ fun.'

Hikari had been tracing along the walls of the village loosely yet aimlessly as she scouted the area for _something_ that resembled a temple's property.

She eventually came across a giant staircase.

' _Yeah, no._ '

She went to the side of the staircase and readied herself to run up the hill-

"Achoo!"

Hikari reeled back from the surprise sneeze, the wind she was mustering lost.

' _Great._ '

…

Hikari readied herself again. With a sudden dash, she conquered the steep incline in about twenty seconds.

Reaching the top, she slowed and stopped.

...and shivered.

' _A f-fever too…? I can't really go home right now..._ ' Hikari was in the middle of something, after all.

She didn't really have that much experience with getting colds.

' _If Mother were here…_ ' Hikari hugged herself, the slightest breeze chilling her now.

' _Ugh… can this cold just_ _ **stop**_ _?_ ' Hikari sighed, fed up with the inconvenience.

Hikari learned PSI Healing α!

Hikari tried PSI Healing α!

…

Hikari got over her cold!

' _...Huh. That works._ '

Wiping her nose of remaining snot one last time, Hikari looked towards the temple gate once again, now with renewed enthusiasm.

' _...It looks a little crappy._ ' The gate had streaks of blue on it sploshed across it haphazardly, and numerous sections of the temple's outer fencing seemed to have splashes of blue paint just thrown about upon it.

' _The hell happened here?_ '

Suddenly, the gate opened, and a short, green haired girl came out to greet her. She held a broom that was sloppily coated in blue paint, and her green hair had blue highlights of some description.

"Welcome. How may I assist you? My name is Kyouko." The girl spoke as if in a daze. She hid the broom behind her back, the tip of it dripping with fresh blue paint. Her ankles and shoes were soaked in paint, glistening in the sun's light.

' _...Geesh. Someone really likes the color blue…_ ' Hikari slightly cringed.

' _I don't remember the temple being this weird…_ '

…

"I-I'm… here to visit." Hikari eventually answered, unnerved by the girl's immobility while she awaited Hikari's response.

"Visit? Please, stay awhile. Let me tell you of the joys of Happy Happyism." Kyouko monotoned.

' _Creepy. You don't sound too happy..._ '

Walking through the courtyard, Hikari examined the inner devastation.

' _Woah._ '

Smashed posts and indents in walls were everywhere. From here, Hikari could see fallen sections of fence. Pools of paint builded up in the yard outside, the grass either a sickly mix of green and blue, or dead… and blue.

The fumes of the paint made Hikari scrunch her nose.

"Happy Happyism was a wondrous belief founded by the exalt, Byakuren Hijiri…" Kyouko rambled slowly and tiredly. "It was brought to give the world a new, blue, view."

' _A new blue view. I don't know, it looks pretty crappy…_ '

Hikari looked skeptical.

Kyouko took notice. "...Do you not desire to be blue? To be blue is to achieve higher enlightenment… if you resent such, you… are surely a sinner." Kyouko tilted her head down, her eyes masked by shade.

Hikari sighed. ' _This is going to become a scene, isn't it?_ '

"...I'll… be honest. This doesn't look…" Hikari wasn't sure what to say.

Kyouko wielded her broom like a pole arm. "I see. You must… be cleansed."

Hikari positioned herself for combat, grinning at the surreality. ' _This is wei~rd…_ '

Kyouko swings the broom at her like a staff, and Hikari blocks with her gohei.

Thunk!

The blue paint splashes off the broom's bristles and onto Hikari's outfit, and some of her face.

' _Really?_ ' Hikari sighed in frustration. She was hoping this outfit didn't get _totally_ torn apart in the adventure, but now she wasn't sure.

"Happy Happyism will solve all the problems in your life…"

Kyouko jabbed at Hikari, and successfully painted her torso a bit. Hikari felt the paint seep into her clothes, and onto her skin.

' _This outfit's going to be pitch blue by the end of today._ ' Hikari didn't entirely mind. Blue wasn't a bad color.

Kyouko reeled the broom back for a mighty strike, but left herself wide open.

Whack!

"A-ah!" Kyouko's monotone was briefly broken as she squeaked in pain from the strike. Her eyes quickly dulled over again, and she abruptly brought the broom to Hikari's face.

Splash!

"Pfft! Phtoo!" Hikari spat some paint out, and wiped it off her face. ' _Seriously!?_ '

…

' _I don't mind, actually…_ '

Hikari felt strangely comfortable with the blue paint on her.

Kyouko brought the broom across her chest again, but Hikari didn't move to stop it.

Swish!

...She still counterattacked, though.

Whack!

"Oww…" Kyouko moved to clutch her head for the briefest moment, but stopped herself.

"Why do you resist the blue?" Kyouko suddenly asks, her monotone cracking a bit.

…

' _S-she's… right…_ ' Hikari pauses, unsure of what she's doing. ' _...Blue is… my favorite color…_ '

Hikari feels her grip on her gohei weaken.

"Just believe in Happy Happyism, and everything will be better." Kyouko walks towards Hikari, and gently starts painting her.

' _Everything will be better…_ ' Hikari smiles as the broom gently runs over her body. "O-okay…"

Hikari dropped her gohei and sat down, a far-off expression on her face.

"Let me get more paint…" Kyouko walked off.

...Hikari giddily rubbed the paint that was currently on her around, giggling to herself.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: ? VIEW ====

' _Come the hell on here…_ ' The magus fiddled with the lock on the cell, faint electricity coursing through it. ' _Work with me, locky baby…_ '

Across from him, the fat manchild was asleep on some chairs stacked side by side.

His hands were shaking rapidly as he tried to maintain a solid current.

' _Work, damn it…_ '

Suddenly, his concentration slipped.

He tried PK Thunder α!

Thwaa~sh!

A massive lightning bolt made the lock explode into a molten mess.

"Huh-wah-huh!?" The manchild flailed his hands, waking up suddenly.

"Shit!" The human magician barked. He ran out to the manchild.

"Hey, how'd you get out of you- oof!"

The guy just punched him in the face, and then lifted one of his chairs and threw it at him.

"Wh-what are you doing!? G-guards! Guards!"

He then flailed his arms at the kid, before some blue-clad village guards entered the room, holding paint buckets and brushes. "Yes, Prophet Porky?"

' _Prophet Porky. This dude for real, or is he just crackin' at him?_ ' He looked confused.

"Paint this nonbeliever!" Porky pointed at the mage.

The guards suddenly looked extremely pissed.

' _Oh, shit on a stick._ '

The ran towards him and tossed their paint cans at him.

Splash!

"I'm water and you're glue! You can hit me, but I won't.. stick to you?"

' _I fucked that up something fierce._ '

He tried PK Hydro α!

A torso-sized bubble of water was produced, and it floated in the air.

' _...You know, maybe this blue stuff isn't so ba-_ '

The bubble burst, sending a gush of water out that knocked over the mage and the guards who ran up to him.

Thud, thud thud!

' _Sweet kami, fuck! Fuck this blue shit!_ ' He rolled around in the puddle to get more of it off him.

This was what he did last time they tried to paint him, which is how he got locked into a cell in the first place. The only difference between then and now was that he wasn't surrounded by monks, guards, and magical girls also trying to beat the crap out of him.

He got up and ran to the door, but stopped to glance at Porky.

"You big fat idiot! Get him!" Porky pointed at him.

The human mage stuck his middle finger up at Porky, and ran out of the jail.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

END OF CHAPTER 3

Protagonist: Hikari Hakurei, Disciple of Paradise

-Inventory-

Weapon: Hand-me-down Gohei - Ability to whack stuff really hard. Critical hits enabled.

Arms: Iconic Hakurei Arm Sleeves - Keeps arms warm. A Hakurei tradition. How they stay on is a Hakurei family secret.

Body: Nothing

Misc: Nothing

-Skills-

Attack: Quickly! Swing your gohei at them for massive damage!

PK Fantasy α - Bombards the enemy with pain in the form of flashing colors. Deals magical damage.

PK Hypnosis α - Puts weak enemies to sleep for a short time. Works better on tired or exhausted foes.

Shield α - Halves damage the target takes. Only works against physical attacks, and enough strikes, or powerful strikes, will dispel it.

PSI Lifeup α - Heals target a little.

PSI Healing α - Heals basic status ailments.

Ofuda Toss - Throw a holy ofuda that does massive holy elemental damage to youkai and dark elemental foes. Effect lessens the more holy the thing you're attacking is, to the point of healing holy things. Only works if you actually have ofuda, though.

α-α-α-α

Mage: ?

-Inventory-

Weapon: Fisticuffs!

Arms: Nothing

Body: Worn Magician Robes - An old robe from the days when the village respected the medium of magic. Well past its due date, but still comfy!

Misc: Nothing

-Skills-

PK Thunder α - Very random thunder attack that deals limited damage.

PK Hydro α - Gets everyone wet. Usefulness with PK Thunder and PK Freeze depends on whether you hit yourself or not!

PK Freeze α - Generates ice crystals at the target's location. Low damage and effect; may freeze wet targets.

Fireball - Manipulate mana to make a shoddy fireball. Low damage and effect.

Static Hands - Not a real spell. Result of a very undercharged PK Thunder that can accidentally go off.

PSI Telepathy α - Speak to friends you haven't met yet! Unstable connection and only works if they have the skill or are asleep.

Author's Note:

it's that time of the year again friends

that's right it's FANFICTIONING TIME

help no hikari got covered in paint

mage knows hydro instead of fire because HYONK; someone else will get the huge "fuck-you" that is PK fire though don't worry… just NOT THIS DUDE

"why is he both magician and psychic" because he's a INDECISIVE TWAT and because he accimadentally discovered the psychic bits

he's not particularly great at EITHER AT THE MOMENT

the careful attempt of trying to balance BULLSHIT PSYCHIC POWERS with WORLD OF HURT

i've got some fun characters in mind, though

as always, see you all next time!


	4. Happy Hakurei Blues

' _A-ah…_ ' Hikari squirmed as Kyouko thoroughly painted her nails with a small art brush.

"Does it feel good, disciple? You are to be the next sacrifice. It has been decided." Kyouko somehow knows this.

' _I-I love blue…_ ' Hikari smiles, her head spinning.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: ? VIEW ====

Leaving the prison shack, the magic man ran back in the direction of the temple.

' _Where the hell was that gal? She shoulda been here a day ago!_ ' He was running through the woods, slowly irritating himself with frustrated thoughts. ' _For all I know, she fuckin' died._ '

Suddenly, guards.

"Fucking- really!?" The man doubles back, and starts to run from the guards.

' _Get me the hell outta this crazy place!_ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIKARI VIEW ====

Hikari kneeled on a blue-stained floor within the temple.

' _Love…_ '

She was alone, head swimming as the paint was clouding her mind.

Across from her was a blue bucket of paint…

...The door opened, and a blue-clad woman entered, leaping in. "Boo!" She pointed her umbrella at Hikari and unfolded it.

"B-blue!" Hikari observed intelligently, beaming. "Blue!"

...She sighed. "Oh, it's one of you. Why's the temple full of all these weird people today?" The umbrella-toting girl shook her head. "I can't for the life of me surprise any of you people… in fact, it's like everyone's happy to see me!"

...She stared down at her naturally blue clothes. "I always knew I had a good fashion sense!"

"Blue…" Hikari muttered. "You're...blue…"

"...My name is Kogasa. I'm a karakasa!" She grins at how her introduction flows.

"Blue!" Hikari cheered.

Kogasa's eyes dropped. "...Okay, look. Ko. Ga. Sa. Kogasa."

"K-ko…" Hikari slowly began.

"Good…" Kogasa urged her.

"...I-I love you."

"W-what!?" Kogasa leaped back as Hikari suddenly leaped at her.

Hikari rubbed her face against Kogasa's. "You're blue!"

Kogasa tore herself from Hikari and pushed her aside. "H-hey! I'm the one supposed to be doing the surprising! Cut it out!"

Kogasa suddenly got up, and backed away to the other end of the room. She accidently kicked the blue bucket of paint over that was sitting across the room as she did so.

Clunk!

…

Hikari stared at the paint flow.

"...You're kind of a freak, aren't'cha?" Kogasa sheepishly observed, scratching the back of her head.

Hikari's eyes didn't leave the paint.

"...T-that paint…"

Kogasa perked up as Hikari said an actual sentence.

"...I-it was for my… c-ceremony…" The blue-spattered gears in her head turned as hard as they could. "...Need… more…"

Kogasa stared at her. "...O~kay."

Kogasa slowly made her way to the bucket. Lifting it, she made her way across the room, and left.

Hikari watched her leave wordlessly.

The door slid shut.

…

…

'...' Hikari's mind was as silent as the room as she stared at the door.

The door on the opposite end of the room opened, and Kyouko walked in.

"...Good evening, Child of Blue." Kyouko greeted her wistfully. "Tonight, you will be crowned the Blue Maiden."

' _I-I always wanted this…_ '

"Now…" Kyouko walked across the room, and noticed a spatter instead of a paint bucket.

"...Peculiar."

' _W-what?_ '

"The ceremonial bucket seems to be missing. This will not do. Stay here." Kyouko instructed her, as she began moving back to the door she entered from.

The door slid shut.

…

…

'...' Hikari blue-screened again.

The door Kogasa left from slid open again.

"Hey!"

She walked in with a bucket. Instead of blue paint, it was a watery, blue substance.

"I couldn't find any blue paint containers or anything, so I just filled it with water. There was _some_ blue paint in it still anyway, so that should be fine with you, right?"

"B-blue…" Hikari mumbled.

"Thought so!" Kogasa jaunted to the place the bucket was, and set it back down. "Here you go!"

She then began to walk out of the room. "Remember: Ko. Ga. Sa. Practice saying it!"

With that, Kogasa slid the door shut.

"K-ko…ga…" Hikari tried before her thoughts turned off again.

…

…

'...' has stopped responding. Would you like to send a report to Yukarisoft?

Kyouko slid the door open and re-entered the room. "I'm sorry, child, but your induction will need to-"

She saw the bucket back in its place.

"...We will proceed as planned."

Hikari never felt so happy in her life. ' _Y-yes…!_ '

Kyouko gently stepped over to the bucket, and lifted it with both hands. She quickly whirled over to Hikari…

"With this, let your previous self be erased forever. Let the Hakurei blood be cleansed from your veins… and be replaced with the blood of the blue." Kyouko stared into Hikari, and dumped the bucket on her.

' _Y-yes!_ '

Splash!

' _...!_ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Hikari looked around in alarm as she suddenly felt water splash against her.

' _W-what!?_ ' Her senses flooded back to her.

She looked around the room, which had paint splattered against the walls, and pooling on the floor. She looked up at Kyouko, who was staring down at her stoically.

' _How did I get here…?_ '

Kyouko frowned. "...This… cannot be. Your induction was unsuccessful."

A very happy karakasa suddenly basked in a surge of surprise elsewhere. She wasn't sure where it came from, though.

Hikari furrowed her brows. ' _Induction? What the hell…_ '

Standing up, Hikari stomped towards her.

"...We can try again if you-"

Whack! Hikari's fist flew into Kyouko's face.

Splat.

Kyouko landed on her back in the paint.

"A-ah…" Kyouko monotonically protested.

Hikari stepped over her to get to the door.

"Ah…! Ouch! Aaaugh!" Kyouko's protests became more human again with each step upon her.

"P-please, h-he…" Kyouko began, before stopping. Tears threatened to form in her eyes, but were silenced in an instant.

Hikari paused to look down at her…

' _This blue paint…_ '

Shaking her head with pity, she left Kyouko to the paint puddle.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Quickly, Hikari found herself outside again. She spotted her gohei lying on the floor, abandoned.

"Don't mind if I do…" Hikari muttered, retrieving it.

' _...I shouldn't have- no, no, no. Your favorite color is red, damn it._ ' Hikari smacked herself with the gohei.

Thwack!

"Guh..."

' _...That seems to work._ '

She suddenly heard footsteps coming from a blown apart section of fencing.

"Guards! Guards! I need guards!"

' _Porky!?_ '

Looking at the fence opening, she saw Porky barge in with a blue… business suit.

' _Still don't know why people wear these…_ '

He looked to Hikari, and did a double-take. "Oh! Hey there, baby!"

' _I'm sorry, what._ '

Porky walked up to Hikari. "So, how about a kiss?"

'... _Idea._ '

Hikari nodded.

Porky closed his eyes as he stepped towards her, and outstretched his arms.

Hikari brought her gohei back like a baseball bat…

…

SMAAAA~SH!

"Gufaa~h!" Porky flew backwards, and landed on his posterior.

"You're a creep..." Hikari stated with not as much power as she would have liked.

' _That blue stuff did a number on my voice… but then again, my voice is always kinda quiet…_ '

Porky glared at Hikari. "What!? That blue stuff didn't work!?"

' _Is he behind this!?_ ' The Man family was just bad news recently.

Hikari glared back.

...Standing back up, Porky laughed. "...Hah! You see, Byakuren made me an important person in Happy Happyism, so I can get your butt kicked in no time flat!"

Hikari stepped towards Porky menacingly.

He gulped. "...But I'm not gonna fight you myself, hahaha! Later, lo- aah!"

Porky began running as Hikari dashed after him. She then used her wind skills to boost herself closer.

Whack!

"Aaaaeee!"

Thwack!

"Hey, he-"

Thwack!

...After this went on for a few moments, Porky ran into the temple and slammed the door behind him.

Hikari ran up to it and kicked it, but only made it shake.

"...H-haha! You'll never get me now!"

' _...Dumbass._ '

…

Hikari waited a moment or so, but Porky didn't seem to be going anywhere.

She looked to the blown open section of fence.

' _...He was talking about needing guards. What happened over there?_ '

Hikari went to investigate.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Stepping through the woods, she was able to follow a clearly laid out trail of paint.

' _This can't be good for the environment…_ '

…

A bright flash washed over the forest.

"Huh!?" Hikari jumped, having half-expected something abrupt, but not something like that.

' _...That was-_ '

A whirring sound was heard, prompting Hikari to look up.

' _...Huh._ '

A tiny, flying metal disc hovered overhead, descending from the clouds. It darted around the woods haphazardly and with unrealistic speed. Quickly, it neared Hikari.

"H-hey, you…" Hikari tried to intimidate it with very little success.

It didn't seem to acknowledge her speech anyway, firing a laser at her.

Vrrrr!

Hikari's eyes widened as the laser pierced her, cutting through her stomach.

"Aaa-aaauugh!" Hikari wails, feeling the burning sensation intensify tenfold as the beam impales her.

' _Not good not good not good!_ ' Hikari began panicking as she felt her blood pour from the small laser hole. She went into a state of shock of sorts as she focused on her wound, watching the blood flow. She couldn't see it herself, but it was a clean hole, too. One could look through it if they were kneeling.

Hikari tried PSI Lifeup α!

…

The hole in her stomach healed!

Hikari realized tears were flowing down her face. Her breath was shallow as she came out of the shock of the injury.

' _T-that was too close…_ '

Another beam came from the flying object.

Vrrrr!

This one was a different, broader beam. Hikari flinched sloppily as the large, pale beam passed over her seemingly harmlessly.

' _...Huh. What did it-_ '

"Achoo!"

Suddenly, Hikari began crying and her nose and mouth were running amok with snot and saliva, respectively.

"Wuh- Achoo! A-aah…" Hikari groaned, the sudden sick feelings washing over her.

' _Stop, stop, stop!_ '

Hikari tried PSI Healing α!

…

Hikari got over her cold!

"Pftoo!" Hikari spat the rest of the saliva discharge out. She wiped her nose, too. ' _I need tissues, or something…_ '

The object in the sky darted around wildly. Eventually it came near her-

Clang!

' _Not this time, you metal menace._ '

It wobbled and shot away from Hikari.

Vrrrr!

A sudden unpredictable laser shot out, barely missing Hikari's important bits. She felt it singe her arm, but she winced through it.

' _W-why!?_ '

She dashed towards it and it darted away. Hikari tried to do a dart-esque motion herself, but the machine was simply too unpredictable.

It summoned another one of those pale beams, and it washed over Hikari.

' _Nope. No, no, no. Not happening._ '

Hikari tried PSI Healing α!

…

She protected herself from catching a cold!

The machine accidently darted a little too close again.

Clang!

It wobbled in the air, and darted into a tree.

Thunk!

...It embedded itself. It was still whirring.

' _...Good job._ '

Hikari comfortably strutted towards it, taking caution incase-

Vrrrrr!

-that happened.

Hikari grinned. ' _Yeah, I know your game!_ '

She brought her gohei back…

SMAAAA~SH!

…

' _Whoever made that should be burning in hell._ ' Hikari decided. She rubbed the singed part of her arm's skin, and rubbed the healed laser wound.

A different whirring noise was heard.

"...Good. Just what I always wanted." Hikari mentally prepared herself for something else infuriating.

A obtuse robot drove in on treads, spinning around in place every few moments, firing lasers of various lengths from its two metal wire appendages. If Hikari had to describe those appendages, she'd say they looked like some of the outside world wire sculptures that very occasionally wound up in the Kourindou with the rest of the knick knacks of debatable worth.

' _...I'm done. That thing can go raid the village for all I care. I'm sure Keine can handle it._ ' Hikari didn't feel like eating lasers for breakfast.

She continued to progress through the woods, the metal machine slowly following her as she did so. When she got far enough away from it, however, it simply stopped whirring and spinning and actually tried to efficiently follow her, to her chagrin.

' _...As long as I keep a step ahead of it, I-_ '

Two more of the tiny unidentified flying objects whirred onto the scene.

' _Whole lotta nope!_ '

Suddenly, one of the trees roared, and started flailing at the objects.

"Grooaah!"

It swung a large branch at one.

Clang!

Vrrrr!

Vrrrr!

Multiple lasers pierced it as the spinning robot slowly made its way towards it.

' _What the hell is going on!?_ ' Hikari heard of youkai trees, but didn't expect them to be a thing she'd encounter any time soon.

She ran from the battle, and moments later…

Kaboom!

...exploded into a raging inferno, taking the otherworldly devices with it. It then went out as quickly as it started, leaving everything within a short radius disintegrated.

' _...I'm not being affected by that paint, right?_ ' Hikari hit herself again for good measure.

Thwack!

"Guh…"

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Hikari approached a cabin in the woods with caution.

"Get the fuck away from me!"

...A robed man was running around as paint spattered guards where chasing him with blue paint brushes.

He tried PK Thunder α!

…

A lightning bolt struck a part of the house, blowing some roof tiles off.

"Shit, fuck!"

He tried PK Thunder α!

…

Another lightning bolt struck a tree nearby, but it failed to catch it on fire, instead just vaporizing all the leaves on it.

"Fuuhuuhuuck!"

Hikari's tired eyes gazed at the chase. ' _So this is why he needed guards._ ' That, and whatever the hell she just witnessed on the way here.

The guards didn't look happy. Hikari thought she might as well help out.

She brought her gohei back, and waited for the robed man to pass by…

SMAAAA~SH!

She swung just as he passed, and struck one of the two angry guards, bringing him to a dead stop.

...Thud.

...The man was still running from the other guard, but now he was doing so at a more relaxed pace, dodging his brush swipes.

He tried PK Freeze α!

…

KaKaKoo…

The ice crystals formed once at the guard's center. Then, they re-materialized a few more times.

Krack!

Then, they exploded.

"Graaah!"

Thud.

"...Good." The man smiles and nods. "Serves 'em right."

Hikari walks towards him. He notices the blue stains on her clothes, and jumps back. "Woah woah, you cool?"

Hikari blinked. "Y-yeah. I'm fine… now."

He sighed. "...Took you long enough! Look, I stop by this temple to learn some magic and next thing I know it's a fuckin' looney bin! I mean, it's a little better than the village- heheh- but seriously!"

' _...Was this the guy?_ ' The man of Hikari's dreams!

' _...I don't know why, but I feel pissed about something._ '

...She doesn't need to know I typed that, right?

"...Yes, I _am_ the guy that tried to talk to you. I know you're thinking that… or uh, I hope you're thinking that. If you're not, I probably sound pretty bad right about now…" He scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"...So anyway, uh, don't talk much, do ya?"

Hikari blinked. "W-well, I don't have a lot to say…"

He nodded. "Yeah, I could see that."

'... _Rude._ '

"...Well, what's your name? If we're gonna be adventuring and all that jazz."

' _Wait, what?_ '

"W-who said we'd be…" Hikari trailed off. ' _Voice, please._ '

"Hey, I didn't decide that. Some dream told me some shit like the chosen somethings, or whatever. Look, if it means I learn more magic, I don't give a shit. I'd do anything to get my hands on a couple more spells!... Aside from join that cult. Fuck that shit."

Hikari grinned subtly. ' _Amen to that last part._ '

"...I see you agree." The guy grins back. "...Hold up, your name. It'd be weird not knowing it. I'll even tell ya mine."

"...H-Hikari. Hikari Hakurei."

The man paused for a moment. "...Oh, right. Shrine maiden getup. Shoulda figured you were a Hakurei."

' _...Is there a problem with that?_ '

He saw the look Hikari was giving him. "...Not that that's a bad thing! I'm not like those stupid political-minded bastards in the village. That's the whole reason I'm out here in the first place! After that whole dream thing, I kinda let it slip that I knew magic…"

He sighed. "...If only I knew a bit more…" He paused, as if about to say something more, but instead letting the discussion stagnate.

…

He broke the silence with an introduction. "Osamu Katsumi. Never met my mom, my dad was a carpenter. Died when I was thirteen, left me the family business. Too bad I spent all my time hitting the books, huh? Sold what I could, tried taking after that old Kirisame bastard, but it didn't go so well. I don't know shit about business owning, like his daughter or him."

' _Why is he telling me this?_ ' Hikari thought it pretty odd.

It occurred to her she should probably voice something like that if she wanted an answer.

"A whole lotta other shit happened, and uh… now I'm here. Fun life, huh?" He grinned.

"Wh-why are you telling me?"

' _Better question: why do I stutter so much?_ ' The world may never know.

He shrugged. "I dunno... I mean, you're still listening. I didn't think it was excessive, or anything."

' _Hmm. I guess._ '

"I doubt you wanna hear me tell you anymore of my boring shit. Let's uh…" He paused. "...Where're we supposed to go?"

Hikari considered her options. The guy seemed to know magic, which was a good combat advantage… especially since she just hit things with her gohei so far, for the most part.

She was apparently also being assigned party members by a higher power.

' _I don't know how to feel about that, but…_ '

"W-we gotta find these uh… magic places." Hikari began. "...I'll know them when we find them. We're supposed to meet more people, too."

Osamu nodded. "Sounds like a plan, I guess. I don't know shit about what we gotta do, so it's all up to you to drag me places. I've already got some alright spells from starting this quest, but man, think of the crazy shit I could get later! Like… a better lightning spell!"

' _He likes to talk a lot._ ' Hikari noted.

Hikari started walking back the way she came, and Osamu followed behind.

...She turned to him. "Osamu."

He paused at hearing his name for a moment. "Y-yeah?"

"Are you able to use more magic?" Hikari had to be sure.

"Pfft, yeah. What kind of second-rate magician do you think I am?"

"We're gonna see some crazy stuff." Hikari stated simply.

Osamu rolled his eyes. "Right. Youkai. I know, miko girl, I know."

' _...He'll find out._ ' Hikari shrugged.

They continued down the forest trail back towards the temple… until the inevitable happened.

Hikari heard whirring in the air.

"Careful." She cautioned.

Osamu looked around, curious at the noise.

Two more unidentified flying objects floated into their proximity.

"They… they have lasers. They hurt." Hikari explained.

"Oh, good." Osamu snarked.

Osamu tried PK Thunder α!

...Thwaa~sh!

A small thunderbolt hit the one he didn't aim for.

Boom!

The object exploded, the flaming metal gliding to the floor like a piece of paper.

The other one darted around.

Vrrrrr!

The laser pierced Osamu's arm.

"Aagh! Fuu~ck!"

His arm shook as he fell over onto the ground. "What the hell!?"

The machine darted towards him, but Hikari was there to intercept it.

Clang!

It wobbled in the air, and darted around some more.

Hikari looked to her companion, worried. ' _That was fast._ '

"Aaaagh!" Osamu wailed, grasping his arm. "D-don't just fucking stand there! Do something!"

' _R-right…!_ ' Hikari was suddenly frazzled.

Hikari tried PSI Lifeup α!

…

Osamu's wound was healed!

"Aaah… Oo~h, yeah…" He sighed in relief. "...Didn't know magic could do _that_ …"

The machine darted closer, and stayed close for some strange reason.

"...Hello." Hikari greeted it.

Clang!

It wobbled, and flew into the floor where it skidded to a stop and ceased moving.

' _Good. Stay dead._ ' Hikari had no sympathy for the flying metal discs of doom.

That different whirring noise was heard again as two spinning robots appeared from behind trees.

"Oh, fuck!" Osamu jumps.

"Run." Hikari instructs him, before she takes off herself. She decided not to use the wind boost; she was pretty sure the robots wouldn't really catch up.

Osamu ran alongside her. Within seconds, he was already panting.

' _Seriously?_ '

"Hahh... hahh… hahh…"

Hikari heard the sounds of violence behind her. She and Osamu began to run a little faster.

Suddenly, a tree lashed out. Again.

"Groooaahhh!"

' _Mom really needs to check out this part of the forest. It's intense compared to everything else I've had to go through on this adventure, so far._ ' Never before had Hikari seen nuclear kamikaze trees.

Youkai Tree tried Brainshock α!

The sounds of static and disorientating horns filled the local forest...

…

One of the spinning robots exploded.

Boom!

' _Alright, then._ ' Hikari didn't want to stick around.

More flying discs moved to engage the tree, while Hikari and Osamu got away safely.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Arriving back at the temple grounds, there was apparently company waiting for them.

Hikari peeked around the fence.

' _...Looks like they're expecting us…_ '

Osamu looks out after she does. "...Looks like they knew we were comin'."

Hikari mentally groaned.

Kaboom!

' _...Sounds like that tree finished its business._ '

All the guards onsite seemed to have ignored it completely. Various monks with polearms ran around in set patterns, while the village styled guards just patrolled small squares.

Kyouko was standing in front of the front doorway to the temple.

"...I say we just book it." Osamu proposes. "No way we takin' this on. Can't we just go get your mom or something?"

' _...I'd rather we didn't, to be honest._ ' Hikari liked doing these things herself, and it'd kinda ruin the point of being some 'chosen one' if you're just going to get your mom to do it.

' _...Besides, I think I know exactly what to do._ ' Hikari thought she should use… that move, but she paused.

' _Do I really not know anything my mother taught me?_ ' She tries to think back to when she went over the spellcard rules…

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: FLASHBACK TIME ====

Reimu laid her card down on the table. "This is one of my favorites. Spirit Sign, Fantasy Seal."

A ten year old Hikari nodded. ' _...Sounds made up._ '

...Reimu sighed. "Always the skeptic. Here, I'll show you…"

Floating into the air, Reimu prepared her card.

"Spirit Sign! Fantasy Seal!"

Giant orbs of technicolor light orbited around her. Since they had no target, they just flowed around Reimu for a few moments, before naturally dissipating with massive blasts.

…

Floating back down, Reimu grinned.

"...That was cool." Hikari voiced.

"Hehehe!" Pleased with the result, Reimu gives her a thumbs up. "I'll teach you how to do _that_ later, after the basic stuff, okay?"

"Okay!" Hikari eagerly nodded.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: FLASHBACK OVER ====

' _I uh, never got past the basic stuff, so…_ '

…

"Do you have any paper?" Hikari asked Osamu.

"...Yeah? I guess so… what's that gotta do with _this_!?" He gestures to the hurtmania that is the temple's courtyard.

"Reasons."

Osamu took out a blank sheet from inside his robes.

…

"I may need a uh, writing tool, too." Hikari added.

"...I happen to be out of those." Osamu sighs. "It's a long story. Fuck town guardsmen."

…

' _I guess I can make it work with, uhm…_ '

Hikari's eyes scanned the nearby area.

' _Well. I have an option. I don't like said option._ '

…

Hikari kneels, and dips the tip of her finger in some blue paint.

"..." Osamu doesn't say anything.

Hikari then sloppily draws the only spell card she remembers onto the paper.

After a few moments, it looks nearly completely illegible, with some circles drawn onto it and unreadable text on the bottom that bled together because of the paint's viscosity.

' _...Nice spell card._ '

She readied herself to step around the corner.

Osamu furrowed his brows. "You… _sure_ about this?"

She shrugged. "...I have a backup plan."

"You better."

…

Whirling around the corner, Hikari held the sheet of paper into the air. "Spirit Sign! Fantasy Seal!"

Hikari tried PK Flash α!

A strong flash suddenly engulfs the entire courtyard.

…

All the monks, guards, and Kyouko begin crying. The guards and monks are completely indifferent to it, but Kyouko kneels and bawls.

' _...Not what I expected._ '

Osamu steps around the corner. "...I, uh. Huh." It probably wasn't what he was expecting, either.

…

The angry guards and monks rush for the two.

' _That was kind of a waste of energy!_ ' Hikari decided, tossing the paper aside.

Hikari tried PK Fantasy α!

The bombardment begins.

Fizzle!

A rain of technicolor sparks shower the horde of enemies. Despite their blue tint, they flash a multitude of colors upon impact.

Fizzle!

Another barrage sweeps in from the opposite direction, surprising all of the poised and ready to defend guards and monks.

Finally, Hikari let out one final power blast to disrupt the angry mob.

Bwaa~sh!

An angry murmur of protest came from the mob. Only a few were actually stopped, but the rest seemed drained of energy and fighting will.

"Here we go, let me handle this then!" After getting over his initial shock from the energy bombardment, Osamu stepped forward to deal some magical reinforcement.

Osamu tried PK Thunder α!

Thwaa~sh!

A random youkai monk with panda ears was fried. He fell over.

' _Useful._ ' Now instead of fifteen or so angry temple-goers, there was only fourteen!

One very worn guardsman approached Hikari, lazily swinging his paint brush. Hikari stepped back so he missed.

Thwack!

"Gooaah…"

Thud. He flopped over.

The youkai monks looked better for wear, which worried Hikari.

"We should double back…" Hikari announced.

"Yeah, uh, this does not look good…" Osamu did as suggested.

The two ran around the perimeter of the temple's fencing. As they did so, only a few youkai monks could keep up as the rest of the horde slowed to a crawl around the walling.

"I got it!"

Osamu tried PK Thunder α!

Thwaa~sh!

A random wolf-esque youkai was fried. He slowly lurched over onto the floor.

"I got it!"

Osamu tried PK Thunder α!

Thwaa~sh!

...It didn't hit anything except grass, leaving a scorch mark.

"I got-"

"Please…" Hikari interrupted him. She didn't want him wasting his energy on such a random attack.

There was a tiger-eared youkai of sorts keeping strong on the offense, still tailing them. She, too, wielded a polearm. Unlike her comrades, she showed no signs of stopping.

"Y-you're… not… blue…"

Hikari felt fatigue eating at her after all the casts of healing techniques and that one powerful move she did. She brought up her gohei to try and intercept the pole's end, but the tigress abruptly jerked the pole in a manner that disarmed her of her gohei.

' _Wha-_ '

She was promptly tripped by her pole's end as the youkai swept it under her legs.

"Oof!" Hikari landed on her stomach.

"Chill out!" Osamu announced his presence with a cringe inducing pun.

Osamu tried PK Freeze α!

KaKaKoo…

A pattern of ice crystals formed at the youkai's torso. Promptly, they evaporated and reformed multiple times-

Krack!

-before exploding in a cold blast.

"Grh…" The youkai shook as her body took the impact. Despite that, the cold didn't seem to affect her very much. She moved towards Osamu, twirling the polearm with one hand.

...Hikari rose from the floor now that she had the opportunity, going to retrieve her gohei.

' _What is this one made out of…?_ ' Hikari was taken aback by the youkai's endurance.

"He-hey! Get- ack!" Osamu flailed his arms as he was struck by a few blunt strikes.

Whack! Crack! Thwack!

...Hikari came up behind the youkai with her gohei, and brought it to the back of her head.

SMAAAA~SH!

Her head rolling around a bit, the tiger girl collapsed.

' _There we go…_ '

...Hikari was alerted by the sobs of Kyouko. She was still sitting infront of the door, crying.

Hikari approached her.

"...H-hey."

Kyouko stopped sobbing for a moment.

…

Osamu walked up to them, catching his bearings after the assault he faced from the tiger girl. "...You know this-"

Kyouko stood up.

"S-stop… me…" She slowly walked towards Hikari, wielding the broom again. "...S-stop… H-ha…"

Osamu's face hardened, while Hikari wasn't sure whether to fight or to try and help out the girl.

Osamu tried PK Hydro α!

He generated a bubble that appeared in the air over Kyouko…

…

' _Okay._ ' Hikari wasn't sure what to think of it. ' _...Is now really the time for-_ '

The bubble bursts.

Splash!

Kyouko was covered in cold water. "K-kyaaa~h!"

She kneeled, dropping the now normal broom to the floor, which clattered on impact.

…

"I'll be honest…" Hikari began. "I didn't expect that to do anything."

Osamu looked down at the girl. "She should be back to normal, now."

Hikari blinked. ' _Rea-_ '

She was suddenly glomped by a wailing Kyouko. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!"

...She awkwardly patted Kyouko on the back. ' _...This works._ '

"B-Byakuren, she-she- and Mami- and the blue, and- and-... Waaah!" Kyouko was reduced to a blubbering mess.

"I-it's, uh… okay." Hikari didn't know what to tell her.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Inside a very hastily cleaned, yet still very dilapidated looking room, the three conversed.

"...Everyone was taken by this… blue stuff." Kyouko helpfully begins.

' _Yeah, I didn't know that. I thought it was pink stuff, or purple stuff._ ' Reimu snarked to herself.

"...I-it all started when one of the monks was acting funny, talking about a religion none of us ever heard of. That stupid… Happy Happy thing."

Osamu nodded. "...Seems like some weird shit's goin' down, here…"

' _Nah. It's a perfectly normal day. This is just another tuesday._ ' From what her mother told her, it may very well have been one, but Hikari figured it wasn't. She hoped.

"...Be careful in here, if you want to stick around." Kyouko cautioned them. "Everyone's out for you, Hikari. Even though you've never told us your name… we all know. That paint…"

' _Once again, someone is out to seriously ruin my day with completely outlandish and cruel tactics._ ' Hikari sighed.

"...There's something for you in the graveyard." Kyouko stated vaguely. "...That's all I know."

Osamu rose an eyebrow. "...You know somethin' we don't?"

...Kyouko became flustered. "N-no! Not like that!"

Osamu chuckled.

' _...Well, I suppose we should go check it out._ '

Hikari opens the door, and that panda youkai is back from before with a polearm, and he looks pissed.

' _...as fun as this endless mook melee in the temple is._ '

Osamu tried PK Freeze α!

KaKaKoo…

The panda man was jerked around by the freezing, thawing, and reforming of ice crystals.

Krack!

The blast sent the panda flying into the parallel wall.

"Oof!"

...Thud.

Kyouko looked nervous. "...You two should probably rest after fighting so much…"

Hikari was inclined to agree, but this was not a good place to rest. Paint and water everywhere… it was a pretty nasty place at the moment.

"...I know this cabin that was planned to be used as a jail cell, or something. I could-"

"No." Hikari says no.

"W-what? But-"

"Not now. Not ever." Hikari shuts her down.

"...O-okay…"

' _I am not walking through the forest of asshole trees again anytime soon._ '

"...Well, the closets… might be fine…" Kyouko was pretty much out of ideas.

' _...They better be an okay size…_ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Hikari was scrunched against the wall by the divider she had installed. There was no way she'd sleep in this crowded closet with Osamu and Kyouko without something to separate them from her.

' _I'm fine-ish with Kyouko, but Osamu…_ '

She shook her head.

…

Thunk!

"...Damn bucket." Osamu cursed, his foot having slipped into a plastic bucket.

The divider was some cheap wooden board that Osamu had cleaned earlier. It was part of the fence outside.

' _...This is going to be a long night…_ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

"...Hnngh…"

'... _Ouch._ '

Hikari was tempted to cast PSI Lifeup just to get rid of the aches from sleeping in such a confined space.

She stumbled out of the closet. Due to her absence, the divider folded into the wall and everyone else rolled out.

Osamu was first, dropping out of his side.

Thud.

"...Aaah! Mornin' already…?"

Kyouko falls from the closet ceiling and rolls off the divider onto Osamu.

"Oof!"

Kyouko was still asleep.

Hikari rolled her eyes, and lifted Kyouko off Osamu, and stuffed her back into the closet. Before she could roll out off the divider, Hikari slammed the door.

Thud. Kyouko probably rolled into the door.

' _She'll probably feel that when she wakes up._ '

...Hikari heard footsteps throughout the temple's closer halls.

Osamu gets up off the floor. "...Mornin', Hika- mmm!"

Hikari covered his mouth. "Listen…"

...The footsteps were audible in the various adjacent halls.

"...Oh, crap, they're all up again, aren't they…" Osamu realized, speaking in a hushed voice.

' _What fun. Well, all we need to do is get to the graveyard behind the temple…_ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

The back door to the temple bursts open. A tidal wave pours out, a few monks being swept out along with Hikari and Osamu. The water had a blue tint to it because of all the fresh paint it washed away.

' _...Quiet as mice._ ' Hikari was certain.

The monks flopped on the floor like dead fish.

...Looking around, Hikari made her way through the graveyard.

Osamu trailed behind her. "...This isn't a big graveyard." he observed.

There was a large structure that was boarded up with blue planks, that looked more like a tomb opening. Hikari peered inside, but she didn't see anything overwhelmingly interesting.

"Hmm…"

...Hikari looked around the graveyard until she saw a sign at the very end of it. It pointed to the north west, and read "TO NON-BLUE PLACE".

' _Non-blue place, huh?_ '

Hikari took note of the direction. "...We should probably follow it."

Osamu just shrugged. "Beats the temple."

Leaving the graveyard, they proceeded into the woods in the vague direction the sign indicated…

…

Before long, wildlife began to make itself apparently.

Hikari examined some moles emerging from the nearby brush.

The moles clicked their claws together, moving towards the two like they were about to get down to business.

' _Oh, boy. Serious moles._ '

...Hikari punted one away when it got close.

"Geeah!" it wailed.

The other one she didn't pay attention to leaped at her with surprising velocity.

SLAAAA~SH!

"A-aaah!" Hikari screamed as the claws swiped the side of her collar, forcing her to kneel. ' _Ouuuch!_ '

"Hey!" Osamu ran up to the mole and kicked it.

Thud!

"Geeeaah!" The mole flew off into a tree, where it grabbed the bark and scurried away.

Hikari winced at the throbbing pain from the critical slash.

Hikari tried PSI Lifeup α!

…

' _Better…_ ' Her morning stiffness was all gone, too.

Osamu grinned. "I didn't say this before, but the fact you're a healer is a godsend."

' _It really is._ '

Continuing, Hikari saw a hill in the distance, in the early morning's light.

"...There." Hikari pointed at it.

"...Sure." Osamu shrugged.

...Then a bear attacked.

"Groh…" It walked onto the scene, staring death into the eyes of the two.

"A-a bear!?" Hikari questioned.

"What the hell!?" Osamu leapt back. "Look, I got it!"

Osamu tried PK Thunder α!

Thwaa~sh!

…

The bolt wasn't anywhere to be found, but Hikari was sure she heard it.

' _...Good job._ '

"Groh!" The bear approached them.

' _Why isn't this thing hibernating!?_ '

Hikari tried Hypnosis α!

…

The bear fell asleep!

' _...Well, now it is._ '

Osamu didn't realize Hikari did it, and starts laughing. "...Stupid fucking bear! Hahaha! Went into hibernation in the middle of fucking battle!"

Hikari grins at his amusement, but moves swiftly forward anyway.

' _That hypnosis spell never seems to last very long._ '

…

Before long, Hikari reached the base of the hill. It lead straight into an inclining path that looked like it went into the hill. The walls created an unnatural hallway formation, leading to a cul-de-sac center.

She went to move into it, but-

Thud!

The Earth shook, and a spike shot from the floor, obstructing the path further into the hill's crevice.

Osamu and Hikari turned around, as the loud impact came from behind them.

Before them was the paint-spattered figure of Byakuren Hijiri.

"...I am the guardian of the Subconscious Steps." She announced.

' _I've heard of this woman before… This isn't going to be easy._ '

"H-holy shit… is that Byakuren?" Osamu whispers to Hikari.

"Yes."

"...It is quite a commendable effort that the two of you have come so far in your travels." Byakuren regarded them warmly.

Hikari blinked. ' _...Is she normal?_ '

Byakuren smiled. "I'll just have to kill both of you at once, to save you the pain. I will make it quick."

Hikari formed an 'o' shape with her mouth. ' _...That's a no~, then…_ '

"Holy fuck…" Osamu stepped back. "We're screwed!"

Byakuren glowed, the paint on her body lighting up. Strange patterns were depicted on the paint on her body…

Byakuren tried Offense Up α!

Her wrists and ankles began glowing a mix of purple and blue.

"Tonight's forecast… a _freeze_ is coming!" Osamu grinned.

' _...You can take him, Byakuren. I'll watch._ '

Osamu tried PK Freeze α!

KaKaKoo…

The ice crystals materialized and dematerialized around Byakuren rapidly. She didn't budge at all though, so it was pretty difficult to tell if they did anything.

Krack!

...The blast seemed to have been ignored.

"...Damn."

' _...Maybe she's tired._ '

Hikari tried Hypnosis α!

…

Nothing happened.

'... _Great._ '

Byakuren leapt into the air, and came down in front of Osamu.

Her fist suddenly flew, but Osamu contorted his body just enough to only be sent flying into the hillside.

"Huuaagh!"

Hikari winced. ' _Ouch._ '

Byakuren turned towards her, and Hikari's blood froze.

'... _Uh oh._ '

Time slowed down as Byakuren performed a deadly lunge with her hand wide open.

She saw Osamu marching in from the background to try and stop Byakuren.

' _...To think I'd get this far on such a silly quest…_ '

…

' _I'm not going to let anyone stop me now. A life like this was nothing more than a_ _ **fantasy**_ _for me a couple days ago..._ '

Hikari tried PK Fantasy β!

Fizzle!

A series of technicolor raindrops assaulted Byakuren like they did many other foes. The waves of colors washed over her, seemingly ineffectively.

Fizzle!

' _Some magician's not enough to stop me!_ '

Byakuren was almost unrecognizable in the torrent of colors, but she stood still and simply tanked each impact.

Hikari opened her eyes, and threw her left arm forward.

FwOwOw!

A large, polygonal burst of energy shot out and slammed into Byakuren, making her flinch.

Hikari threw her right arm forward.

FwOwOw!

Byakuren stepped back a single step.

Bwaa~sh!

…

Byakuren simply patted the dust off her shoulder. "My, my. Just as energetic as your mother was."

"Get your nun ass away from her!"

Osamu tried PK Thunder α!

Thwaa~sh!

The thunderbolt struck Byakuren, who lightly jittered.

Byakuren slowly turned towards the mage. "...I see. You're stronger than you look."

Hikari stumbled back, her eyes losing focus.

' _A-ah… so even that… wasn't enough…_ ' She bended over to catch her breath, but ended up sitting down.

Osamu tried PK Hydro α!

A bubble appeared over Byakuren!

"...Cute."

Byakuren popped the bubble herself, and let the water wash over her. The paint wriggled, but stayed in place, the patterns depicted earlier lighting up.

"You tried. That's what counts." Byakuren kindly smiles at Osamu.

' _...T-that guy's in trouble…_ '

Against her better judgement, Hikari stood up and slowly stumbled towards Byakuren.

Osamu glares back. "I'm not here for second place."

Osamu tried PK Freeze α!

KaKaKoo…

The ice crystal pattern repeated the same freezing and thawing format it always did.

Krack!

Byakuren showed no signs of being affected.

She shook her head. "...How troublesome."

Byakuren tried PSI Shield α!

Byakuren was protected by the psychic shield!

...A pale blue half-circle encapsulated Byakuren. "Now… nothing you cast will be worth using. Not anymore."

"That's what you think!"

Osamu tried PK Thunder α!

Thwaa~sh!

…

The bolt struck the psychic shield, and they canceled each other out.

Byakuren's psychic shield disappeared!

She frowned. "I said I would make this quick for you. This is only drawing out your suffering."

...Whack!

...Hikari weakly whacked the back of Byakuren's head with her gohei. Byakuren slowly turned around to face her.

"...Good-"

Bonk.

Osamu punched Byakuren in the back of the head, yielding no results.

' _...D-don't punch…_ '

Hikari tried Shield α!

Osamu was protected by the shield of light!

"W-woah…!" Osamu examined his own shield of light. "...Did Hikari do this? It looks holy…"

Hikari swayed back and forth dizzily.

"A-ah…"

Thud. Hikari collapsed...

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: OSAMU VIEW ====

' _Well, there she goes. It was only a matter of time, I guess, with magic like that._ ' He still expected the Hakurei to have bigger mana pools, though…

"Oh, dear. Most unfortunate." Byakuren monotoned, turning to Hikari's fallen form. "It appears the Hakurei bloodline ends here."

"Hey, bitch, I'm still standing!" Osamu barks at Byakuren.

' _This better fucking work this time…_ ' Osamu started caressing an imaginary orb with his hands. Soon, a fireball appeared between them.

Byakuren slowly pivoted for the uhmpteenth time, to the point it started to lose its novelty. "...Not for long." Byakuren smiled.

"Here! Fire!"

Osamu hurled the fireball at Byakuren.

Fwoom!

The fireball lightly struck her, igniting her clothes- and the paint.

' _I-I did it! I cast a real, all natural fireball! Fuck yeah!_ '

Byakuren instantly noticed the paint burning. "A-ah… Unfortunate. I cannot waste anymore time."

She suddenly flew at Osamu at breakneck speeds.

SMAAAA~SH!

Her punch delivered to his gut caused his mind to go blank for a moment, uncomprehending of what just happened.

' _I-I…_ '

He flew back into a tree.

Blam!

'...'

Osamu slid to the floor, coughing up blood.

"Cagh! Cogh! Ghh…"

The light shield was dispelled!

Osamu rolled from the tree and began crawling away.

Crack!

Byakuren flew into the tree, punching it in half with a single strike.

...Thoom!

It fell parallel to Osamu, who hardly registered how close it was.

Byakuren readied herself to leap at Osamu, but she stopped, the paint's burning beginning to affect her.

"...B-blue…" She clutched her head. "...I-I mustn't…"

' _F-fuck…_ ' Osamu crawled up to the rock spikes blocking the way, and looked up at them.

"I-I…"

…

Thud. Byakuren's burning form fell against the floor.

…

Osamu tried PK Hydro α!

A bubble appeared over Byakuren…

…

Splash!

The flames were extinguished, and the last of the paint was washed from Byakuren's singed body.

' _...Fucking religious… bitch…_ '

Osamu collapsed…

…

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIKARI VIEW ====

'...'

…

Hikari slowly lifted her face from the dirt.

'...'

She crawled forward, exhausted. It was well into midday now, if the sun indicated anything.

' _It hurts…_ '

Hikari tried Lifeup α!

…

She didn't have enough energy.

' _...N-nothing…_ ' Hikari felt a sense of horror creep up her spine, but she couldn't do anything about it.

She slowly stood, then dropped back to her knees.

' _Guess… I'm crawling…_ '

She crawled past the battered form of Byakuren, still lying in a muddy puddle in the soil.

…

…

Passing Osamu's fallen form, she shakes her head.

' _T-this… didn't go well…_ '

...She approaches the stone spikes in the way.

' _...Great._ '

…

' _I just… wanna sleep…_ '

…

Hikari looked up to the hillsides adjacent to the blocked path.

' _...L-let's… go home…_ '

She slowly stood again. Feeling lightheaded and sick, she began dragging Osamu by the ankle up the side of the hill…

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

After a long, tedious afternoon spent dragging people up a hill with weak legs, arms, and a weak head, Hikari sighed.

Thud.

Hikari dropped Byakuren's body into the crevice.

Thud.

She dropped Osamu onto Byakuren.

…

Thud.

"Eh…" Hikari grunted in displeasure, landing on the pile. She was now behind the stone spikes, at least.

"...C-c…" Hikari tried to mutter to herself, but her voice was gone.

' _Come on…_ '

She slowly dragged Osamu's faintly breathing body towards the center of the crevice, blood flowing from his mouth the whole way.

…

Hikari arrived in the center, and gazed at the small shoeprints in the grass, forming perfect marks. She felt a familiar comfort wash over her.

' _H-home…_ '

She saw a vision of a small, more traditionally dressed shrine maiden following around her mother.

Hikari paused in realization. She brought out her Sound Stone…

' _Can't forget this…_ '

She brought it back to her forehead, and stopped it there.

...

She heard a melody play.

 _A gentle breeze rolled through Giant Step, caressing the indent in the hill…_

 _It then rolled through the crevice leading to Subconscious Steps, before whirling around and escaping into the sky above..._

…

...

…

A beat continued to play after the first few notes, but no more actual music continued to be produced by the stone.

' _How refreshing..._ '

Hikari felt the breeze wash over her face, and through her hair.

She blinked.

Knowledge of the location suddenly came to Hikari, despite her having never known of the existence of such an obscure location in her life.

Hikari examined the steps. She still doesn't know who made them, but looking at them filled her with wonder.

...Walking with a second wind, Hikari traced her hand along the walls of the crevice, and along the barks of the small trees that grew here.

' _...This place feels like home, even if in reality it'd make a pretty bad house._ '

She stares up at the sky. If it rained, this place would probably be a bad place to be. On the upside, it had wind protection.

...Osamu coughed up blood nearby. "Cugh!... Shit, man, I'm bleeding!" He stands up, noticing the blood. "I'm bleeding! Holy shit! Fuck!"

He starts spitting a few more times to see if he was still bleeding. He wasn't, not anymore, at least.

"...Fuck! Hikari, help, I'm bleeding!"

Hikari sighed. "...You're gonna be fine."

"No, I'm not!" He clutched his head with both hands. "Aaaa~hh!"

…

"Hey, uh… I think I'm uh, not bleeding." Osamu noted. "...Why was I even bleed-... Oh."

His eyes ran over Byakuren's singed form.

"...I remember, now."

…

"Casted my first fucking fireball. Smooth as butter…" Osamu looked smug.

Hikari rolled her eyes, and approached Byakuren…

' _She doesn't look good…_ '

…

Hikari tried PSI Lifeup α!

A soft light shined over Byakuren, and her burns disappeared.

"Hey, hey hey! What're you doing!?" Osamu panicked.

"...She's fine now. That paint's gone." Hikari observed.

"...Right." Osamu scratched the back of his head. "I, uh… I knew that."

' _Sure._ '

…

Hikari stretched. "That was… eventful."

Osamu snorted. "We nearly died. It was eventful."

Byakuren's eyes slowly opened.

Hikari leaned over her. Osamu did, too.

"Is she dead?" He helpfully asks.

"Yes. Definitely."

"...!"

Byakuren jolts up, causing Hikari and Osamu to flinch back.

"...What happened?" She looks around. "Where are they!?"

Byakuren jumps onto her feet and looks around.

' _...She's a little batty right now._ '

...Byakuren looks to Hikari, and takes note of her blue-stained clothes and nails. "You've been converted, haven't you?"

Hikari steps back. "N-no!"

"Hey, chill it, nun!" Osamu readies his fists, despite being a mage. "You want another ass whoopin'? I kicked some ass in my day!"

"..." Byakuren's eyes scan them. "...My apologies."

She looks over Hikari. "You… you're the daughter of Reimu, aren't you?"

"...Y-yeah." Hikari admits.

Byakuren kneels. "Come, child. Give me a hug."

…

' _Haha. No._ '

Hikari folds her arms.

…

"...If you wish. Still, might I ask what you two are doing…" Byakuren looks around, standing again. "...at Subconscious Steps? As far as I am aware, very few know of this location's existence…"

' _Going on an immense perilous adventure._ '

"Sightseeing."

…

"Very well, then…" Byakuren sighed. "...Is the temple okay?"

' _...About that._ '

"...A little." Hikari puts it softly. After all, Kyouko was better, now...

"It's a massive blue clusterfuck! Everyone's brainwashed!" Osamu drops the bomb.

...A few moments of silence pass as Byakuren freezes up.

"...I've failed everyone." She states solemnly. "I let whatever that malicious substance was infiltrate the temple and corrupt my disciples…"

…

"Y'know, water usually helps." Osamu hints. "...Maybe we could try washing them…?" He lightly elbowed Hikari.

"Traditional holy cleansing methods have shown no results. I'm afraid the temple has become a sanctum of negative energy…" Byakuren is dismal about the situation. She quickly turns to Hikari, realizing something. "I… may need to request aid from the Hakurei Shrine…"

' _Look, just because my mother's… nevermind._ ' She turns to Osamu.

"No, no- I don't mean holy water." Osamu corrects. "I mean _water_ water."

…

"As optimistic as that belief is-"

"It works. I mean, it didn't on you, but… it works." Osamu assures Byakuren.

"...Very well." Byakuren shakes her head in doubt, but agrees reluctantly anyway.

' _Let's get this started…_ ' Hikari cracked her knuckles.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Walking back through the forest, Hikari took note of the fact that all of the previously hostile animals now actively fled from them.

"...Something seems to be terrifying the animals…" Byakuren appears suspicious of something.

' _That something is probably me._ ' She noticed this with the enemies near her other sanctuary location.

"Do I still have an aura of sin about me…?" Byakuren asks herself. "Maybe they're sensing the evil from the temple…"

' _Some of them were fleeing_ towards _the temple._ '

It was not long before they reached the graveyard entrance again. That one panda monk from earlier was stationed there, and took notice of the group instantly, moving to engage.

"That fuckin' panda…" Osamu grinned, preparing to cast.

Hikari moved forward to distract the panda while Osamu-

SMAAAA~SH!

...Bam!

...Byakuren sent the monk flying into the wall in one hit.

-Osamu blinked and stared at Byakuren. "I uh… I had that, y'know…"

Byakuren turned to him. "I know. I wish to end these conflicts as quickly as possible, however, for the good of my disciples. Pacifying them may be one of the most effective measures to safely attempt purification methods."

' _Well, there's that._ '

Osamu shook his head. "Look, all we gotta do is splash 'em a little, and-"

"Forgive me… but I am skeptical of such a strategy." Byakuren apologized.

"Ugh- okay, look, I'll show you."

Osamu tried PK Hydro α!

A bubble of water formed above the unconscious panda youkai…

…

Splash!

The paint on the panda washed off… or a margin of it, at least. The fur was still stained, but all of the gooier bits liquified and came off.

"That stuff water soluble, or what?" Osamu rose a brow.

' _...I don't really know, or care._ ' Hikari never painted something in her life, nor read about such.

Byakuren was unimpressed. "...There is still paint in his fur."

Osamu shrugged. "There's still paint on Hikari's outfit."

...They both turned to Hikari expectantly.

' _Uhhh…_ '

"...W-when I was losing myself, hitting myself, uh, helped." Hikari admitted.

' _It probably only makes a difference in low doses or something._ '

Byakuren turned away and faced the temple again, offering no further comment.

Osamu shrugged.

' _...Now I feel awkward._ '

They continued into the temple…

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

"Look at this!"

Osamu tried PK Hydro α!

...Splash!

Byakuren turned to a nearby monk-

"Hold it, hold it!"

Osamu tried PK Hydro α!

...Splash!

Byakuren stepped back, her clothes soaked.

"I got it!"

Osamu tried PK Hydro α!

...Splash!

"Haah!"

Osamu tried PK Hydro α!

Hikari dove out of the way as the bubble popped over her. Her legs still got wet.

"H-hey!"

A mouse youkai was drenched, lying on the floor nearby. There was also one of those wolf monks, who was now clutching his head.

Byakuren ceased paying attention to her outfit's moisture, now noticing the merits of soaking the affected temple dwellers. "...Hmm. It seems… that I've misjudged your strategy."

"About time." Osamu folded his arms.

"Gghh…" The wolf youkai grunted.

Byakuren walked up to the mouse. "...Are you well, Nazrin?"

Nazrin looked up at her. "...N-no. That sucked."

Byakuren closed her eyes. "...I'm sorry."

"W-well, it wasn't your fault… I think." Nazrin scratched her head. "...I feel like I haven't eaten in days. I'm gonna go fix up something to-"

"Hold up." Osamu held up his hand. "I gotta flood the rest of everything before the place is safe."

"...In that case, you're gonna wanna find Murasa or something. She's good with water…" Nazrin supplied. "...I-I need water myself, right now."

Osamu tried PK Hydro α!

...Nazrin stared at the bubble above her.

"...You asshole."

Splash!

Nazrin held open her mouth and caught some of the water.

She gulped it down. "...Nice job wasting the rest of that water, by the way."

Osamu shrugged. "Got plenty of mana where that came from, mousey."

Nazrin sighed. "Don't call me 'mousey', kid."

' _Some girl named Murasa, huh._ '

"I'll call you-"

Byakuren hijacked the conversation. "It is in times when faced with great adversity, others may band together for the benefit of one another and themselves." She smiled.

...Nazrin nodded. "I suppose that's her way of telling us to stop. I think she's right."

Osamu rolled his eyes. "Whatever, we've got bigger fish to fry, anyway."

She grunted, annoyed by the perceived height comment. "You would."

' _I'm just going to move forward before anyone kills one another._ '

Hikari moves forward into the temple, and Osamu quickly takes notice and tails behind her. Byakuren does, too.

…

"Hraagh!"

Bam!

A wall flies open, the tiger youkai girl blocking the way.

' _Jeez!_ ' Hikari flails her arms as she leaps back, startled by the sudden violence.

"It's time for a bath, cat!"

Osamu tried PK Hydro α!

' _Ugh…_ '

A bubble appeared over the tigress. She swung at it.

Splash!

The paint on her body lit up with similar patterns to the ones Byakuren had on her.

"Shit." Osamu noticed them the moment they lit up. "Looks like water's not gonna work, here."

Byakuren acted, stepping towards the tiger girl.

"Shou. Can you hear me?" Byakuren held her arms out cautiously.

...Shou made a jab at Byakuren, who grabbed the polearm before it made contact.

"...I'm sorry."

Byakuren swings the polearm around, and slams Shou into a wall.

Thud.

"Gh…"

Hikari takes the opportunity to whack Shou upside the head with her gohei.

Whack!

"I wonder…"

Osamu tried PK Hydro α!

A bubble formed over Shou. Hikari went to whack shout again, but Shou grabbed the gohei before it made contact.

...Splash!

The water rained down on the two. Shou's paint began to wear off, the patterns flickering and losing power.

...Shou stood, raising her fists, only to slide to her knees again.

…

"I think she's cool for now." Osamu observed.

' _Yeah. The paint's still stuck to her, but she's not violent anymore._ '

"We gotta find this Murasa chick fast. She better be able to like, throw water around like no one's business, or this is gonna get tedious as hell." Osamu complained.

Byakuren smiled. "I'm sure she'll be able to perform up to expectations."

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Before long, they reached the temple's kitchen. In their wake was a plethora of soaked, frozen, and electrocuted guards and monks that suffered from various forms of head trauma or bodily harm.

' _Byakuren makes a good brick wall._ '

Opening the kitchen, blue paint flowed out of the door. The room seemed to have been filled with a knee-high amount of paint.

"Woah, get back! Get back!" Osamu fled from the wave of paint. Hikari used a wind boost to leap back with haste, and Byakuren's natural dodge was faster than Hikari's leap.

' _...Show off._ '

...After a few moments of waiting, the paint had passed. The trio made their way into the kitchen…

...and were greeted to quite the sight.

In the middle of the room sat a large, curious looking gold statue.

Hikari blinked. ' _...A little of place, to be honest. This looks kinda like a kitchen…_ '

"What's with the gaudy paper weight?" Osamu tilted his head.

Byakuren's eyes widened. "T-...That... _thing_!"

She staggered back as if stricken by a powerful blow. "S-so much evil…"

' _...That doesn't sound good._ '

Byakuren strafed closer to it…

A subtle ripple emitted from it. Hikari and Osamu jittered slightly, but they weren't sure from what.

Byakuren cringed back, and shot her arms into the air.

"A-aaaa~h!"

Her hands went to her head, and she stumbled back into a counter.

' _That really doesn't sound good._ '

"...How much you wanna bet we gotta smash that shit?" Osamu points at the statue.

"Smashing stuff is what I do best." Hikari smugly replied, readying her gohei.

"That's what I wanna hear!"

The statue began floating.

"...The fuck?" Osamu's jaw dropped.

Hikari looked around the room, evaluating the situation…

She saw a girl dressed in a sailor suit on the wall, chained up. Various other figures were chained to the walls, immobile.

' _...Let's do this._ ' Hikari took a combat stance.

The statue began slowly hovering around the room. Hikari ran up to it and gave it the 'ol one-two.

Tink! Kink!

...It didn't sound like it did much of anything.

' _...I really need a better violence stick._ '

"Cooking directions: freeze well!" Osamu grinned.

' _You're trying too hard._ '

Osamu tried PK Freeze α!

KaKaKoo…

The ice crystals rapidly formed inside and around the statue, shaking it a bit.

Krack!

The cold snap didn't appear to do anything amazing, though.

The statue suddenly spun around.

It tried PK Thunder β!

Thwaaa~sh!

Boom!

A stove exploded.

A second lightning bolt struck down from the ceiling.

Thwaaa~sh!

"Etetetata!" Hikari jittered violently from the shock, her mind going blank for a moment as she stared into space.

"A-ah, uh…" Osamu awkwardly watched Hikari get fried. "...You okay?"

...Hikari fell backwards into the paint.

"H-hey!" He ran over to Hikari, lifting her up. "Get the fuck up!"

Hikari blinked, her thoughts slowly returning. ' _W-where…_ '

She stared into the blue paint, and felt at ease. ' _Oh. Good…_ '

Her eyes locked with the yellow statue, and she suddenly felt hostile towards it.

' _...Stupid thing!_ '

She ran at it again.

Kink! Twang~!

Nothing constructive happened from her thrashes.

"Damn…" Osamu scowled, wishing he had some kind of defensive maneuver.

The nun was still watching from the sidelines.

Byakuren tried PSI Shield α!

Hikari was protected by the pale blue psychic shield!

Osamu nodded. "...That works."

' _B-blue!_ '

Hikari froze.

' _...No! No, not again!_ '

Thwack!

"Gah…"

She stepped back.

The statue spun in place again.

It tried PSI Lifeup α!

…

The damage it sustained was repaired!

Byakuren looked up from the counter.

"...H-...Hikari!"

Hikari turned towards her.

"C-come here…"

Nodding, she hurried towards her. Once she got close, Byakuren pulled out her rainbow scroll.

"Hold up your gohei."

Hikari did as instructed.

Byakuren's scroll began cycling through shapes rapidly. Hikari's gohei began to glow a pale purple…

"Fight me, one vee one! I'll knock you the fuck out, mate!" Osamu walked up to the statue, holding up his fists.

Osamu tried PK Thunder α!

Thwaa~sh!

...It hit the stove, again.

The statue tried PSI Shield α!

It was protected by the psychic power shield!

"...There." Byakuren closed her scroll, the magical aura fading from herself. The gohei still glowed a pale purple. "It should be far more efficient than it was previously."

' _Finally got that done. It's about freaking time..._ ' It's probably been a couple days since Hikari set out to get her gohei enchanted, and here she was beating the shit out of a magical statue instead.

Hikari equipped the Magical Gohei!

...Speaking of, she turned to the statue.

' _Come get some!_ '

She ran at it, and lashed out at it again.

Clang! Bo~ng!

The statue vibrated lightly with each strike.

' _Much better…_ '

It spun around in retaliation.

It tried PK Thunder β!

Thwaa~sh!

The stove was no more.

Thwaa~sh!

It struck Hikari again, her psychic shield absorbing the brunt of the impact.

"Gagagah- guguh!" Hikari vibrated violently, but managed to keep her footing.

Her psychic power shield was dispelled!

"Die, already, you stupid statue peice of shit!"

Osamu tried PK Thunder α!

Thwaaa~sh!

It struck the statue's power shield, breaking it.

Clang! Thu~nk!

The statue continued to vibrate from Hikari's strikes.

The statue ceased its gradual movements, and instead just vanished, distorting in the air as it disappeared.

...Moments later, all the paint was gone. It just up and vanished.

Hikari's eyes darted around the battered kitchen.

' _...I think… it's finally over._ '

…

"...The evil has left." Byakuren sighed. "...It's still not dead, however. It might have determined that it could not defeat you as it was, however. I would exercise caution." She warned the party.

"Still… you both did a very good job. You're becoming more like your mother, Hikari."

' _I'm pretty sure mom didn't run around hitting things with only her gohei, but okay._ '

The youkai mage turned to the human page. "You, young man…"

Osamu yawned, tired from casting. "Hey."

"...What's your name?"

"Osamu."

Byakuren nodded. "...I can repay you for your deeds here today."

Osamu considered it. "...I could use something defensive. I got all these offensive things that only sometimes do shit, and it's like… I keep seeing Hikari get beat the fuck up. I mean, she hardly even uses magic… and when she does, it kicks her ass, so I mean…"

' _You make me sound like I suck at fighting. You wouldn't be entirely wrong._ '

Smiling, Byakuren agreed. "...I'll teach you some minor enchantment magics, then. I assume you want to learn-"

Osamu learned PSI Shield α!

"-some sort of magical defense wards? Or would you be interested in physical defense wards?

...Osamu scratched the back of his head, knowledge of a defensive technique suddenly clicking to him.

"Um… like this?"

Osamu tried PSI Shield α!

Byakuren was protected by the psychic power shield!

"...Hmm." Byakuren examined the shield. "...I suppose you won't be needing defense enchantments, then."

"Actually, I think I'm cool…" Osamu smiled. "I've got all the enchantments I need right here." He taps his head with his pointer finger.

"...Very well. This temple is still in debt to you two. Come back and rest any time you wish… though, please do understand that we will be undergoing intensive repairs due to the recent transgressions."

...All the previously blue-spattered monks on the wall were now up, and complaining.

Some tubby youkai groaned. "Why'd they use metal chains?"

Snap! He broke from the shackles immediately. "I have a harder time getting outta bed!"

Murasa looked around the room. "...Bleedin' hell… Is all that blue shit gone yet?"

Byakuren folded her arms, stepping towards Murasa.

"I-I mean, uhh… Jolly heck. Is all that blue… grime… gone yet?" Murasa censored herself. "...Byakuren, this ain't the time to-"

"The crisis is over." Byakuren states simply.

"...Still!" Murasa pulls at her shackles-

Snap!

"There we are…"

She lands on the floor with a clack.

"...About damn time, too. Those things make yer wrists itch somethin' fierce. Don't even get me started on the paint…" Murasa idly itches her wrists. "...Sweet release…"

' _A sailor. Because Gensokyo has water to sail in._ ' Hikari, despite having gone through a very abstract form of religious warfare, was hung up on the fact there was a sailor.

...Murasa notices her staring. "Whadda you lookin' at, Reimu?"

'...' Hikari sighs.

Byakuren sighs.

Osamu tries to sigh, but yawns instead.

"...What?" Murasa was getting annoyed.

"My name is Hikari." She corrected.

…

"Oh. Oo~h! You're the shriney's daughter! I gotcha, I gotcha… Sorry, you just look so much like her, and uh…"

"It's fine." Hikari lied. ' _It's annoying is what it is…_ '

...Murasa noticed that she was still displeased. "Ahah…"

"These two helped liberate the temple and myself from that malicious substance." Byakuren explained. "...It was rather unfortunate, but without them I believe the temple, and ourselves, may have been ruined."

Murasa nodded. "Shi- ah, I mean… Jeez? That's somethin'..."

Shou ran into the kitchen. "Hey! Hey guys! I'm free again!"

Everyone turns to her.

She notices the amount of people in the room. "A-ah… All the paint seems to be gone, too…"

She pauses to compose herself, not expecting there to be a full house.

Snap! Snap!

Various other monks were freeing themselves.

' _How did they let themselves get hung up there in the first place…?_ ' They made breaking metal look easy.

Hikari looked around. ' _...Well, I got what I came for._ ' She looked over her freshly enchanted gohei. "I suppose we should be heading out."

Murasa looked around. "Where're the others, anyway?"

Byakuren shook her head. "That, I do not know. Nazrin should be here any moment, however."

On cue, Nazrin ran in. "I need food!"

She bolted towards the fridge, and tore it open.

"Hnngh…!"

She made a strained noise as she pulled out an oversized cheese wheel.

' _How did that even get in there?_ ' Hikari questioned. ' _...Why do they even have a fridge?_ ' She was befuddled by the out of place technology.

"Ohhh~hohoho, yeaa~h… I'm gettin' tanked tonight!" Nazrin beamed.

Shou took her side. "Double!"

The tubby youkai took her other side. "Triple!"

The two looked at him curiously, but shrugged it off.

Murasa protested. "Hey, hey, hey!" She pointed at the cheese wheel. "That's supposed to last a month!"

Hikari looked over to Byakuren, who was smiling slightly uncomfortably at her disciples.

' _Fun place._ '

Osamu finally decided to comment after fiddling idly with electricity. "Y'know, I don't think this place is half bad. You guys got any booze?"

Shou nods. "Lots!"

Byakuren does a double take.

"...Lots of empty space for it, I mean!" Shou corrects.

Byakuren stares her down.

"...I-I promise."

"...I'll take your word for it, then." Byakuren keeps her perpetual smile, but Hikari felt slight animosity coming from it.

' _Those bottles are getting poured._ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Hikari and Osamu were out at the gate, speaking with Kyouko.

"I can't thank you two enough… That was a scary time."

Hikari smiled. "It, uh… yeah."

' _I was about to say it wasn't any problem, but in retrospect, it definitely was._ '

...Kyouko blinked. "Say… did any of you two see some of my other friends? Like, uh… There's this girl named Nue, with-"

Kaboom!

Hikari flinched, and looked towards the woods.

She heard a far off shout come from the woods, too. "Holy shi~t!"

…

"I think we found her." Kyouko deadpanned.

"Get Byakuren, that forest sucks." Hikari instructed.

"It sucks _ass_!" Osamu added.

Kyouko ran off to find Byakuren, while Hikari turned and began stepping down the steps back into the near-village woods. Osamu followed.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

END OF CHAPTER 4

Protagonist: Hikari Hakurei, Disciple of Paradise

-Inventory-

Weapon: Magical Gohei - Ability to whack stuff really hard. Amplifies whacking power, too! Able to deal magical damage. Critical hits enabled.

Arms: Iconic Hakurei Arm Sleeves - Keeps arms warm. A Hakurei tradition. How they stay on is a Hakurei family secret.

Body: Nothing

Misc: Nothing

-Skills-

Attack: Quickly! Swing your gohei at them for massive damage!

PK Fantasy α, β - Bombards the enemy with pain in the form of flashing colors. Deals magical damage. Heavy mental strain that increases with each tier.

PK Flash α - A bright flash that distributes very random status effects to enemies. Usually makes people cry.

PK Hypnosis α - Puts weak enemies to sleep for a short time. Works better on tired or exhausted foes.

Shield α - Halves damage the target takes. Only works against physical attacks, and enough strikes, or powerful strikes, will dispel it.

PSI Lifeup α - Heals target a little.

PSI Healing α - Heals basic status ailments.

Ofuda Toss - Throw a holy ofuda that does massive holy elemental damage to youkai and dark elemental foes. Effect lessens the more holy the thing you're attacking is, to the point of healing holy things. Only works if you actually have ofuda, though.

β-β-β-β

Mage: Osamu Katsumi, the Wannabe Mage

-Inventory-

Weapon: Fisticuffs!

Arms: Nothing

Body: Worn Magician Robes - An old robe from the days when the village respected the medium of magic. Well past its due date, but still comfy!

Misc: Nothing

-Skills-

PK Thunder α - Very random thunder attack that deals limited damage.

PK Hydro α - Gets everyone wet. Usefulness with PK Thunder and PK Freeze depends on whether you hit yourself or not!

PK Freeze α - Generates ice crystals at the target's location. Low damage and effect; may freeze wet targets.

Fireball - Manipulate mana to make a shoddy fireball. Low damage and effect.

Static Hands - Not a real spell. Result of a very undercharged PK Thunder that can accidentally go off.

PSI Telepathy α - Speak to friends you haven't met yet! Unstable connection and only works if they have the skill or are asleep.

PSI Shield α - Halves damage from magical and psychic attacks. Thunder spells fry it instantly, and harder blows dispel it.

β-β-β-β

Author's Note:

hello and welcome again friends

publishing two chapters because that cliffhanger at the end of 3 is pointy, and i used my CO SUPERPOWER two days ago to just sit down and write for like six or so hours. i wrote like, 7 k words in that time frame

also this is basically twoson done, hyonk

dunno what to do with the mani mani statue as of right now, but i've GOT SOME PLANS…

super mario sunshine: asshole mage edition  
i did actually do research on osamu's name, but i forget what it meant now XD, so uhhh

as always, see you all next time!


	5. On The Highway To Hakurei

A blue-stained shrine maiden and a mage with ripped up robes walked back into town.

The guardsman glared at the robed man, and spoke out quickly. "Hey, you! We've been-"

Hikari turned and glared at the guard. "I-is there a problem?"

' _Voice, work with me…_ '

"Yeah! There's a problem!" The guard reels his arm in preparation for a fight. "That guy's a wanted fugitive! For all we know he's a youkai by now!"

Osamu frowned at the man. "C'mon, Hikari, let me handle this…"

Hikari shook her head tiredly. "I believe the captain told you we could pass without any trouble, right?"

"No, he said _you_." He pointed at Hikari. "Nothin' about that _thing_ beside you."

Hikari groaned. "Do I have to beat you up, like the entirety of the captain's elite guard?"

Osamu double-took. "You did what?"

The guard double-took, too. "You did _what!?_ "

...He looked around anxiously. "Is uh… is that why they were all sore the next day? Holy crap…" He scratched the back of his head. "W-well, uh, I don't buy it!" He draws his sword. "I don't care if you're that Hakurei girl's daughter! You can't just go around guarding refugees and making up tall tales!"

Hikari eyes her enchanted gohei. ' _This might go better, actually…_ '

Osamu holds up his arms. "Oh, shit… C'mon Hikari, let's just-"

Hikari runs up to the guard before he realizes what she's doing.

SMAAAA~SH!

"Gufaa~h!"

The guard reeled back and flew into the village wall behind him. His sword clattered to dirt beside him uselessly. He looked up at Hikari, now fearful.

"C-c'mon! Don't use your holy shit on me! Look, I'm sorry! I was following orders, honest! Fuck!" He held up his arms, cowering against the wall.

Hikari nodded, satisfied. "Stay away."

Osamu eyed the enchanted gohei. "Holy shit. That thing's, like, death on a stick."

' _It's death_ in _a stick._ '

They walked through the village, and as they did other guards took notice of the robed man and trailed behind the two. Eventually a gaggle of guards were trailing ten feet or so behind them.

' _This is getting silly._ '

…

' _I should see if the candy stalls are open today._ ' It was a new day, after all.

She went to Keine's house, Osamu following her.

She opened the door, walking in with him.

Keine looks up at them. "Oh, hey- oh, woah, woah!"

She flinches involuntarily at the sight of Osamu. "H-Hikari, that's a wanted fugitive! Why are your clothes all ripped!?... Why are they blue!?"

' _I may have made a mistake coming here…!_ '

Hikari held her hands up. "Okay, first… Things happened at the temple. I'm fine." ' _Sorta._ '

Keine folds her arms, staring with a mix of judgement and concern.

"Second, why's he a fugitive?" Hikari gestured to the nervous mage beside her.

"I wasn't told. The town guard just said he was a wanted criminal and had escaped." Keine explained. "Well, not a high-priority criminal or anything. What's he doing with you, Hikari?"

Hikari sighed. "He's cool."

Keine frowned. "Now, Hikari-"

"Seriously. He's being singled out 'cause he's a _mage._ "

…

"Wait, really?" Keine narrows her eyes. "...That's foolish of the village if it were true. I'll look into it myself, then. Just… be careful, Hikari. Remember what I told you about strangers."

' _I don't think just any stranger would fit the prophecy thing… or help me kick blue ass._ '

...Osamu fidgeted nervously.

Hikari noticed his discomfort. "Let's just go."

Keine stared at the two apologetically as they left.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

' _I never did spend that money._ ' Hikari sighed.

After that, they'd gone straight out of the village, leaving the horde of non-assertive guards in the village, and made their way towards the Hakurei Shrine.

They'd gone around to the hillside where Hikari's bedroom faced.

"Here," Hikari held out her gohei. "Grab."

Osamu grabbed it. "...How's this, uh-"

Hikari enchanted herself with wind, and jaunted up the hill.

Fwoosh!

"W-woaa~h!"

…

Hikari skidded to a stop at the top of the hill. Osamu crashed into her, and they fell over.

"Oof!"

…

' _Well, we got up the hill._ '

They stood up, brushing themselves off.

Hikari turned to him. "Hide in my room. Kinda weird to explain you to mom, after all."

Osamu nodded compromisingly. "Yeah, I've kinda seen what you mean before…" Osamu thought back to the times kids have put their parents through ridiculous situations, and to his past with his father.

They climb into Hikari's room.

"...Pretty bare." Osamu comments.

"Shhh…" Hikari shushes him. "Dunno if mom can hear…"

"Right, right…" Osamu replied in a hushed tone.

...Osamu sat against the wall. Hikari left the room to go see how things were.

Looking around, she saw her mother at a kotatsu in the middle of the room, like most days.

She looked over to Hikari. "Hey, Hi-iiii~ _Wha~t!?_ "

...Hikari looked down at her blue-stained clothes.

' _I keep forgetting about that part. Whoops._ '

Reimu bolted up to Hikari. "What happened!? Who did this!?" Her grip tightened on her own gohei.

"It's- uh… it's a long story." Hikari started.

"Well, sit down. Let me get a change of clothes for you…" Reimu goes to Hikari's room. Hikari tenses up.

' _Well... shit._ '

…

Reimu comes back with a clean, undamaged shrine maiden outfit in Hikari's size, identical to the last. She's also holding Osamu by the back of his robe.

"...Do you know this thing?" Reimu looks about ready to use him as a pinata.

Hikari nods. ' _This is going to get awkward…_ '

…

"S-so…" Hikari begins.

Reimu plops Osamu down at the side of the kotatsu. "Move and you'll be sorry."

Osamu smiles sheepishly. "Eheh…"

…

' _Well, I have to say something…!_ '

"I- uh, I went to town with the money…" Hikari began.

Reimu's hands slammed down on the kotatsu. "Was it one of those bullies? Was it that Porky brat?"

Hikari shook her head. "No. Well, kinda, but-"

"I knew it…" Reimu sighed. "You need to speak out more. Really…"

' _That's not it!_ '

Hikari shook her head. "I-it's not like that…"

"Well, continue." Reimu sighed.

…

"So, all the candy stalls were closed today, and… I decided to go get my gohei enchanted at the temple."

Reimu smiled. "About time you took that offer! Byakuren was worried you forgot, or something. She told you about it a few years ago, but you just kinda ignored it…"

' _I don't remember that. I must've not thought it was important…_ '

"It was at the festival, and… whatever. Continue." Reimu waved herself off.

"...So when I got there, there was a situation." Hikari introduced her latest adventure. "There was blue paint everywhere."

Reimu tilted her head. "...So they were painting the temple blue?"

Osamu shook his head. "No, dude, like- Ah!"

He jerked her head back as Reimu pointed her gohei at his throat.

"Quiet." Reimu growled at him. "My _daughter_ was talking."

"S-sorry…"

Thud. Osamu fell backwards onto the floor trying to avoid Reimu's gohei.

…

Hikari paused as Osamu readjusted himself. "Anyway, the paint was slathered wildly all over the grass and walls… a-and this girl named Kyouko tried to attack me…"

Reimu was puzzled. "...Sounds like things got rowdy... What do you mean Kyouko attacked you?"

' _This is going nowhere. I should just explain the gist of the situation…_ '

"I-In, _in_ …" Hikari paused after pronouncing the word correctly. "...In summary, this blue paint brainwashed everyone, I-I beat up Kyouko, met Osamu," Hikari gestured to Osamu, "and then we beat up more brainwashed monks, and we fought Byakuren, and uh…" She turned to Osamu.

' _You could probably explain this better…!_ ' Hikari blushed.

Osamu shook his head, pointing at Reimu.

…

"...What?" Reimu hasn't yet comprehended the words that came from Hikari's mouth.

"That's kinda why I'm all blue." Hikari finished.

' _Wait for it…_ '

…

" _Whaaa~t!?_ " Reimu jolted up from the kotatsu, "W-what do you mean, 'fight' and 'fought'!?"

' _Mom looks ready to crack some skulls..._ '

"Are you hurt!?" Reimu flipped the kotatsu aside and rushed over to her daughter.

"N-no, Mom…" Hikari sighed. "I got out of it okay. I even got rid of the paint…"

"W-what about all the blue…!?"

"It's fine. I mean… I think I got brainwashed for a moment, but…"

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

After a very lengthy period of correcting hasty conclusions and calming her mother, Hikari had finally fully explained the nuances of the situation.

' _Never again. The time wasted and embarrassment suffered was unreal..._ '

"...So you're saying you did all of that yourself?" Reimu confirmed.

Hikari nodded.

"...Without any spell cards."

Hikari nodded.

"...With that shoddy gohei of yours."

Hikari took vague offense to that, but actually somewhat agreed with that statement.

' _It's enchanted now!_ '

"...And you sustained _no_ injuries?" Reimu narrowed her eyes.

' _...I still haven't told her about the other things. Those are even more implausible…_ '

"...Well, yeah." Hikari grinned sheepishly.

…

Reimu sighed. "And here you got me all worried for nothing… For all I know, you probably just walked under a ladder and came up with some insane story to cover it up."

' _Hey! I-... well, that's probably better than her acting on the real story, anyway._ ' Hikari flared for a moment, but calmed down rapidly.

"Next time, just tell the truth, alright?" Reimu scolded. "...Your friend over there can stay, too. Don't expect me to make food or anything for him, though."

Osamu shrugs.

Reimu gets up and stretches. "...I'll get you an orange juice, though, Hikari."

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Hikari lies in her futon, staring up at the ceiling.

Osamu was in the main room. Reimu told him to sleep using 'whatever means necessary'...

' _Whatever that means._ '

Probably meant he had to craft himself something out of nothing… which, in layman's terms, means he'd have to sleep on the floor.

Hikari was fine with that herself.

' _...That could've, uhh, gone better…_ ' Her discussion with her mother left her embarrassed, but she supposed it was as good a cover story as any for how it ended up.

' _I don't know what I'm going to do tomorrow…_ ' She had no leads on the other sanctuaries, as far as she was aware.

' _...That can wait, I guess…_ '

Hikari slowly drifted off to sleep…

…

'...'

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

"Haa~h…"

Hikari raises from a dreamless sleep, looking around her room.

' _...Cold morning. The weather must be getting chillier..._ '

Getting out of her futon, she moves to the door, realizing she slept in her new shrine maiden outfit.

' _Whatever. I doubt it's going to get that bad again. I pretty much have to throw out the stained one at this point._ '

She makes her way to the main room, noticing Osamu sleeping on the bar counter her mother setup.

' _Good of a bed as any._ ' Hikari supposed.

Reimu was polishing the counter next to him. She looks up at Hikari. "Oh, good, you're awake!"

She pushes Osamu off the counter.

Thud.

"Hwaah!?" He flails wildly on the floor.

Reimu begins polishing the space where he slept, while Hikari giggles.

"I've got an errand I need you to do today. Well, more like an errand from Marisa… and Alice… and Patchouli."

' _Oh, boy._ ' Hikari prepares herself for an insane task.

"I need you to run down to Eientei, pick up Marisa a pack of ice, Alice's prescription of butterfly dream pills, and Patchouli's cough medicine." Reimu listed.

' _...Why the pack of ice?_ ' Hikari wondered. It'd probably be melted by the time she got back here with it, anyway.

Regardless, it wasn't as demanding of a task as Hikari anticipated… but she was sure things were going to go to hell one way or another when she got there.

"...You can take your friend with you, too, if you want." Reimu leans over the counter, staring down at Osamu.

He was awake, but he didn't want to be. "Uu~gh…"

"Get up." Reimu ordered.

"Fine, fine! Sheesh…" He sits up groggily, blinking.

"I think I'll get started now." Hikari decided.

Reimu smiled. "Getting a head start early for once? That's unlike you, but it's a good habit to get into!"

' _That's unlike you, too._ ' Hikari always knew her mother to be pretty lazy when she wasn't caring for her. Not that she could blame her, though. ' _It's not like the shrine really needs sweeping every day._ '

Hikari leaves through the front door of the shrine, and Osamu hastily follows.

' _Normally I'd be reading until noon, but I'm pretty sure searching for those places is more important…_ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Hikari walked through the streets, smiling at an open candy stall. There was still a crowd of guards near her, but she didn't mind since they didn't seem to do anything but glare at them.

The vendor looked nervous as hell, though. "S-so… What, uh, would you like today, Hikari…?"

"Hmm…"

Things he had for sale:

Fairy Treat - 100 Yen - Food that entices fairies. Cheap and affordable, but it makes your hands smell. Not intended for human consumption, but not unsafe to eat.

Bag of Peppermint Swirls - 500 Yen - Swirly peppermint treats. Can last one a long time…

Bubblegum - 100 Yen - Just makes you hungry more often than not. Hip and popular with today's kids, much to Keine's dismay. She's beginning to find gum under her desks…

Jellybean Bag - 500 Yen - Common chewable treat. Makes a great snack.

Goldfish Bag - 1000 Yen - The snack that smiles back. Premium snack cracker 'produced' by the Yakumo and sold for high in bulk to vendors who try to cut a profit by selling it drastically lower strategically. It's smiling, so it might make a good snack.

' _...I've never considered those bags of goldfish worth it until now…_ ' It wasn't often Hikari got a whole five thousand yen to just run around with.

She took a bag of goldfish snack crackers, and put one thousand yen on the counter.

The vendor blinked. "T-thank you, Hikari…"

Hikari turned to the guards. "If you harass this stall, I'll tell Mom."

...The guards quickly went about business as usual, but a few scornfully looked back at her as they moseyed off.

' _I don't like saying that, but it's true. When it comes to candy, I'm serious business._ ' Ironically, she didn't buy candy today, though, but she still thought herself the village sweet tooth.

Hikari stashed the goldfish bag in her new outfit's pocket.

' _I should have remembered to make ofuda…_ ' Hikari shook her head. ' _I knew I forgot something…_ '

Osamu nodded, satisfied at the guards' departure. "...Why didn't'cha just threaten 'em with your mom before?"

Hikari frowned. "I don't want to rely on her for everything, you know…"

Osamu shrugged. "I guess…"

They continued to the village gates that lead towards Eientei. They were the same ones they used to leave to the temple.

' _Actually…_ '

"We should stop by the temple on our way." Hikari announced.

Osamu looked indifferent. "Cool by me. Anywhere's better than this cramped-ass village."

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Hikari zoomed up the hillside next to the steps, and into the wall next to the temple's gate.

Bam!

"Oof…" Hikari winced as she was squished between the wall and Osamu again.

Kyouko jumped. "Wh-what!?"

She looked to the source of the noise. "...Oh. Hi, guys."

Osamu stumbled from the wall, as did Hikari moments later. "...Oh~ he-hey…"

' _I really need to find a good way to stop earlier…_ '

"What brings you here today? I-if you don't mind me asking…" Kyouko frazzled herself.

Hikari shook the dizziness from herself. "W-we came to shop around, I guess…"

Kyouko pouted. "Shop?... I don't know if we have many things around like that… Byakuren doesn't agree with those things, I don't think."

Osamu was in the background playing with his spark hand trick…

' _Ahh…_ ' Hikari was slightly disappointed. "I suppose we'll just go, then."

"Where're you guys headed to?" Kyouko asks.

' _Nosey. Must be boring out here for her to get this nosey…_ ' Hikari knew a thing or two about being nosey.

"Eientei." Hikari answered.

"You know how to get through the Bamboo Forest of the Lost, right?" Kyouko asked them.

Osamu was interested. "Bamboo forest of the what?"

He accidentally tried PK Thunder α!

Thwaa~sh!

A portion of the newly installed and properly painted fenceway exploded.

Boom!

Kyouko flinched. "Ah!"

…

"...We just installed that, too…" Kyouko hunched over.

Hikari elbowed Osamu in the ribs.

"Ah- hey!"

Kyouko seems to get over it quick enough. "...Anyway, you might need Byakuren or Mamizou to bring you there. It's an easy place to get lost in, and there are predatory youkai in those woods. I think I speak for all of us when I say I don't wanna see you two get eaten…"

Osamu gives a cocky smile. "Eaten? Us? Pfff~t…"

...Hikari looked vaguely worried. ' _I'm not sure how we might fair against respectable youkai, if they're anything like Byakuren or otherwise. But… could it really be that bad?_ '

Hikari thinks of her mother.

' _...We don't need any help._ '

After a few moments of thinking, Hikari shakes her head. "I think we'll be fine."

' _After all, I-..._ we _got to this point without any help…_ '

Kyouko pouts again. "...Alright. Stay safe, you two. I don't think Byakuren'd know what to do with herself if you two got hurt…" She perks up. "Say, when you guys come visit again, you should meet Mamizou! She's really nice!"

' _I'll keep it in mind…_ '

"Sure thing!" Osamu agrees, grinning.

The two hastily and clumsily step down the hillside.

' _Why do religious monuments require such harsh hillsides?_ ' Hikari reflects.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

The two teens marched through the open plain towards the bamboo.

"This place is real nice…" Osamu appreciates the greenery. "I always saw this field from the walls a few times, but like, I never thought I'd actually walk 'em, y'know? Like… wow."

' _That's nice._ ' Hikari yawned...

On the other hand, this wasn't Hikari's first time in these fields…

' _At least, I think._ ' She wasn't sure. She did recognize the place, though.

They continued walking down the linear path.

"Hey!"

Hikari paused.

Osamu groaned. "Fairies. Just ignore 'em…"

"Hey! Listen!"

' _Right…_ '

A blonde-haired fairy flew in front of them.

"He~y!"

Light fairy tried PK Flash α!

Hikari shielded her eyes from the bright flash.

' _Annoying…_ '

Osamu did the same.

"What's the big idea!?" He stumbled around, grunting in frustration.

"Finally!" The fairy grinned. "About time you idiots noticed me!"

Hikari blinked as the last of the light faded. "...Hey, come here. I have something for you."

The fairy blew a raspberry. "No way, mean shrine lady! I wasn't born yesterday!..." She put her hand to her chin. "...Well, maybe I was, but, still!"

' _...Wait, then how do you know- nevermind…_ ' Hikari sighed.

The blonde fairy girl flew over Hikari. "What's wrong? Am I a bother? Am I?"

"Yes."

The fairy freezes.

…

"Y-you…" She looks down on Hikari scornfully.

"Now you done did it, Hikari. You pissed it off!" Osamu braced himself.

"Stupid miko~!" The fairy dove towards Hikari.

Hikari braced herself, holding her gohei up to stop the fairy.

Thunk!

She was successful.

Thud.

The fairy hit the floor.

"..."

' _Good job._ '

…

Hikari kicked some dirt on the unconscious fairy.

"Let's, uh… go." She awkwardly resumed walking towards the bamboo forest.

Osamu chuckled.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

"Here we are…" Hikari looked up at the tall bamboo stalks that marked the entrance to the forest.

' _This thing's density goes from zero to sixty…_ '

Osamu tried to step into it randomly, but stepped back out when he noticed how dense the bamboo was. "Geez… Forget getting lost, how the hell're we even gonna get in?"

Hikari tried whacking it with her gohei. Sadly her gohei was not, infact, sharp enough to cut things like bamboo.

Thwack.

' _Hmmm…_ '

Osamu tried PK Freeze α!

KaKaKoo~...

Ice crystals formed and thawed rapidly in a cluster of bamboo.

Krack!

They then exploded, expanding it outward, tearing a hole in the bamboo wall.

…

Hikari crawled inside after a ginger moment, clumsily flopping to the other side.

"Oof…"

She got up and dusted herself off. The bamboo was still very thick in here, but it wasn't a complete shell like the outside was for whatever reason.

' _I don't remember Mom telling me about that part of the forest…_ ' From all the stories she heard, she couldn't recall description of a thick bamboo stalk shell around the outer perimeter of the forest.

Osamu dove in, landing on his stomach.

"We're in like Flynn!"

' _I never understood that expression._ '

Rustling was heard nearby.

' _...Already?_ '

Osamu notices it, too, pausing on the floor.

…

"Well, well, well… What have we here?"

A generic wolfman youkai steps onto the scene. "A tasty looking miko in training, and some village idiot. Must be my lucky day…"

Hikari readies herself for combat.

' _Another one of these goons. I haven't defeated one on my own before, though…_ ' She looked reluctant for a moment, but put on a brave face. ' _I'm stronger now, though._ '

Osamu stayed on the floor, looking up at the wolfman.

"Been a long time since I've seen one of you saps since these walls sprung up… and those damned bunnies just keep flying over them instead of actually fucking _doing_ anything." He stepped closer to them. "...But _now_ , I'm gonna get the fix I rightfully deserve."

Osamu tried PK Freeze α!

KaKaKoo~...

The wolfman locked up as the ice rapidly froze and thawed around him.

"Wha-"

Krack!

The blast rocked the wolfman's body, but he remained standing.

"...What the fuck was that? Magic? Since when did you human chumps do magic?" The wolfman was rattled, but otherwise unimpressed.

Now with a little more caution, he stepped towards the miko…

Hikari swung a cautionary swing, one not meant to necessarily hit anything.

At that, the wolfman lunged forward with insane force.

Hikari jerked her gohei back at him.

Whack!

Thud!

"Guh…" Hikari flew back into the bamboo wall, the breath knocked out of her.

The wolfman flinched from the gohei strike. "...Nice hit, for a human. Too bad it was still weak as shit."

' _Not good!_ '

Hikari tried Shield α!

She was protected by the shield of light!

The wolfman observed the light shield. "Weak."

He lunged, and struck Hikari in the torso. Hikari rebounded against the bamboo again, scrambling away.

"Ow, ow, ow…" Hikari spoke under her breath, clutching her stomach.

The wolfman blinked. "...Guess that shield was useful, afterall. That was supposed to have killed you."

Osamu tried PK Freeze α!

KaKaKoo…

The wolfman growled as the ice stunlocked him again with its freezing and thawing antics.

Krack!

The blast of ice did about as much as last time.

"Shitty wizard!" He turned around, facing the mage. "Why would you ever think it-"

Whack!

Hikari blindsided the wolfman while he was busy being angry.

He stumbled back, but reeled back towards Hikari, who was ready for further aggression from the youkai.

Thwack!

"Grrh…" He leaped back, colliding with a thick brush of bamboo stalks. He turned to them and grappled them, tearing them from the ground.

' _He should be tuckered out, now… or pissed._ '

Hikari tried Hypnosis α!

Energy rippled around the wolfman…

…

His eyes fluttered, and with a final guttural moan, he fell asleep, flopping into the dirt, dropping his assortment of bamboo.

The leaves rustled loudly…

…

Hikari casually walked up to him.

"...Sorry about this."

Whack!

Whack!

SMAAAA~SH!

Hikari beat the shit out of the sleeping wolfman, smacking his face until it was bloody.

' _O-oops… that's a little... too much…_ '

She smiled sheepishly. "U-uhm… I-I overdid it…"

Osamu got up off the floor, dusting himself off. "First try, right?... Yeah. First try."

' _Pfft…_ '

They crept through the forest slowly, trying to get their bearings...

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

"...Maybe we can like, climb the bamboo or something." Osamu contemplates.

The two have been wandering for the entirety of the morning.

' _I never really wanted to fly that badly before… but I really really really do now!_ ' Hikari was getting antsy after yet another hour of aimless forest wandering.

"Well, well, well… What-"

The two turned to their fifth generic wolfman today.

Osamu tried PK Thunder α!

Hikari tried Hypnosis α!

Thwaa~sh!

A poor, defenseless bamboo tree was struck, exploding into fluttering, harmless bamboo shards and bits.

Energy rippled around the wolfman, and he staggered a little.

"-have we… here?" He turned to the bamboo tree lethargically, and stared at it. "The fuck…?"

In his drowsy state, Hikari was able to run up to him and inflict violence.

Whack!

"Grrh!"

Thwack!

"Damn you!"

Osamu smirked. "No, damn _you_."

Osamu tried PK Thunder α!

Thwaa~sh!

The wolfman struck a pose as he was stricken by the bolt of electricity.

"Wazazafaa~h!"

SMAAAA~SH!

Hikari finished the job, sending him sprawling.

…

' _I really wish that thunder attack stopped missing every other time he uses it._ ' Hikari was slowly finding more reasons to be frustrated as the day progressed.

"How many of those douchebags are in this forest? They shoulda called it freakin' douchebag woods, instead!" Osamu joked. "Right? Ri~ght…?"

Hikari sighed. "Sure."

"Yeaa~h!"

They wandered a bit more, and heard more rustling from nearby brush and bamboo.

"For fuck's sake!" Osamu readied himself again. "Look, you're like the sixth or fourth or whoever fucker we're gonna toast today! Just get out here already!"

...A woman with long, white hair and red sweatpants that looked like a cross between pajamas and overalls stepped out.

"Toast, huh? The only one who's gonna get toasted here is you, if you don't shut your trap." She grins at Osamu, her hands in her pockets.

' _She's different…_ ' For one thing, she wasn't a generic wolfman.

Hikari readied herself for combat.

The woman noticed her getup. "...Oh? You the daughter of Reimu?"

' _What._ '

"The hell're you doing here at a time like this?... Stupid question, I s'pose, but I expected someone... taller." The woman seemed more relaxed now.

"H-how do you… know me?" Hikari was vaguely annoyed.

She tilted her head. "How wouldn't I? Reimu wouldn't shut up about you! I mean, shit. Shit, I shouldn't swear around you. Oh, shit…"

Osamu grinned. "Good fucking job."

"Hey, fuck you."

Hikari didn't know what to say about that exchange.

"...Name's Mokou." Mokou extended her hand. Hikari took it and shook it.

"You lost?"

"Wh- No!" Osamu blurted.

…

"...Yes." He hung his head in shame.

"Not a big surprise. This place is tricky if you don't come here often." Mokou started walking. "Come on, keep up, you two. I don't have all day."

Hikari vaguely recalled this woman from her mother's stories.

' _If she were actually immortal, I'm sure she'd have more than all day…_ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

It was in less than thirty minutes that they reached Eientei.

' _Excuse me?_ ' To Hikari, it was like they did multiple three-sixties and one-eighties back there, yet somehow they got through the forest flawlessly.

Mokou turned to Hikari and grinned. "...Yeah, trust me, everyone's surprised by that."

"Fuck me…" Osamu shook his head in exasperation. "I mean… Dude…"

Mokou stopped in front of them. "...Normally, this'd be the part where I let you guys go in on yer own, but some real weird shit's been going on lately… and I'm pretty sure Reimu'd seal me for the rest of my immortal life if I let anything happen to you."

' _Hnnngh…_ ' Hikari hated the feeling of riding off her mother's reputation.

"If the inside's even a bit like this forest, we'll be just fine... aside from the mazey bit…" Osamu added the last part reluctantly.

"It's worse." Mokou assured him, stepping forward.

They walked into Eientei. The lights were off.

"...This place always this creepy?" Osamu was bugged out immediately.

"Ye-... No." Mokou restrained the urge to mock the clinic.

Hikari looked around the dark interior of the clinic. No one stood at the desk, and all the hallways had their doors thrown open, endless darkness the only thing visible in each.

The sterile walls combined with the dark lighting all of a sudden made the place feel like it was abandoned longer than it probably was.

"...What're you here for? Maybe I can help you, or somethin'..." Mokou cautiously looked around.

Hikari eyed her antics. "Bunch of prescriptions for mages."

"...Shit. Gotta find the doc, then. I'm no good with meds and bottles and all that crap." Mokou scowls. "...We'll just have to look for her, then."

A door swung open, slamming against the wall. Mokou's hands lit on fire.

...What looked like a fairy girl stumbled out, with long blue hair and a pink dress. She was missing a few things though, like an arm and an eye. No blood poured from its wounds, though. Gensokyian fairies didn't bleed tangible liquid. Rather, they bled magic, which usually wasn't very visible after leaving a fairy's body.

"U-Uuuhhh…" The debatably healthy fairy moaned, shambling towards Mokou.

Mokou thrust her arms forward, a jet of flames shooting at the undead fairy.

Fwoom! 

The fairly flew back into the halls, smoldering for a few moments...

Pi~chun!

The fairy exploded into magic.

"...Mmm." Mokou cracks her neck. "Here we go…"

"...What was that?" Hikari hadn't seen a fairy that gruesome looking before. Usually they died far faster than that.

"Zombie fairies. Fuckin' doc…" Mokou scornfully looked down the hallway. "Stay close, kiddos. You saw how that door swung open, and I'm pretty sure the two of you can't defend yourselves very well, no offense."

' _Jerk._ ' Hikari took offense.

Osamu got closer to Mokou. Very close to Mokou, as a matter of fact.

"...Not that close." Mokou elbowed Osamu away. "Just two things: I'd accidentally barbeque you, and you're a fuckin' perv."

...Osamu folded his arms. "Killjoy."

Another door slammed open. A red haired fairy fell out.

Thud.

Mokou torched it with a stream of fire instantly.

Fwoosh!

Pi~chun!

' _I didn't even get a good look at that one._ '

…

"...So. Zombie fairies…" Hikari tried to make small talk.

"I don't even fucking know. Something about the doc trying to find out why fairies blow up so easy. Next thing you know, she's tryin' all kinds of stupid shit… I heard about most of it from that receptionist, Reisen." Mokou rambled.

Hikari looked in the dark room the red fairy had came from as they passed it. She contemplated exploring, but Mokou grabbed her arm.

"Don't. There's more around than ya think. Like, a _lo_ t more. That room's probably got _ten_ fuckers just waiting on the ceiling."

' _Huh._ '

Osamu looked weirded out. "These fairies we talkin' 'bout?"

"Did I stutter?" Mokou snarks.

"Alright, alright, sheesh…"

…

They uneventfully travel many bland corridors. Pale blue and white furnishings decorate the halls, only a few disturbed. Once in a great while, there were signs of a struggle in a hallway, furniture smashed and overturned.

"I gotta say, those bunnies are _awesome_ at hiding and doing fuck-all." Mokou complained. "Would it kill them to grow some balls and get out here?"

"Why's everyone so scared of fairies? So what if they take a few more hits?" Osamu smirked.

' _That one we met earlier wasn't very intimidating, to be honest._ ' Hikari never had a problem dealing with fairies.

"'Cause they're not as stupid as they used to be. Sorta. It's weird…" Mokou pauses, thinking of how to explain it. "...They, like, don't want to do whatever it is they're doin'. They're also not acting like fairies, and some of them are even attacking the less maimed, more behaved fairies. Also, there's a lot of fuckin' fairies here for just _no_ reason."

' _Here we go again…_ ' Hikari gripped her gohei tighter. ' _These days are just getting weirder and weirder…_ '

Bam!

Another door slammed open behind them. The three whirled around only-

Bam!

Bam!

-for two more doors to swing open around them.

Bam!

Bam!

"Oh, shit!" Mokou's arms lit up. "Ahh, fuck… Look, you two…"

Fairies shamble from the doors, missing various extremities or sporting grisly holes. A red mist flowed into the air from some of the holes and gashes…

"Uuuhhh…"

"A-ah…"

"K-kill… m-me…"

They slowly shambled from the rooms, even more stumbling out behind them. The moans and groans intensified.

' _Oh. Mokou was right. That's… a lot of fairies._ '

Mokou began shooting streams of fire at them.

Pi~chun!

Pi~chun!

Most of them were only ignited, though.

"Shit…" Mokou winced, noticing they were coming from both ends of the hallway. "There's too fucking many!"

Osamu tried PK Freeze α!

KaKaKoo…

' _Like that's going to help…_ ' 

Krack!

Despite the icy explosion, the fairies didn't budge. The one affected was frozen solid, though.

"This should be safe to use…"

Mokou tried PK Fire ß!

Krooo~...

Flames cackled as a line of flames formed in the hallway.

Kroaah!

A blast of flames wiped out a row of zombie fairies.

Pi~chun!

Pi~chun!

Pi~chun!

' _...That didn't do a whole lot…_ ' 

Mokou growled. "Damnit, damnit, damnit! We were only here for like, ten fucking seconds!"

Hikari looked tense as the fairies on her side began nearing…

She closes her eyes… ' _No time like the present, I guess…_ '

Hikari tried PK Fantasy α!

The dark atmosphere was thrown away in exchange for a technicolor shitstorm.

Fizzle!

The zombie fairies would never know what the hell happened, either.

Fizzle!

Hikari opened her eyes.

Bwaa~sh!

Pi-Pi-Pi-Ch-Pi-Pi-Pi- _Chuu~n!_

…

Mokou blinked. "...What. The _fuck_ … was _that!?_ "

Hikari smiled, satisfied by her reaction.

Osamu clapped. "Wish I knew that spell! Damn! Gets 'em every time!"

...Hikari stumbled a bit, lightheaded. ' _Really...?_ '

More zombie fairies began pouring from the doors.

Mokou grabbed the two by the back and began pushing them forward. "C'mon, we gotta go…"

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

The three eventually made their way to one of the staff break rooms. Mokou closed the metal door, and welded it shut with her flames.

"There…"

...Hikari looked around the room. "...There's no uh, no exit…"

…

"Oh, right. Fuck." Mokou facepalmed. "...Well, at least the fairies are going to have a fun time with the door."

The door starts clanging quietly, the fairies walking against it.

Cla~ng!

A more forceful attack hits it, but it doesn't budge.

"As far as I know, welds're the way to go when it comes to securing places. Can't break 'em easily, if at all." Mokou nods, satisfied.

"You locked us in, though, genius. Now what the hell are we gonna do?" Osamu sat on the counter at the edge of the break room. "There's not even any windows in here!... We're gonna die!"

Hikari looked up, and saw vents. ' _...Nah, we'll be fine._ '

"You fucker! You got us killed!" Osamu flung himself at Mokou.

Mokou punched him in the face.

…

"T-thanks… I needed... uh, needed that…" Osamu rubbed his nose.

"Anytime."

Hikari looked over to Osamu, then at the door.

' _...I wonder…_ '

"Can you do that thing you did with me?" Hikari asked him.

...Mokou looked incredibly awkward all of a sudden.

"...I dunno. Whadda you mean?"

Hikari forgot the word for it… "You know, like, _that_." She tapped her forehead.

Mokou blushed. "L-look, can you not do that with me here? I mean, I know we'll be here awhile, but… fuck, at least wait for me to go delirious first!"

…

Hikari remembered the word! "Telepathy!"

Osamu bobbed his head quickly in realization. "Oh, right! Yeah, I think so… I dunno. I gotta try…"

Mokou punches herself in the face, reeling against the wall.

…

"I dunno how to try, it just kinda happens. Friend or, uh, whoever the hell you are… Wherever you are, we like, need help. We're trapped in a welded room with no windows, so if you don't get here right the fuck now, our ass is grass. Hurry the fuck up!" Osamu begins yelling.

Hikari shook her head. "Osamu, look…" She pointed up.

Osamu looked up and saw a vent.

…

"What!?" He resumed panicking.

"It's a vent." Hikari tells him.

"And!?"

"It filters fresh air into the room. It's a staple of large buildings, to prevent that exact situation you're thinking of."

…

"Oh. Wo~w, do I feel like a jackass…" Osamu looks up at the vent, scratching his head. "Huh."

Mokou sat in the corner of the room. "I'm goin' to bed. G'night. Wake me up if we're dead or something. I don't care anymore."

…

"Rock paper scissors?" Hikari proposes.

"Sure, what the hell."

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: ?'S VIEW ====

' _Friend or, uh, whoever the hell you are… Wherever you are, we like, need help. We're trapped in a welded room with no windows, so if you don't get here right the fuck now, our ass is grass. Hurry the fuck up!_ '

…

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

A straight-haired, blonde magician girl sat up in the dead of a snowy Gensokyian evening.

' _That dream…_ '

The wind blew softly against the window of her small, scarlet-clad bedroom.

She sat up, pulling her covers off. Climbing out of bed, she shivered at the room's low temperature.

' _...That couldn't have been… just a dream… right?_ '

She walked up to the window.

' _It's snowing…_ '

That was inconvenient.

She looked around the dark room. Multiple beds were arranged along the walls of the long, almost hallway-esque room. Her fairy maid companions always joked with her that these kind of rooms were the 'fairy barracks' because of their very economic layout.

Under her bed was a box of tools, and around it was various metal parts she fooled with in her spare time.

' _I'm probably either going to have all the spare time, or none at all, depending on how things go._ ' It all started yesterday, when her more studious mother decided to test her on her magical ability again. Like the previous few times, she aced the theoretical part, but couldn't actually apply any of the skills to her mana.

She didn't even know what manipulating mana felt like.

' _...Probably more free time. I think. I hope, anyway._ ' The reason such was relevant was because her mother, Patchouli Knowledge, would either reinforce her efforts to teach her or fall into a slump again.

Marigold Knowledge was hoping for the latter, to be honest.

' _Those theories are interesting and all, but I can't actually apply any of them._ '

Crawling under her bed, she pulled out her toolbox.

' _These theories, though…_ '

She opened it up, taking out a protractor and a ruler.

' _I can actually do something with these._ '

Pocketing them both, Marigold got up, walking around the room.

...Next to her friend's bed was a stack of gift boxes. Each one was very large but very light, for whatever reason.

' _I still don't know why she insists on keeping these around. Infact…_ '

Taking her ruler, she readied herself to open one.

…

' _Should I really?... Well, it's just one._ '

Riiii~p!

Marigold dug through the packaging peanuts, and eventually found a single cookie.

…

Marigold took a bite from it. ' _Chocolate chip. Meh…_ '

…

She backed away from the rest of the presents. ' _I don't think opening the rest are worth it, if they're anything like this. It would have been a different story were they sugar cookies…_ '

Marigold decides to take a moment to get dressed. She slips on a fairly frilly yellow-and-cyan top, where the frills were cyan and the primary color of the fabric was yellow. Buttoning it up so it was on snuggly, she took time to appreciate the fact that the buttons were as easy as they always were to do.

' _I've said it many times before, but I'm so happy Mom made this for me…_ '

She was referring to her more preferred mother, Alice Margatroid. She custom-made the outfit for her not too long ago for her seventeenth birthday.

A cyan skirt with yellow frills slid up her legs. It was a long skirt made to be for all-around temperature coverage, yet to also still be a skirt. Its color scheme was purposefully to compliment her top.

She slipped on her brown boots, very similar to her mother's, and put on her eye-glasses.

' _There we go…_ ' Now she could actually see things more than ten feet in front of her.

Marigold equipped Swirly Glasses and Custom Dress!

Now fully dressed, she began heading for the doorway to the hall.

' _That couldn't have just been a dream…_ ' It was more real than the rest of her dreams, to be certain, even if she wanted them to be.

Shuffling came from the bed behind her.

' _Ah…_ '

"Ma-chan…?" A cyan-haired fairy rubbed her eyes. "What're you doing up so late…?"

' _Drat. Ha-chan always had a sixth sense for when I was up and about…_ '

Marigold turned to Hana, the cyan-haired fairy.

"W-well…"

' _What do I tell her?_ '

Pausing, she realizes something.

' _I don't even know exactly where it is I'm going…_ '

…

"I don't know." Marigold tells her. "I've got to get out of here, though."

Hana tilts her head. "...You never go through with these run-away things, though. You usually just wait for Alice to pick you up every other week..."

' _It's different now._ '

"I _need_ to get out of here." Marigold asserts.

Hana yawns. "...I don't know where you're going, but I'll help you." She hops out of bed, in a mismatched pair of pajamas.

…

' _Good 'ol Ha-chan…_ ' Of all the fairy maids at the manor, Hana probably knew Marigold the best.

Marigold swings open the hallway door as Hana catches up to her.

Hana puts a finger to her lip. "Shhh…!"

Marigold smiles. She replies in a hushed tone, "Yeah, I know…"

There was a loose curfew in place for the fairy maids at the moment, mostly for the chief maid to have an easier time preventing nighttime destruction caused by the few fairy maids who actually did that sort of thing.

' _Although, I've never actually been caught in all my years here…_ ' Marigold was pretty sure you'd have to be demolishing a wall with a sledgehammer or something to actually make enough noise to be caught.

Marigold also saw plenty of other fairy maids still roaming the halls at night, getting busy with boxes of crayons.

An orange-haired fairy maid turned from her sketch on the wall to greet her. "Hey there, Mary! Booking it again?"

' _Mmm…_ ' "You could say that."

The fairy maid giggles, returning to her sketch.

Marigold blinked at the not entirely appropriate sketch. ' _...The chief is gonna be pissed tomorrow. Now I'm happy I'm getting out of here while I can._ '

Hana quietly giggled at the drawing.

…

Marigold and Hana continued through the dark manor halls, occasionally traversing one with windows allowing them to see the mild snowfall outside.

Hana noticed said snowfall. "Uhh… How're you going to deal with that, Ma-chan?"

' _Good question._ '

"I'll find a way."

Hana tilted her head, but didn't say anything.

' _I'll need some things before I go, though…_ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Marigold stepped into the Voile Magic Library, and was greeted by many shelves.

Immediately, she took a left turn and kept walking along the edge of the library. Before long, she reached the very left corner where she stashed various odds and ends. There was also a work table back here, and some shelves for her tools.

She also had some lockers that were key operated. They used to be code operated, but the librarian's assistant kept guessing each code she set, so she decided to just do away with the combination system all together and do it the old-fashioned way.

Reaching into her skirt's pocket for her key…

...she realizes it's not there. The pocket, rather, because she also realizes this skirt doesn't have pockets.

' _I'm too used to wearing things that actually have pockets…_ '

Luckily for her, her shirt did.

She checks the left pocket…

...but comes up short.

' _Maybe the other one…_ '

…

' _Come on, really?_ '

Marigold was frustrated her key had disappeared just like that.

' _I never even take it out of my pocket. Where could it have-..._ '

She heard the soft clack of heels against carpet behind her. Hana and her turned to see Koakuma leaning against a bookshelf, smirking.

"Looking for something?" She was super smug.

' _Of course._ ' Marigold mentally facepalmed. "...You have it, don't you?"

"Have wha~t?"

"My key."

"Oh, _your_ key, huh? Yeah… I have it."

…

Marigold sighed. "I'd like it back, if you would be so kind."

Hana was less reserved once she realized what was going on. "Give it back, Koakuma! That's hers!"

Koakuma pouted. "Awh… well, if you insist."

She took the key out, and tossed it at Marigold, who fumbled to catch it.

Marigold took a good look at it…

It was bent at a ninety degree angle.

She looked back up at Koakuma. "What did you do!?"

"I bent it. Obviously." Koakuma began walking off. "Have fu~n, little magi…"

Marigold gritted her teeth as Koakuma strutted off. Hana glared at her as she walked off. "That no good succubus! She's always up to… no good!"

Shaking her head at her friends' ineptitude, she looks at the key. The key lock she implemented was very crude, as she was trying something she only heard spoken of loosely by the shopkeep of the Kourindou. Small, ridged keys that fit into a tiny slot…

' _I didn't anticipate the fact it wouldn't work if bent at a_ ninety degree angle _, however…_ ' Marigold rolled her eyes.

She sat down at her work desk. ' _Maybe I can fix this…_ '

Alternatively, she could just dismantle each locker one by one, but she'd probably be here until tomorrow morning.

She furrowed her brows at it. ' _Would conventional lockpicks even work on what I made?_ '

...She tried to bend it with her hands, as if it'd do anything.

' _Yeah, no…_ '

Hana pouted at the sight. "...I'm sorry about your key. I knew it meant a lot to you…"

...Marigold took a hammer from a shelf, and returned to the key.

' _Here goes nothing…_ '

Bam!

…

Bam!

…

Bam!

Ch-chink!

She broke the key in two.

' _All that hard work…_ '

…

' _I have an idea._ '

She got up and looked on her shelf.

' _Rotors, rotors, rotors…_ '

She eventually found a small wooden wheel that was once used for a toy car.

' _Good enough._ '

...She took a small, flat piece of metal from the shelf.

' _I could make another key… but that's so much work…_ ' It took her an entire day of antics to make the last one.

… She dug at the wheel with the small steel plate until it was slightly embedded in the wood, which only took a good few minutes since wood abrades easily.

' _Hmmm…_ '

She took another small steel plate, and tried to think of a way to join it with the other one…

' _Oh!_ '

She took the crude 'plastic measurer' she tried to replicate previously with a long sheet of thin cloth, and began wrapping it around the two steel bits. After much struggling with the dynamics of such an endeavor, she found that something like that wasn't going to work very well.

' _...I should try it like this…_ '

Instead of leaving the plates perfectly adjacent, she let them overlap, which allowed the cloth wrap to actually hold them together, if only loosely.

...She laid it down on the drafting table.

"Ha-chan," she began, "I want you to super-charge it enough to melt the cloth."

"You got it!"

Ha-chan poked the metal.

…

"Oh, right…"

Marigold pulled out a small packet of sugar. "Open wide."

"Aaa~h!"

She poured the sugar into Hana's mouth.

…

Zazazaa~p!

Ssss…

The cloth sizzled as the electricity fried it onto the the metal. Marigold looked away to avoid making her eyes worse from the bright light.

…

Ha-chan quickly calmed down, since the sugar-infusion was only minor. "Yayayayayeea~h!"

...Marigold looked at her device.

The wheel was stuck to the steel, too, having been burnt on. The metal probably hadn't attached at all, but the cheap cloth easily melted into a chemical paste that did the attaching for her.

…

She tugged at it, and ripped it from the drafting table. A black and red stain was left where the cloth burned onto the table.

"Eheh…" That was what drafting tables were for, she supposed.

...She takes her machine to the closest lock.

Inserting the end of a plate into the lock, Marigold furrowed her brows.

' _Now what?..._ '

She took it back out. ' _How do I go about doing the ridges?_ '

Hana leans over next to her. "I have an idea!"

' _Of course she does._ ' Marigold turned to her slightly impatiently.

She pulls out some of the packaging peanuts from the gift box Marigold had ripped open earlier. "Think these could come in handy?"

' _What._ ' She didn't even see Hana grab them…

…

' _Wait…_ '

She grabbed another wheel from a shelf, some thumbtacks and string, and more packets of sugar.

"Open up." Marigold grinned.

In a few moments, she'd managed to attach a second wheel by thumbtacks and string for spinning the first one. She'd attached the packaging peanuts to the bottom of the second, farthest out plate, and one to the closer plate. Finally, to spin the new wheel, she planned to just rotate it with her hands.

She stuck it into the keyhole.

' _Now…_ '

She spun it, and it stuck. She rotated it back, and kept trying…

…

The locker swung open.

"Yes!" Marigold cheered.

…

Inside the locker was this doofy brown hat.

' _...Thanks for that one,_ mom _._ ' She'd received that one as a birthday gift from her least favorite mother, Marisa Kirisame. It didn't go with her outfit at all, and it looked ridiculous to her.

' _Maybe I could rip it up and use it as material or something…_ ' She took it from the locker and placed it on the drafting table.

That locker only had other, more precious materials and things in it, like various silvers. She even had some of the chief maid's knives stashed in there…

' _Hopefully she still hasn't noticed those five missing._ '

She moved onto the next…

Cli-click, cli-click, cli-cli-click…

Click!

It swung open…

Inside was a backpack and a fruity colored gun.

Marigold equipped the Pop Gun!

She smiled at the toy gun. ' _I remember this old thing… It's been awhile since I last looked at it._ '

It was created for her by all three of her mothers back when she was really young, and all it did was shoot simple, round danmaku particles of random colors. It was mostly to entertain her at the time, but she got up to some serious hijinks with it.

' _I've had to have Hana recharge the catalyst more than once, but the thing still works like new…_ '

She shot it at the side of a bookshelf a few times.

Pop! Pop! Pop!

It also made a cartoony popping noise.

' _That's still great…_ '

Hana looked back at her from a book she had found to keep herself busy. "Oh, hey! It's that thing!"

Marigold almost double-took at the sight of Hana reading a book, but she noticed it was upside down.

' _Phew… Almost thought Ha-chan was growing a brain on me, there…_ '

She returned to the locker, and pulled out a backpack.

"Now we're talking…"

Another relic of sorts from the Kourindou, it had a lot of zippers and things.

' _I should probably let mother make me another one._ ' Her preferred mother, Alice, had studied it a bit and told her she could make her one once this one stopped working out for her, although so far Marigold has guiltlessly abused it.

She slipped her Pop Gun into the mesh holster on the side, and put the doofy hat into the main bag portion of it.

' _And now…_ '

She went to open the last locker.

Cli-click, cli-click, cli-cli-click…

Click!

She swung it open.

Inside was the broken components to a new armament she was trying to create.

' _It's supposed to work by a method of internal wind-elemental casting, but I can't seem to get it to work…_ '

The barrel would create a generic grey danmaku pellet with ambient magic, and the wind was supposed to shoot it out. She was still working out the wind part, though…

' _My mother here refuses to lend me any wind stones since she's short on them herself. I wonder if Mom has any…_ ' She referred to her preferred mother.

…

That was everything.

"...This book doesn't have any pictures…" Hana pouted, finishing her escapade into the tome about-...

' _Actually, that's a dictionary. A_ very old _dictionary._ ' Marigold dislikes how dated many of these books are… and how most of them strictly talk magic theory and the likes. There was also quite a number of ones that Marigold couldn't read, having been written in archaic or dead languages only Patchouli herself ever bothered to study or decipher.

…

"Let's go." Marigold announces.

...Hana nodded. "Okay…"

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Marigold and Hana stepped out the front door, and onto the manor's front porch.

"...I still dunno where you're going, and I know you won't tell me anything, bu~t…"

Hana flies out into the snow, and up to the manor's gate.

"Come on, Ma-chan!"

Marigold dashes out to her.

Hana lifts Marigold by wrapping her arms in under hers, and carrying her up and over the manor's gate.

She lowers her down in front of the gate, on the other side.

Hana floats in front of her. "...I'll miss you while you're gone, you know."

Marigold dashes back up to her and hugs her.

The north winds blow softly…

…

Marigold breaks from the hug. "I'll come back some day. I can promise you that, Ha-chan…"

Hana smiled. "Be safe out there."

With that, she floated back over the manor gates. Fairy maids didn't have as much out-of-manor liberty this day and age. The mistress of the manor had found a way to cull fairies who had strayed too far from the manor without permission. It was a system worked into the uniforms.

…

' _Now what?_ ' Marigold hugged herself, watching the faint blue glow of the world as the snow fluttered around and headed for the ground…

"...Shouldn't you be in bed?"

Marigold froze.

She turned to the gate guard, Meiling.

"...Not that it concerns me at all, though…" Meiling sighed. "Making me work on a night like this… Sakuya's really gotten _cold_ recently."

Marigold cringed at the pun. ' _Definitely worth freezing my buns off out here for…_ '

Meiling smiled at her. "...For that, I don't think anyone needs to know I saw you escape. In fact, here." Meiling tossed her a small box. "Deck of cards for the road. Betcha the fairies won't even notice it's gone."

' _Hah._ '

"...By the way, I think this goes without saying, but don't die out there. 'Cause if you do, I'm probably going to die, too."

' _Huh?_ '

"Why?" Marigold asked. "Surely you wouldn't be blamed for-"

"Oohhh~, no. You bet I would, missie. I'm responsible for what crosses these walls, after all. But I wouldn't be fired, likely. Punished, yes, but not fired. No, the one who'd kill me'd be Alice. She really cares about you, you know."

Marigold already knew this. "Y-yeah…"

"So, for both of our sakes…" Meiling winks. "Don't die."

"I'll try…"

…

Stashing the deck of cards in her backpack, Marigold sets out into the snowy evening…

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

"Achoo!"

' _I-I need to get to Mom's house…_ '

She was really glad her boots were at least partially resistant to frost and slush.

' _First snowfall of the year…and it has to be now…_

"Arrf! Arrf!"

' _A-A dog? Out here?_ ' Marigold knew that meant trouble.

A snow-speckled dog bounded towards her in the snow, showing no signs of stopping.

Marigold drew her Pop Gun.

Pop! Pop!

The dog made no effort to avoid the danmaku. It flinched from each shot.

"Aau! Aau!" It began whining.

Pop! Pop!

"Grrhh…"

Pop!

…

Thud.

The dog fell over after enough danmaku shots struck it.

' _T-that was way too many…_ ' Marigold knew that the gun shot even weaker than normal danmaku pellets, but she didn't know they were _that_ weak.

…

She looked into the distance, seeing a bright light near the nameless forestry near the lake.

' _Let's not go there…_ ' It was definitely not a fire's light, so Marigold's instincts told her it'd be a very bad idea to approach.

She continued moving along the lakeside. Eventually she reached the path that lead to the shrine and human village that also deviated towards the Magic Forest.

' _S-so cold… What was I thinking?_ '

She heard loud footsteps in the snow, and drew her Pop Gun again.

' _Just come out already…_ '

From the mist, a large goat sauntered in a straight line towards her.

' _A-a goat!?_ ' Gensokyo had goats!?

She aimed at it.

Pop! Pop! Pop!

' _Hopefully that dissuades it…_ '

The goat began charging at her faster than she thought it would.

' _O-oh, no! Stop!_ '

Pop! Pop! Pop!

The goat seemed to be ignoring every shot.

' _No, not good! This can't be happening!_ '

Pop! Pop!

"Grrhhh…" The goat trailed off to the side a bit, and Marigold dived to the side and into the snow to evade a passing headbutt as it ran by.

"Aaaah!"

Poof. She landed in the snow, and aimed at the goat again with her Pop Gun, her adrenaline flaring.

Pop! Pop! Pop!

Only one of those shots actually hit, her arm shaking wildly.

"Just leave me alone, damn it!"

Pop! Pop! Pop!

She stood, shivering violently from the cold that suddenly infiltrated her body's heat balance.

Pop! Pop! Pop!

The goat started stumbling, but still galloped towards Marigold.

Pop! Pop! Pop!

"Grrrhhh…!"

Shhhh…!

The goat fell and slid to a stop in the snow, ceasing movement.

…

Pop!

' _Stay dead..._ '

"Hahh… hahh…"

…

Achoo!

' _S-stupid… snow…_ '

Marigold continued her ragged shambling towards her favorite mother's abode…

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

END OF CHAPTER 5

Protagonist: Hikari Hakurei, Disciple of Paradise

-Inventory-

Weapon: Magical Gohei - Ability to whack stuff really hard. Amplifies whacking power, too! Able to deal magical damage. Critical hits enabled.

Arms: Iconic Hakurei Arm Sleeves - Keeps arms warm. A Hakurei tradition. How they stay on is a Hakurei family secret.

Body: Nothing

Misc: Nothing

-Skills-

Attack: Quickly! Swing your gohei at them for massive damage!

PK Fantasy α, β - Bombards the enemy with pain in the form of flashing colors. Deals magical damage. Heavy mental strain that increases with each tier.

PK Flash α - A bright flash that distributes very random status effects to enemies. Usually makes people cry.

PK Hypnosis α - Puts weak enemies to sleep for a short time. Works better on tired or exhausted foes.

Shield α - Halves damage the target takes. Only works against physical attacks, and enough strikes, or powerful strikes, will dispel it.

PSI Lifeup α - Heals target a little.

PSI Healing α - Heals basic status ailments.

Ofuda Toss - Throw a holy ofuda that does massive holy elemental damage to youkai and dark elemental foes. Effect lessens the more holy the thing you're attacking is, to the point of healing holy things. Only works if you actually have ofuda, though.

β-β-β-β

Mage: Osamu Katsumi, the Wannabe Mage

-Inventory-

Weapon: Fisticuffs!

Arms: Nothing

Body: Worn Magician Robes - An old robe from the days when the village respected the medium of magic. Well past its due date, but still comfy!

Misc: Nothing

-Skills-

PK Thunder α - Very random thunder attack that deals limited damage.

PK Hydro α - Gets everyone wet. Usefulness with PK Thunder and PK Freeze depends on whether you hit yourself or not!

PK Freeze α - Generates ice crystals at the target's location. Low damage and effect; may freeze wet targets.

Fireball - Manipulate mana to make a shoddy fireball. Low damage and effect.

Static Hands - Not a real spell. Result of a very undercharged PK Thunder that can accidentally go off.

PSI Telepathy α - Speak to friends you haven't met yet! Unstable connection and only works if they have the skill or are asleep.

PSI Shield α - Halves damage from magical and psychic attacks. Thunder spells fry it instantly, and harder blows dispel it.

β-β-β-β

Inventor: Marigold Knowledge, the Tri-Magi Love Child

-Inventory-

Weapon: Pop Gun - A toy, very much harmless danmaku pellet gun. If you lay into something with it, though, it's still going to inflict some serious stunning and stopping power.

Arms: Nothing

Body: Custom Dress - A custom dress made by Alice. Provided slight defense against magical and psychic attacks.

Misc: Swirly Glasses - Lets Marigold not be blind.

Backpack - Allows extended inventory. Aged relic from the Kourindou.

Unnamed Lock Opening Device - Opens locks very precariously. Made with steel, burnt cloth, packaging peanuts, thumbtacks, string, and wooden wheels. Don't even ask…

Ruler - Lets you measure the world around you!

Protractor - Lets you find the angles of anything ever. Totally overpowered.

Doofy Ass Hat - Marigold thinks it looks completely retarded.

Broken Air Gun - It's freakin' broken.

Deck of Cards - Allows Marigold to play Strip Poker with the party. Just kidding… or am I?

-Skills-

IQ Haste - Learns quickly.

Master With The Plaster - Marigold knows how to use plaster sculpting tools. She's never seen one before in her life, so this will never help her.

Duct Tape Wizard - Neither will this.

M18A1 Claymore Proficiency - Unfortunately, Claymores do not exist in Gensokyo.

Author's Note:

one of the MOST HYPED THINGS TO WRITE

i put a lot of thought into writing marigold knowledge, probably moreso than i did with osamu by far, and even moreso than hikari. hikari just kinda clicked with me, i thought about her before even thinking about writing a gensokyobound fanfic; she was just part of a personal fantasy of mine that this fic'd exist

osamu's just A DUDE that i thought fit well enough; always gotta have one of those

marigold, however, has been in planning since the previous stages of the story because winters is one of the most easily fleshed-out sections story-wise in earthbound 'cept for the end, which isn't saying much

...also her skills are all jokes, by the way. she doesn't actually have any skills.

...the only thing she will be getting is SWEET EQUIPS and a HUGE ASS INVENTORY

SUCH IS THE WAY OF REAL MEN

as always, see you all next time!


	6. Hakurei Hospital: Dead from the Neck Up

Hikari and Osamu were standing awkwardly on the break room counter, playing patty cake.

"Patty cake, patty cake, baker's mad…" Hikari began.

"Put 'em in the oven, and… blah blah blah!" Osamu forgot how the rest went.

…

Hikari paused. "Was it baker's 'mad' or baker's 'man'?"

"I don't give a shit." Osamu jumped off the counter. "I'm so fucking bored right now."

Mokou sat in the corner of the room, staring into space.

Bang, bang, bang!

"Shut the _fuck up!_ " Mokou boomed at the door.

Osamu got on his knees. "C'mon, whoever the fuck is listening, Eientei, break room, _do something_!"

Hikari sighed. ' _I don't think it's that bad, yet… Besides,_ ' Hikari tore open a bag of chips. ' _This place has future chips. I like that._ '

Crunch!

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: MARIGOLD'S VIEW ====

Soft footsteps were just barely audible in the evening's howling winds and flurries of snow.

' _E-eeegh…_ '

Marigold was mostly numb as she trudged through the snowy forest. Thankfully, she had some protection from snow and wind by the tall trees, but only every so often.

"A-achoo!..."

In front of her was a rather modern looking home.

' _I-I think… I found it…_ ' It was hard to make out in the snow flurries, and the lights were off, but she could see the house's side.

Clumsily stomping through the snow to the houses' side, she ran her numb hands across the cold exterior, though it still felt warmer than her hands.

' _D-door…_ '

She traced along the side of the house until she reached the front door.

Twisting the knob, she found it locked.

' _R-right…_ '

She took out her unlocking machine, unaware of how tightly she was even grasping it. She looked at it, focusing intensely on the task of inserting it into the lock and activating it.

' _O-old lock… should work…_ '

Cli-click, cli-click, cli-cli-click…

Click!

The door creaked open…

' _M-mother…_ '

"A-ah…"

In her excitement, Marigold tripped to the floor on her way in, swinging it wide open. The house was dark.

The lock-opening device slid across the floor…

' _I'm safe now…_ ' Marigold let herself relax, crawling along the floor, too fatigued to bother getting up.

' _I-I'll just… stay… here…_ '

Cold air blew into the house from the open door.

...Marigold crawled under the table to shield herself from the winter air.

…

The guest room door swung open.

"The hell was that?"

The figure saw the open door.

She spoke under her breath. "Oh, geez… I told 'er not to disarm the stupid defense system…"

She walked to the door and closed it.

"...Good thing they took off..."

Marigold sighed in relief, balled up under the table.

' _Better…_ '

Marigold's eyes drift closed…

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

' _C'mon, whoever the fuck is listening, Eientei, break room, do_ something _!_ '

Marigold heard that voice again, but couldn't reply.

…

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

She woke up in a bed, that she knew.

' _I-I can feel again…_ '

Marigold sat up, and sighed.

' _...Well, I made it to Mom's house…_ '

She was in the room that was added to the house for her specifically. Her mother told her it was no big deal since the dolls of hers could do all the legwork easily.

That made her question why it was so hard to get her own room back at the manor.

' _I don't mind sleeping with the fairies, anyway. They're friendly._ '

…

Her eyes widened. ' _That sounds weird! I didn't mean it like that!_ '

In the excitement, she kicked the covers off herself, only to feel cold air the moment she did so.

' _G-geez…_ '

...Looking over to the nightstand next to the bed, Marigold found her glasses and re-equipped them. She did the same with her outfit, which was on the dresser nearby.

The room wasn't highly decorated, but akin to her corner in Patchouli's library, a drafting table and a shelf of tools was present, the shelf being a fancy, custom-built one this time. The room's walls were a basic blue, with the occasional marking of something Marigold did to the wall in one way or another.

…

"Achoo!"

' _I think I'm coming down with something…_ ' She wasn't about to let it stop her, though.

Picking up her backpack which was next to the bedside, she left the room.

In the main room was one of her mothers, Alice.

Alice looks up from a counter that had an assortment of dolls on it, and turns to her.

"You're awake, huh?"

Marigold nodded.

"...That was really something, you know."

Alice moved to the table in the center of the room, and sat down. Marigold did the same.

"Marisa awoke me in the dead of night with some crashing and smashing. At first I thought an intruder was breaking in, but she just wanted me to attend to you."

' _So, that was who found me…_ ' Marigold didn't remember much from when she got into the house.

"...You were so cold. I had to check your pulse just to make sure…"

…

"Is it really that lonely at the mansion?" Alice looks up at Marigold solemnly.

' _A little, but…_ '

Marigold recalled the voice she heard last evening.

' _It's not a dream… I hope it's not a dream…_ '

…

…

' _Maybe I should say something._ ' The silence was getting uncomfortable for her.

"S-sorry for making you worry…" Marigold broke the ice.

' _Good start as any._ '

Alice smiled. "Well… just don't do anything crazy like that again, alright? The fact you weren't attacked by a youkai in such weather is a miracle in and of itself."

' _You have no idea._ ' Gensokyo apparently not only had goats, but also had asshole goats.

…

"Achoo!"

Alice sighed. "Of all the times for me to be out of cold medicine… and Reimu's daughter still hasn't come back with the prescriptions yet. I could have at least snuck a few doses of Patchouli's cough medicine into my own storage."

' _I'm pretty sure that's not legal._ ' Marigold didn't know if Gensokyo had specific laws, now that she thought about it.

"It's still snowing, too. I could make a run to Eientei for you, if you want…" Alice proposed.

' _Eientei…_ ' Marigold paused.

"...Eientei's the clinic, right?" Marigold asks.

"Yeah." Alice blinked.

…

"Did you ever finish that doll, Mom?" Marigold had an idea…

Alice paused. "...Not qui~te. Why're you asking now?"

"Just wondering. I'd like to use it, if I could…"

Alice shook her head. "You know the London Lander's not in any state to be used right now, especially by living beings. It's so prone to crashing that I'm pretty sure it's more useful as a battering ram than as a vehicle, for now."

The London Lander was a vehicle Alice had been working on off and on for a few years now for Marigold. Since Marigold was unable to manipulate mana, she also couldn't fly, so Alice had been working on a remedy. Unfortunately, it had been far bigger of a project than she had anticipated, so even years later, it hardly has a fraction of the features Alice had wanted to install, like danmaku cannons or spell card technology.

"I need to get to Eientei." Marigold states. "...Myself."

' _She_ could _come with me, but…_ ' Marigold didn't necessarily agree with that notion. ' _I like doing these kinds of things myself. Besides, I feel like I'm finally doing something exciting for a change..._ '

Alice raises a brow. "...'Need' is a strong word. I know you're not feeling well, but-"

"It's not-... Achoo!" ...Marigold rubbed her nose. "It's not that... I need to do something there."

"...Such as?"

…

"Something." Marigold looked conflicted.

' _I'm kind of planning to cross that bridge when I get to it…_ '

…

"...Well, if you insist." Alice furrows her brows. "I guess it's better than letting you try and walk it on your own, and possibly getting hurt, or worse."

Marigold smiled. "Thanks, Mom."

Marigold got up and moved to the door. "Is it in the backyard?"

Alice nodded. "Yeah. Under the tarp."

…

Marigold paused, turning back to Alice. "...You wouldn't, uh, happen to have a wind stone by any chance, would you…?"

…

Alice snorted in amusement. "I would happen to have a wind stone. Do you want it?"

"Yeah."

...Alice got up and headed to room. A few moments later, she returned with a wind stone.

"Here, catch."

Alice tossed it into the air. It glided up and into the ceiling, rebounding off it.

Marigold caught it. It was lighter than a feather, and then some.

' _Weird thing._ ' She couldn't deny that that's what made it a fun thing to fool with, though.

"Bye, Mom." Marigold semi-awkwardly gave her departure.

"Now, you hold on just a moment…" Alice called out to her.

Marigold turned to her again, confused, only to find her mother was right next to her.

She pulled Marigold into a hug.

"I love you." Her mother told her.

…

"I love you too, Mom."

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Marigold pulled the snowy tarp from the large doll-shaped machine.

Her mother had modeled it after one of her London dolls, from what she knew. It really was pretty much just a giant London doll with a control center of sorts in the interior. It used a form of scrying magic to generate a screen on the inside from which to see out of the eyes of the doll.

' _It's a little buggy…_ ' Marigold knew that was an understatement.

She opened the hatch on the back, and climbed in.

' _Cozy…_ '

She slammed the hatch shut. On the inside she could hardly hear the howling wind anymore.

' _Now, let's see…_ ' A few months ago, her mother briefly went over the controls with her.

' _Time to apply what I remember._ '

She pressed the big, blue button that was labeled 'START'.

Lines of magic whirled up the walls of the interior. Magic circles formed, shimmered, and dissolved in various places quickly. The construct began vibrating.

' _Alright, nice and easy…_ '

The screen flickered to life, rendered on a sheet of metal. It was very, very blue tinted due to the unoptimized magic used, but Marigold…

…

She squinted.

' _Between the white and blue, and all the snow… I really can't make out a single thing._ '

Marigold could not, infact, see out of the machine in this weather.

The machine floated into the air, and after a few moments it cleared the trees. Marigold's screen was pretty much pure white.

' _That's great._ ' Marigold shook her head.

She was _pretty_ certain Eientei was in a vague angle from the front of her mother's house…

' _Didn't this thing have a radar?_ ' She wasn't about to press buttons and find out, though.

She pressed the unlabeled button above 'START', and the machine began moving forward.

...and forward.

It kept accelerating, and Marigold could feel it.

' _Uh oh._ '

The machine roared through the air, smacking wind and snow aside as it plowed through the winter sky.

"U-uh…"

' _How do I make it slow down…?_ '

She tried pressing the unlabeled button underneath 'START'.

A green magic circle appeared, showing dots on it.

' _Ah. The radar…_ ' The dots seemed entirely random, though. She wouldn't be surprised if it was just totally non-functional and Alice hadn't actually casted any of the magic work on it yet.

...The machine began smacking against thin objects, producing a constant clattering noise.

"A-ah…" Marigold wasn't sure what that was. Was she hitting tree branches? ' _I can't be that low down…_ '

She pressed some random buttons. ' _Surely most of these don't work…_ '

The flying doll began twirling through the air.

' _Some of them do, though!_ '

Boom!

The doll hit something solid, plowing straight through it.

"O-oh, no…!"

' _Not good, not good!_ '

Bam!

' _I'm probably crashing into a forest!_ '

Boom!

Bam!

…

Baa~m!

The device screeched to a halt, out of momentum. The magic circles and lights in the machine began flickering out, leaving Marigold in the dark.

…

' _That's not good._ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIKARI'S VIEW ====

Hikari had finished her tenth bag of future chips.

' _I'm sick of those things now…_ ' Hikari wiped the dust from the chips on her shrine maiden getup.

Behind her was a smashed open vending machine, bags of chips lying on the counter aside it and on the floor.

Mokou was lying on the table now, her arms folded behind her head as she stared at the ceiling.

Osamu was walking around the room, clapping his hands unrhythmically.

"Come o~n, random stranger, sa~ve ou~r a~ss!" he sang.

They tried everything, from PK Fantasy to randomly casting PK Thunder. The wall and doors to this breakroom were made of some serious shit.

Bang, bang, bang!

The marred door was only slightly budging, now. It was partially melted from Mokou's many attempts to go nuclear on it. The plasted of the walls was melted and burnt away to reveal some sort of white metal on the inside that, as far as Hikari knew, was impenetrable.

' _This place is more like a jail than a hospital…_ ' Hikari reflected.

Boom!

Hikari looked to the source of the noise. She looked to the other two, but they didn't react at all.

"...You guys hear that?" Hikari asked.

"Trust me, I've been fucking hearing it for two _goddamn_ days now. I'd rather die of hunger at this point." Mokou sassed.

Osamu stopped. "Hear what?"

Bam!

…

"That." Hikari nodded at the louder noise.

"...Hmm. Probably the fairies." Mokou sighed. "Fuck."

Osamu grinned. "Maybe it's the random dude coming to bail us out!"

Boom!

Hikari snorted. "With what, explosives?"

"What the hell else is he supposed to use to cleave through bloodthirsty zombie fairies?" Osamu folded his arms.

…

' _He has a point._ '

Bam!

Mokou sat up. "It's getting louder…"

Boom!

Osamu moved to the counter and climbed up onto it. "Oh, fuck that. If that thing blows this room a new one, I'm staying out of the way."

Hikari climbed up onto the counter with him.

Mokou rolled her eyes. "You're both a bunch of pussies, you-"

Baa~m!

A large doll-shaped object plowed through the wall parallel to the door.

Mokou looked to it, alarmed. "-Holy-!"

Thunk!

It collided with her.

Boo~m!

The machine slid to a stop against the other wall of the room. Osamu and Hikari stared at it, wide-eyed.

Mokou was pressed against the wall, blood splattering it. "A-aah… Fuck…"

…

"I ain't touchin' that thing!" Osamu hugged the wall. "...Hikari, you're the one with the stick! Go hit it, or something!"

' _No. For all I know, it could explode…_ ' Hikari shook her head, folding her arms.

"C'mon!" Osamu pushed her.

She uneasily leaped from the counter and onto her feet, finding her balance. She turned to Osamu and glared.

He smiled sheepishly. "Go get 'em, slugger…!"

…

Hikari turned to it, and walked up to it. She gave it a good whack.

Bo~ng.

…

' _Well, that was pointless._ '

Fwwsshh…

A hatch on the back of the doll opened. Hikari stepped back…

...A blonde-haired girl donning swirly glasses stood from the device. She threw her arms back, taking a good look around. The manner in which she threw her arms made the frills of her outfit flutter slightly.

…

"U-uh…" she began, "Is this Eientei?"

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: MARIGOLD'S VIEW ====

Bo~ng.

' _I bet that's the parts falling off it, or something._ '

…

' _Here's to hoping I don't open it to find I ended up in a pile of snow…_ '

Fwwsshh…

Marigold braced herself for whatever was outside. ' _That's a good start._ '

Standing from the opening, she threw her arms back in an attempt to appear relatively menacing.

…

' _It's a move magi do often to look intimidating, or so they say…_ ' Marigold hoped it worked for her.

Looking around, she realized she wasn't in a snowy forest at all. Rather, she was inside some kind of structure. In front of her was what looked like a shrine maiden with orange dust dirtying parts of her outfit, and for whatever reason there was a village mage standing on the counter along the wall of the room.

…

"U-uh… Is this Eientei?"

The shrine maiden blinked. "...Yeah."

The mage hopped off the counter. "Not anymore, it ain't! Now it's zombie fairy city!"

' _Zombie fairies? Is that even possible?_ ' Marigold was skeptical. "...How does a fairy become a zombie?"

He shrugged. "I dunno- don't ask me! We're lookin' for some stupid doctor, but we got our asses locked up in here 'cause of the stupid zombies."

...He looked at the new hole in the wall, and beamed immediately. "Duu~de…"

…

Marigold thought back to her previous two nights of sleep.

'...!'

"Hey, you're-" Marigold was cut off.

"Fuck!"

She turned and saw a pale, white-haired woman pinned to the wall by the London Lander.

' _O-oh, geez…_ ' Marigold blanched. "O-oh, uhm…"

Mokou pressed her hands against it, and the outer shell of the head began melting. "A little help here!? One of you fucks! Do something!"

Marigold watched the blood pooling on the floor.

' _S-she's not going to make it at that rate…!_ ' Marigold realized. _'What have I done!?_ '

Marigold cautiously stepped towards her. "A-are you okay?"

…

Mokou paused and just looked at her, giving her the stink-eye.

' _...Stupid question. Still..._ '

"...You gonna fuckin' do something?" Mokou asked venomously.

' _...It must hurt really bad. There's only one thing I can do…_ '

Marigold drew her Pop Gun.

Mokou sighed. "...The hell are you going to-"

Pop! Pop! Pop!

…

Mokou stared at her, annoyed. "What, are you going to tickle me to death? The hell even is that!?"

Pop! Pop! Pop!

"Stop doing that!"

...Pop!

"For fuck's sake…"

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIKARI'S VIEW ====

Hikari watched Mokou get pelted with technicolor danmaku pellets by the frazzled girl.

Pop! Pop!

"God, _damn_ …"

Pop! Pop!

"...You know, if it didn't work the first-"

Pop!

"-ten times, why would it work the next-"

Pop!

"ten times!?"

Osamu had his hand over his mouth, restraining a giggle fit.

Pop! Pop!

…

"Uuuhh…"

Hikari froze.

"H-h-heehhll…"

Osamu and her both turned to see zombie fairies swarming in through the hole in the wall.

"Oh, shit!" Osamu shouts. "Hey, hey girl! May wanna shoot them instead!"

The blonde girl paused, and looked at the fairies. "A-aah… They really are…"

Hikari shook her head. ' _This really feels like a fantasy novel right about now. A really cheesy one._ '

Hikari tried PK Fantasy α!

A rain of technicolor energy drops flew into the room from the walls.

Fizzle!

As always, they completely disregarded the laws of physics to strike Hikari's foes, leaving echoes of energy behind.

Fizzle!

Hikari focused on the zombie horde.

Bwaa~sh!

Pi-Pi-Pi-Ch-Pi-Pi-Pi- _Chuu~n!_

…

"...Wow." The blonde girl gaped.

"That's what I said." Osamu agreed.

' _Triple._ ' Hikari also agreed.

"Mind using that on this fucking doll?" Mokou banged on it with her fists.

...More zombies began pouring in from the hole, but at a far fewer rate, trickling compared to the horde that just tried to infiltrate the room.

The blonde girl walked up to the counter, and sat her backpack down on it. "...Give me a moment. I need to do something." She took out some grey parts, one of which was a barrel, and the other which looked like a gun base.

Osamu rolled his eyes. "This ain't the time for arts and crafts!"

A zombie staggered towards Hikari.

SMAAAA~SH!

Pi~chun!

' _It's a good thing they move so slow…_ '

The blonde girl took a stone out, and stuck it in the area between the gun body and barrel attachment point.

...She balled up some of the chip bags, and stuck them in too. "That should keep it in place…"

A few zombie stumbled in…

Osamu grinned. "I got it!"

Osamu tried PK Thunder α!

Thwaa~sh!

Pi~chun!

A fairy exploded.

"I've got it!"

Osamu tried PK Thunder α!

Thwaa~sh!

Boom!

The head of the doll explodes, freeing Mokou from her prison.

She wipes a splash of blood from the blast off her face. "F-finally…"

Hikari intercepts one of the zombies.

SMAAAA~SH!

Pi~chun!

One neared the blonde girl, who pulled out her fruity colored firearm.

Pop! Pop! Pop!

"Egh…" The fairy stops in place.

Pop! Pop! Pop!

It drops to its knees.

Pop! Pop! Pop!

Pi~chun!

The blonde girl panted. "Hahh… so many shots…"

She returned to the strange device she was creating.

"...Say, magi…" She started.

"Who, me?" Osamu looked around a little. "Name's Osamu, and I ain't no magi. I'm just a human mage."

She paused.

…

"Osamu, do you know of a way I could harness ambient magic with the barrel of this weapon?" She asks.

He shrugs. "How the hell should I know?"

A zombie fairy saunters in…

The girl perks up. "...Don't kill that one!"

Hikari stops herself from caving its skull in.

' _What? Why?_ '

Pop! Pop! Pop!

The fairy is slowed to a halt by the puny danmaku pellets.

Pop! Pop!

The blonde girl runs up to it and pushes it to the floor.

Thud.

The zombie fairy lands on the floor.

Pop!

A good shot to the head seems to stun its movement entirely.

She turns to the rest of the people in the room. "Could anyone cut a part off of this fairy? Like the finger, for example?"

…

"I could burn it off…" Mokou provides.

"Come here," The blonde girl instructs her, "I need you to burn off a finger or few for me."

Mokou narrowed her eyes. "...Why~?"

"...Science." She assures Mokou.

"...I've seen what _science_ does." Mokou frowns.

"Not what _my_ science does." She argues.

Mokou looks dissatisfied, but goes to help her anyway. Kneeling down, she begins burning the dead looking fingers off…

Ssss…

…

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: MARIGOLD'S VIEW ====

Marigold noticed the weird stares she was getting from the other room's occupants as she watched the culling of the fairie's fingers take place.

' _I'm pretty sure a fairy's anatomy naturally harvests ambient magic. All I need to do is find a way to make it make danmaku particles…_ ' A fairy whose body took a lot of abuse was a perfect test subject for this endeavor.

Before long, all five fingers of the fairy's hand were lying on the floor. The fairy didn't even seem to notice.

' _Alright…_ ' Marigold picked them up.

She went over to the broken Air Gun's parts.

...She stuck one of the fingers where the trigger was, so that when she pushed the trigger, it'd get squeezed.

' _Actually…_ ' She just put all but one of the finger in there. She balled up more of the foil-esque bags and shoved them in on top of the fingers, then clicked the top of the gun back onto the grip. She shoved more balled up bags in the bit that went from the grip to the barrel, and then after attaching the barrel, she slid a finger down into the barrel.

' _This isn't going to work._ ' That she knew.

She aimed the Air Gun at the wall, and pulled the trigger.

Klack!

Wind spiraled out of the barrel as a single, grey danmaku pellet was shot out. It was bigger than the ones her Pop Gun fired, but it was also not as amusing, unfortunately.

...The barrel also shot that finger out of it. Marigold didn't know where it even went.

Osamu nodded slowly. "...I don't even know how the hell that works, to be honest."

Marigold turned to him. "I think I understand. It's the pressure of the trigger in combination with the mana that exists in the fingers. I think the bags circulate the mana and the wind stone I used guides it. I don't actually know, though… that's just a theory."

' _A_ science _theory!_ ' Marigold adds mentally.

The shrine maiden shrugs, and the pale-haired woman just sighs. "Whatever…"

...Another zombie saunters in.

Marigold aims for it.

Klack!

A fast, wind-propelled danmaku pellet collides with its head.

Pi~chun!

' _Now we're cooking with gas!_ '

Marigold aims into the hole and fires randomly.

Klack! Klack!

…

She pulls the trigger more, but no bullets come out.

' _Wait…_ '

She pulls off the grip, only to find all the extra fingers are gone.

' _Oo~h…_ '

They were ammo, apparently.

' _I suppose I'll have to conserve my shots…_ '

Marigold stares at the pale-haired pyro expectantly.

"...Don't tell me," she began, "you need more, right?"

Marigold nodded.

Looking vaguely displeased, the pyro got to work on sizzling off the rest of the fairy's fingers.

Ssss…

…

In moments, all the fairy's fingers were off and Marigold loaded them into the grip of the Air Rifle. She also took her Pop Gun and slid it into her left pocket- for easy grabbing if she wanted to shoot something without spending her unorthodox ammo.

"...Can we do that with a few more fairies? I kinda need the-"

"Who the hell do you think I am? A nurse?" The pale-haired woman scowls at her. "If you wanna keep fucking with fairy bits or whatever, you're gonna have to do it yourself."

…

' _I guess she's right._ ' Marigold considered looking for a scalpel of some sort.

The shrine maiden spoke up. "W-we should probably get going..."

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIKARI'S VIEW ====

' _I wonder if someone gives lessons on how to improve your voice..._ '

Hikari walked up to the hole in the wall. No more zombies appeared to be nearby, so she poked her head out…

' _Yep. No more zombies. For now._ '

As she did so, she brushed shoulders with Mokou, who was stomping past her.

"Lemme go first." Mokou cracked her knuckles. "Let's just say... I've got some boredom to relieve."

"Mmm…" ' _You do that._ '

Mokou stomps ahead, ready to inflict murder on whatever happens to shamble in her way.

Door slams are heard, with dark hallways as their source.

' _Great._ ' The reason they got stuck in that jail cell of a break room was because of said zombies. Hikari wasn't sure what they were going to do from here…

Osamu and the blonde girl stepped from the hole in the break room next.

"Who the hell turned out all the lights to this place, anyway?" Osamu complained. "The break room has lighting, but the halls _don't?_ Just 'cause there's zombies… whatever."

The blonde girl stopped to consider his words for a moment, but dismissed them. "We need to find a scalpel."

"No, we don't!" Mokou calls from farther up the hallway.

' _Considering this place is_ supposed _to be a hospital, that shouldn't be too hard…_ ' She wasn't certain of the girl's rationale, but considering she could make very much needed ranged weaponry, she was alright in Hikari's book.

Hikari then realized they were still following Mokou, even though she was pretty sure she had no idea where to take them.

"...H-hey." Hikari strained out, then cleared her throat. "Huhem…"

Mokou didn't hear her.

' _Alright, take two…_ '

"Hey," She loudly began, "Do you know where we're going?"

Mokou paused. "...Well, there's only a few places we _can_ go. The doc has a couple labs around, but I'm willing to bet shit's goin' down in that _bitch's_ room, too. I was kinda plannin' on stopping by a lab on the way to her room."

' _Guess that works._ ' Better than the aimless wandering she'd be conducting, anyway.

The doors ahead slammed open.

"Well, here we go…" Mokou readies her fists, wrapping them in flames.

The blonde girl turned around to see some more zombies creeping down the hallway.

She raised her Air Rifle.

Klack!

Pi~chun!

The three zombies became two.

"Here!" Osamu readied himself…

Osamu tried PK Freeze ß!

A larger pattern of ice generated in the shape of diamonds.

KaKa-KaKaKling!

Like previously, it froze and thawed repeatedly.

Kra~ck!

A small blast of arctic air was created, with the targeted fairy as ground zero.

Pi~chun!

"Huh…" He stared at his hands, a faint aura of frost fading from them. "...That was awesome!"

' _That seemed a little more potent than usual…_ '

"Dude, I'm like a fuckin' ice fairy!"

The blonde girl drew her Pop Gun and aimed at the remaining zombie fairy.

Pop! Pop! Pop!

Osamu tried PK Freeze ß!

KaKa-KaKaKling!

The fairy's body was mangled by the forceful freezing and thawing.

Kra~ck!

…

The fairy was solidified.

…

Pop!

Pi~chun!

It exploded into a deadly magic shard barrage that quickly vaporized into gaseous mana.

' _That fairy got annihilated._ '

"Hoho~h, shit!" Osamu slapped his thigh. "Dayum!"

The cyan-clad girl looked satisfied.

Fwooom!

Pi~chun! Pi~chun! Pi~chun!

Mokou roasted the small group of fairies approaching them.

"Let's get goin'." She gestured for the other three to follow. "We ain't got forever."

The blonde girl stops near one of the door ways. "Hold on! We should search in here…"

Mokou resists the urge to facepalm. "Fucking- look, there's probably so many fuckin' fairies in there-"

"You go first, then." She suggests. "...I'm just trying to find a scalpel."

"Is that what this is about!?" Mokou growls. "Fuck you."

She tilts her head, but seems unsurprised.

"Well, here…" She raises her Pop Gun and aims it into the dark room.

Pop! Pop! Pop!

The back wall was literally caked in fairies hiding in the dark, illuminated by the danmaku's glow. The rest of the room was fine, however.

She turns to Mokou expectantly.

"...No." Mokou turns back to the open hall. "We're going."

' _Hmm…_ ' Hikari just remembered something. ' _Didn't I have that one skill? It lit things up, I think…_ '

Hikari stepped to the entrance of the room.

Hikari tried PK Flash α!

A blinding light filled the room. Aside from that, nothing much seemed to happen at first.

…

Some of the fairies in the room began assaulting each other, for unknown reasons. Unaimed, impulsively fired danmaku spurts lit up the room as the fairies wriggled onto one another and tried to tear at one another.

Pi~chun!

' _Huh… That works._ ' It used nearly as much energy as PK Fantasy, though. ' _I can't use that too often…_ '

Marigold walked in on her own, keeping her Pop Gun handy. One fairy shambled from the convulging mess of sluggishly paced violence to meet her.

Pop! Pop! Pop!

The fairy kneeled.

Pop! Pop! Pop!

Pi~chun!

' _Not terribly efficient, is it?_ ' Hikari figured that was the price of ranged weaponry. ' _If I had that gun, though, this adventure would have been a cakewalk to this point. Seriously. Now I wish I had a gun._ '

Unfortunately, Hikari didn't know much about how guns worked. She'd only ever read about flintlocks, so something as simple as that pistol was rather alien to her.

' _...This whole place is alien._ ' Both literally and figuratively.

The blonde girl rummaged through a side cabinet on the left edge of the room.

"Nothing…"

She moved onto the next drawer. Eventually, she pulled out a metal slab of some description, and an empty can.

"This'll do…"

She looked at the empty can, considering it. Nodding and slipping it into her pocket, she found it didn't quite fit.

...After a few moments of struggling, she decided just to run into the hallway, kneel, and attempt to stuff it in a random pocket in her backpack.

Marigold obtained Broken Can!

' _...To be fair, I'd probably grab just as much random garbage if I had an entire backpack with me. You never know what could come in handy._ ' She was still skeptical about how useful some metal cylinder could be. ' _Maybe it's a part of some kind. She seems into that kind of stuff._ '

Mokou went up to the door and slammed it shut. "There. No more of that shit."

Moaning is heard from down the hallway.

"Look- we gotta get a move on!" Mokou gestures once more for the ragtag band of teenagers to follow her.

' _We probably should._ ' Sitting in one place like this, for _this_ long was likely begging for trouble.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

After many minutes of running, gunning down zombie fairies, and other assorted forms of aimless wandering, the four reached one of the labs Mokou had remembered.

"This is the place…" Mokou walked up to the door. "Let's see if she locked it up tight this time."

She jiggles the handle. It doesn't budge any further.

"No sweat. A fancy wooden door like this can't stop me."

Mokou presses her hand to the door and begins channeling heat into it. The paint melts off, only to reveal the door is not wood, it's just metal with an intricate wood paint job.

She stared at the door blankly. "...Fuck."

' _Spoke too soon._ ' Hikari knew the feeling.

Osamu furrowed his brows. "What… just happened there?"

"Paint." Mokou states simply. "The door was fuckin' _painted_. It's actually metal… and a heat resistant one at that." She sat down in front of the door. "Damn."

Osamu agreed with her. "Damn."

Hikari sighed. ' _Couldn't we just melt through the wall?_ '

…

' _Oh, yeah. The walls also have some sort of insane metal inside them. That stinks…_ '

The other girl stares at the thin key lock.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: MARIGOLD'S VIEW ====

' _I don't think my… key thingie machine… will fit._ ' Marigold frowned at the key slot. She'd never seen anything like it.

…

' _In this case, I'm not really trying to preserve the lock, though…_ '

She held her Air Rifle to the lock.

The angry woman with the red trousers got angrier. "If me making it go _nuclear_ didn't melt it, why the fuck would _shooting_ it work?"

' _Hmm._ ' "You didn't try melting the lock, though."

"'Cause if I did and made the door completely broken, then it wouldn't open, would it? Kinda the opposite of what we wanna do."

Marigold shrugs, and fires.

Klack!

Red-trousers- as Marigold will now dub her- facepalms. "You _fucking_ idiot…"

...The door swings open.

…

"Well, fu~ck _me_ , right?" She folds her arms, and looks closely at the lock. It was broken, apparently, but not melted. The door handle hung loosely, the entire operation bust.

' _I'm not sure how that worked, either. The bolt could've blown the mechanical parts, or something…_ ' Marigold was confused, too.

The shrine maiden stepped forward into the door, pushing it open.

Red-trousers didn't like that. "Hey, hey, what're you-"

The noise of cloth ceasing movement would have been audible had Red-trousers not yelled at all.

"...D'you hear that?" She heard it, though.

Marigold nodded.

The shrine maiden looked back in slight confusion, but continued further into the lit room.

"Hear what?" Osamu looked around before entering the room behind the shrine maiden, much to red-trousers' dismay.

"Hey, hey! I'm supposed to be leading the way, here!" Mokou shoves Osamu aside and enters the room.

"Fuckin', watch it!" He didn't very much appreciate the manhandling.

Marigold entered the room last, looking around.

' _I could probably find a proper scalpel here…_ ' She took the metal plate from her pocket and stared at it, judging its potential.

From behind a curtain in the corner of the room, a woman stood. Everyone stopped at the clack of her shoes against the tiled floor.

...Red-trousers was the first to make a move on the curtain. "Doc… that better be you. If yer not Doc, you're gettin' an extra spicy knuckle sandwich!"

' _Extra spicy knuckle sandwich._ ' Marigold was unsure whether to appreciate the pun or cringe at its cheesy nature.

The curtain whirled aside, revealing a woman in blue and red. "What is it now…?"

She stares at Red-trousers.

"How did you even get into this room? I'm quite certain I locked the door."

"Melted through." Red-trousers growled.

The woman blinked in vague surprise. "Did you? Might need stronger metals, then… This room should be totally impenetrable in terms of burning, including extreme heat."

Marigold, glancing at Red-trousers in annoyance, steps forward. "Actually, I shot the lock open- with danmaku."

The doctor had a moment of realization. "Oo~h, right. I forgot about that… I'll make sure to use a different kind of lock next time, then. The common industrial sort tend to get overloaded by danmaku, it seems. The reasons elude me, and I don't really care either."

Marigold nods in satisfaction.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIKARI'S VIEW ====

"Considering the shrine maiden's daughter is here, I might've let that whole fairy situation go on for longer than I should have…" The doctor tilted her head back and forth. "Reimu send you? Weird fairies running around Gensokyo? Something like that? Even the puppeteer's daughter is here, for whatever reason..."

' _...Hmm._ ' Hikari wasn't sure how to feel about such straightforwardness, but it wasn't unwelcomed, all things considered.

"Actually, I came to get some prescriptions…" Hikari began.

"My name… is Marigold." Marigold announced slightly awkwardly.

The doctor blinked. "...I'm pretty sure I've never done business with you before, shrine maiden."

"Part of my chores. Ice for Marisa, medicine for Patchouli, pills for Alice." Hikari rattled off the things she needed.

Marigold intently stared at her after that sentence.

The doctor nodded. "Aah, right. My sincerest apologies, but at the moment we're in a state of emergency of sorts. Well… for my staff, anyway. This situation should be easily remediable. I'm doctor Eirin Yagokoro, if you didn't know by now."

'The _Eirin Yagokoro? Huh. I was expecting someone more intimidating, to be honest._ ' Hikari felt she was respectable, but not powerful. Her mother's stories hyped her up for someone more sadistic.

Mokou moved up to her and grabbed her by the shirt "The hell's the big idea turning all the fairies to zombies!? We've been in here for _days_ 'cause of your shit!"

Eirin yawned. "I was testing if I could increase the durability of fairies. As it turns out, that's a bad idea, lack of bodily functions and all. Throws off the natural balance of their bodies, makes them… more physical, if you will. They respawn just fine, though, as the status is only inflicted by inhalation of my chemical."

Mokou's eyes widened. "Inhalation?"

Before any unfortunate misunderstandings were had, Eirin corrected herself. "Only if you're a being of pure magic… as in, a fairy."

Marigold appeared slightly worried.

Eirin turned her gaze to her, too. "No, magi are not pure magic beings, as much as they might aspire to be. Strictly fairies, I'm sure."

Osamu jerked his head back. "...What? You a magi?"

Marigold turns to him. "Well… yeah."

He claps his hands. "Why didn'cha tell me sooner? Show me some spells, baby!"

She freezes.

…

Eirin stares at the scene without empathy.

…

"Uh… hello?" Osamu waves a hand in front of Marigold's face. "Earth to magi! Come in, magi!"

Marigold backs away. "W-well… I can't."

Osamu whines. "Oh~, c'mon! Just one little spell! Plea~se?"

"I-I…" Marigold composes herself. "I can't cast magic. At all."

Osamu blinked.

…

' _Huh._ ' Hikari wasn't sure how to respond to that.

Mokou, however, saw an opportunity. "Hold on, hold on, lemme get this straight…"

Marigold turned to her.

"You're a magi… who can't cast magic." Mokou confirmed.

Marigold appeared hesitant. "Y-yeah."

"How does that even work?" Mokou grinned. "I mean, are you just that stupid, or what?"

' _Ouch._ ' Hikari was a little surprised at the venom.

She winced from Mokou's words. "H-hey, I-"

Mokou kept pressing. "You're fuckin' magical by birth, and you can't even fuckin' use it? Dumbass. Y'know there're humans that can use it, too? They're better than you, and they weren't even born with it!"

She gestures to Osamu. "I mean, look at him! He's some villager dork!"

He frowned.

Mokou turned back to Marigold. "Here you are, asking for scalpels and fairy fingers and shit… Just who the hell do you think you are? Don't tell me you're some prideful magician, 'cause as far as I'm concerned, you're just another silver spoon brat."

' _Where did this come from?_ ' Hikari was surprised by Mokou's outburst. ' _I mean… I know she's an angry person, but…_ '

…

"Awkward…" Eirin muttered, turning back to her 'project' behind the curtains. "Let me know when you two kill each other, or something. I could use some spare organs."

Mokou turns her angry glare to Eirin. "Oh, you what, moon bitch? Some of that hit home, or what?"

Osamu folds his arms locking his eyes on Mokou. "I don't like your attitude."

Mokou glances at him, and then back at Eirin.

"Answer me, Doc." She propped her arms at her sides. "What the hell are you?"

She turns to Marigold. "What the hell are _you!?_ "

"I said…" Osamu steps closer to Mokou, "I _don't_ like your attitude."

"What of it?" Mokou dismissively glances at him. "Look, I'm doing you a favor here. You're more of a mage then that wannabe will ever be."

"That so, huh?" Osamu's expression hardened. "You know what I was supposed to be?"

Mokou stared at him, looking impatient.

"I was _supposed_ to be a villager. Just a regular old carpenter or farmer or some bullshit like that. Then I decided I wanted to do magic. Hell, I'm not even good at that! The only reason I got any spells at all is- well, you don't need to know that- but if we're talkin' who's supposed to be who, then I'm just as much of a failure as this chick!" Osamu slides next to Marigold and wraps his arm around her shoulder. She jumps at the touch, but relaxes.

' _...My mother did about a million more awesome things by my age, and I spent those years reading books. Suffice to say, I think I've fallen quite far from the image of 'badass Hakurei miko'._ " Hikari smiled.

Mokou narrows her eyes. "What about that attitude of hers?"

Osamu raises a brow. "What attitude? She's a little weird, but dude, if you wanna talk about weirdly quiet people…" He looks over at Hikari, grinning.

"H-hey…" Hikari tries to fathom a glare, but can't really find it in herself at the moment. Instead, she just looks mildly stern.

He shakes his head, smiling. "Dude, Hikari is like, mad quiet. Not that I mind, or anything."

Mokou seethes. "That's not the point! I mean her disregard for the pain of others!"

Even Marigold seemed confused by the accusation.

' _Her what?_ '

Eirin looked over at the scene. "Tsk, tsk, tsk…"

Mokou turned to her. "You wanna fucking go, Doc?"

"Mokou… You must realize that not everyone with an interest in medicinal practices is like me. I'm a… special case, you see. You must realize that I am, infact, not of this world. My compassion for living beings only extends to those I care about… and those that seem pitiful enough to truly need my care."

She grins.

"I'm sure you know a subject I consider the latter."

Mokou's glare turns from anger to hate. "Oh, fuck right off. I don't call that shit you did _care_."

"...Pedantics." Eirin jests.

Mokou's arms ignite. "That's it, Doc. It's fucking go time! I'll-"

Eirin throws a scalpel at the wall. It clips the side of a sanitary wipe container, and it slides across the counter and into a stack of medical books. The stack tips over, the top book hitting a tray on top of a shelf. The tray was flung, sending a bottle of pills flying through the air.

...The pills scattered uselessly on the ground. Mokou and the others stared at the pointless chain of events.

Mokou blinked. "...The hell was the point of-"

Shink.

Her eyes widened.

"...Fuck...er…"

Thud.

Mokou sprawled out on the floor, a syringe in her neck.

"Good. Should keep her out for another twenty four hours…" Eirin bended over and retracted the syringe from her neck.

Shink…

' _I take back what I said. She's about as sadistic as Mom said she was._ '

...She looked to Marigold. "My sincerest apologies about that- and that extends to the rest of you, too."

She then turns back to her experiment.

On the table was a blue-haired fairy girl of some kind. Her chest was cut wide open, various organs exposed and manipulated in ways they were likely not meant to be oriented. Yet, there was no blood, and the fairy wasn't explodinated.

Marigold seemed to have calmed down.

Hikari scratched her head. ' _Well, that certainly was something. Why are we here again?_ '

…

' _Oh, right!_ '

"...Would you happen to know of any nearby magical locations… or something?" Hikari asked Eirin.

The doctor paused. "...Oh, right, right. That place…"

She took some vials out of her pockets, and tossed one of each to the party members.

Hikari got Recarbonizer Vial!

Osamu got Recarbonizer Vial!

Marigold got Recarbonizer Vial!

"You'll need it. Save it." Eirin instructed them. "...Further, there is something behind the malevolence of the fairies. For all intents and purposes, they should be vegetables, and yet they're committing violent acts. I cannot, for the life of me, discern the source… and that is very, very troublesome news, to me, atleast."

She pats Hikari on the shoulder.

"Go find the princess. She's in another clini- room. She's in another room…" Eirin stops herself before she makes a joke no one in the room could understand. "She'll be able to tell you about the magic location. Go now… or whenever, actually. Now that I think about it, could you take as long as possible? I'd really like to keep experimenting on these fairies…"

Pi~chun!

The fairy she was operating on died.

Eirin sighed. "...Brutal murder achieved in just fifteen minutes and thirty seven seconds. It was going so well, too…"

Marigold approached her. "...Do you have any tips for gun making?"

Eirin smiled lightly. "...No. I'm a doctor. Get out."

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Now without Mokou to escort them around, it was back to the aimless wandering for the clinic's heroes.

"Suck it!"

Osamu tried PK Hydro ß!

A large bubbled floated over the zombie horde…

"Now, Mari!"

Marigold aimed at it with her Pop Gun.

Pop!

Fwwaash!

The bubble exploded into an airborne spiral of water. It spun around, lashing out at the zombies with its waves before ceasing to produce more water.

The zombies all were tipped over by the waves.

Hikari ran around in the mess, playing an entire eight-inning golf game with the heads of toppled fairies.

SMAAAA~SH!

Pi~chun!

SMAAAA~SH!

Pi~chun!

SMAAAA~SH!

Pi~chun!

"Now that's what I call teamwork!" Osamu pumps his fist in the air. "Fuck yeah!"

Marigold kneels over the forms of a few of the zombies Hikari missed, popping them once each with her Pop Gun.

Pop! Pop! Pop!

...She took out a scalpel she had obtained prior from the resident doctor, and started slicing off fairy fingers.

The knife clicked against the tiled floor with eached quick slice.

Click, click, click, click, click!

One fairy now had a stubby sort of hand. Marigold made sure not to stare at the uncannily clean flesh and bone.

The clicking continued as she moved onto the next. Osamu and Hikari came back towards her, now done with the horde.

"...Y'know, why _do_ you need fairy fingers, anyway?" Osamu scratched the back of his head.

"Ammo." Marigold tells him. "They work as a source of mana for this gun." She holds up her Air Rifle.

"Huh…" Osamu nods in satisfaction at that answer. "Y'know, I've never really seen a gun before."

' _I've only seen flintlocks. They kinda sucked._ ' Hikari was far more impressed by the ability of both of Marigold's weapons.

Marigold raised a brow at their interest.

They continue forward, religiously checking every room and illuminating the dark ones with small bursts of Pop Gun shots.

They came to a room with a solid metal door with no windows. Osamu swung it open, and Marigold fired shots inside.

Pop! Pop! Pop!

The room's walls were caked with zombie fairies.

' _Well…_ '

…

Marigold stepped back, and Hikari swung the door closed again.

Violent thumping was heard on the other side of the door.

"Nope." Hikari summarized.

"Yeah." Marigold began walking away.

"No~ way." Osamu shook his head.

Eventually they came to an illuminated room, the window emitting a yellow glow.

"Who's goin' in this time?" He looks around at the other two.

They look back at him.

"...No. Look, Mary's got a gun, and you- you got that big stick." He gestures to the Air Rifle and Enchanted Gohei respectively. "All I got is…"

"Magic." Marigold gives a half-grin.

' _Irony._ '

"...Shit. Now I feel bad." Osamu sighs.

Marigold swung the door open this time, and Hikari pushed Osamu in.

"Hey- wait, fuck!"

He stumbled forward, only to find multiple guns aimed at him. He held his arms up. "Holy shit!"

"It's okay, guys. Just a stupid human."

Tewi was inside, back in her regular outfit.

The other rabbit girls lowered their weapons, looking weary.

Osamu furrowed his brows. "Hey!"

Hikari stepped in behind him.

Tewi blinked. "Oh, hey, it's Reimu's daughter! She's here to solve the incident, fellas!"

The rabbit girls give collective cheers.

"Yeah!"

"About time!"

"Took you long enough! Woo!"

Reimu looked slightly perturbed by being described simply as 'Reimu's daughter'. ' _I know, I know, I'm late. Getting locked in a break room does that to you._ '

Marigold stepped in behind the other two.

"Hey, it's… a uh… magi." Tewi blinked. "Cool, I guess. Picked a hell of a time to go to the hospital, huh?"

"Zombies." Hikari starts the discussion.

' _I suddenly feel like I've forgotten something._ '

"No shit." Tewi leaned against the wall. "It's been like, a warzone ever since I came back. I liked it at first, 'cause I got to do stuff like _this_."

Tewi promptly lifted her mallet and swung it at a rabbit. The rabbit girl ducked, and the mallet struck the wall.

Bam!

The wall vibrated, and a basket full of towels fell from a shelf and landed on one of the observing rabbit girls, knocking her over.

"Kyaa~h!"

Thud.

Tewi nodded in satisfaction. The other rabbit girl who dodged stood back up, and she and Tewi high-fived one another.

"Smooth as butter." Tewi smirked.

' _Is everyone here into disaster dominoes, or what?_ '

…

"...Though, a lot more rabbits are into hiding now. Honestly, we coulda taken those fairies if everyone wasn't completely stupid and afraid of zombies. I mean, they're even _easier_ than regular fairies. Everyone was complaining about some sort of _infection_ or something stupid like that, but I even let those fairies bite me to check."

The other rabbits in the room's eyes widened, staring at Tewi silently.

"...Oh, c'mon. It's been like four days! I'm fine!"

Marigold nodded. "The infection is only fairy-based. We met with Eirin earlier, and she said so."

A rabbit girl aimed her gun at Marigold. "How do we know you're not in league?"

Marigold squinted. "With who?"

"With the zombies!"

' _Here we go…_ ' Hikari was way too used to dealing with stupid locals.

Osamu looked to Marigold, having the same thoughts as Hikari.. "...You got a gun for me to use, or something? I mean… I'm not punchin' anybody if they get close, and I can only cast so fast..."

More rabbits raised their guns.

Tewi sighed. "You guys are really stupid…"

Guns pointed at Tewi.

"Really, _really_ stupid…"

...Marigold reached into her backpack, and took out the doofy brown hat, tossing it to Osamu.

"...Sweet!" Osamu grinned at it. "That's like, two thousand yen at the village designers! When the hell did you-... you can tell me later." He slipped the hat on, readying himself for combat.

Marigold snorted.

Osamu equipped Holmes Brand Designer Hat!

Osamu tried PSI Shield α!

The pale blue, psychic shield protected Marigold!

Marigold looked around at the barrier in wonder.

"It'sa shield!" Osamu exclaims, entering it himself. "Hide me!"

The sound of plasma shots filled the air.

ChewChewChewChew…

Marigold was bombarded with shots, but stayed standing, painfully raising her Air Gun. Her clothes got lightly singed by the blasts, but the psychic shield did a good job of dissipating the shots.

KLAAAA~CK!

"Kyaa~h!" One of the rabbit girls was launched from the headshot.

"It's a zombie!" Another rabbit girl aimed at Marigold…

Bonk!

Tewi's mallet hit her on the head, sending her to the floor.

ChewChewChew!

"Gaa~h!" Tewi wailed melodramatically as some plasma shots hit her. She didn't seem much worse for wear, though, even if her clothes were burned into.

Hikari casually walked up to one of the rabbits, who began backing away fearfully.

"S-stay back! Zombie!"

Chew!

Hikari was clipped in the shoulder, her flesh searing. She winced, raising her gohei and dashing at the rabbit girl.

Chew! Chew!

The other two shots missed, being fired wildly.

"S-stay back!"

SMAAAA~SH!

The rabbit girl spun around, and sprawled to the floor.

A rabbit girl turned her fire from Marigold, looking at Hikari. "The red-white one got through!"

Klack!

"Pftuh…" The rabbit girl cringed from the shot.

Klack!

"Augh!"

Klack!

"Aaah~!" The rabbit girl crumpled limply to the floor.

"Here!"

Osamu tried PK Thunder α!

Thwaaa~sh!

The thunderbolt struck the basket of towels, which exploded into a small shower of burning cloth.

Boom!

The tiny inferno raged, the rabbit under the towels scrambling away as if her life depended on it. "Aaaa~h!"

Hikari turned to one of the rabbit girls who was switching her focus between Marigold and Hikari.

"I'm losing control of the situation!" she wailed. "...Can't take much more of this!"

She crouched and backed into a corner, aiming carefully at her targets.

Hikari tried Hypnosis α!

Energy rippled around the rabbit girl…

"A-ah…" She dropped her gun in a moment of weakness, now unsteadily resting against the back corner.

Marigold aimed at her.

Klack!

"Oof!" The rabbit girl clutched her stomach. "You… bitch…"

Thud.

The two remaining rabbit girls dropped their weapons, putting their arms up. "D-don't shoot!"

"P-please… don't…"

Tewi shook her head. "You _idiots_. Look, just clean up this mess and I _won't_ set you guys up for a spanking of a lifetime."

The conscious rabbit girls paled.

"Capiche? Good."

With that, Tewi and the party left the break room.

Outside were some zombies, doing the things that zombies do.

Klack! Klack! Klack!

Pi-Pi-Pi~chun!

...Tewi turned to the three. "...Sorry 'bout the stupids. The girls're gettin' awfully stir crazy."

Marigold's psychic shield faded.

...Since no one was speaking up, Hikari prepared herself. "N-no problem…"

' _Whoever gave me this voice has to die._ '

Tewi giggled. "Still as weird as ya were before, huh?"

Hikari was not in the mood for deprecating shenaniganry. "Hey."

"Haha, jokin', jokin'... " Tewi grinned. "'Sides that, you seem to have some goons of your own." She gestures to Osamu and Marigold.

Osamu flexes his nonexistent mage muscles. "What can I say? I make a pretty good goon, if I do say so myself…"

Marigold folds her arms. "I'm just with these guys because I have no idea what's going on. Some dream… nevermind. It's not worth discussing."

Hikari looks to her. "A dream, huh?"

Marigold blinks.

Osamu beamed. "Dude, I was right! She _was_ the person comin' to break us out!" He nodded in satisfaction.

...Hikari turns to her. "I h-haven't introduced myself properly yet, have I?"

' _Nailed it._ ' Hikari ignored the fact she stumbled over her H.

She held out her hand. "Hikari Hakurei."

Marigold stared at it.

…

She took Hikari's hand, and shook it.

"M-Marigold Knowledge…"

' _I'm not the only person who stutters awkwardly in this strange land! Yea~h!_ '

Tewi yawned. "...You three done havin' a happy-crappy moment? We got pals incoming."

...The three looked around to see some zombies approaching.

Marigold fumbled for her Pop Gun as one neared.

Pop! Pop! Pop!

The zombie fell over.

Tewi facepalmed. "What was that? From that range, you might aswell just flail your limbs at it! I mean seriously, they don't bite! I mean… they do, but… you know what I mean."

Shaking her head, she pulled out a black box with two metal prongs on the end.

"Here. Hold it by the side _without_ the prongs, or I'll declare you officially dumber than a box of rocks."

Marigold takes the device, examining it. There was a setting for voltage, and a setting for turning it on or off.

"Alright, so-"

Tewi is interrupted by the sound of the device springing to life.

Vzzt!

Simple blue spurts of electricity emanate from the prongs.

"...Okay, you know how to turn stuff on, good."

Marigold plays with the power settings. The tiers are listed as follows: Tickle Torture, Danmaku Voltage, Stun, Paralyze, and the final option was marked with a crudely drawn label in crayon reading "Arse Blaster".

...She turned it to max, and the sparks became a violent multi-colored storm of colors, including yellow, white, and red. The device produced an audible hum, and Marigold's arm jittered as some of the electricity charged the nearby air.

Vuuu~m...

"Turn it off!" Tewi yelled.

Marigold did as instructed.

Vuuu~...

The device powered down.

"...Yeah, uh, you kinda _don't_ wanna set it to max. I played with it a little, and max is a _lot_ stronger than it's supposed to be. I didn't use it on anything yet, so… don't do that. It might explode, or somethin'." Tewi explained.

Marigold smiled ironically at the device. "Cool…?"

Tewi sighed. "Look, just keep it on stun or paralyze. It'll be helpful if you're about to get jumped, yeah? Also, I probably don't need to explain this, but 'tickle torture' is what it says on the tin."

Marigold gave her a dry stare.

...The surrounding zombie fairies had been long since cleaned up during the exchange. Hikari and Osamu leaned over the one zombie fairy that Marigold stunned with her Pop Gun.

Hikari poked it with her gohei.

"Dude, look at its left eye! It's all swollen and shit!" Osamu observed, both awed and slightly disturbed.

"That's nice." Hikari didn't really care, having seen enough gruesome fairy biology to prevent her from becoming squeamish.

Marigold obtained the Stun Gun!

She looked to her pocket, noticing the Pop Gun filled important space for her new armament. Taking a moment of solemn consideration, she decided to stuff the keepsake pistol into her backpack, and keep the Stun Gun handy. She figured the Air Rifle was all she needed projectile-wise.

…

She moved to the fallen fairy, and began getting to work in its fingers.

Click, click, click…

Tewi rose a brow. "...The _hell_ are you doing to that thing?"

"Salvaging ammo." Marigold answered. "...My gun uses fairy fingers as ammo. Don't ask."

Tewi grinned. "Coo~l…"

' _I don't know how to feel about that response._ '

Her other party members were of similar thinking.

"...It's pretty inconvenient, to be honest." Marigold elaborates.

Tewi shrugged. "Eh. I could strike a deal with Reisen for ya, have her look at yer gun or somethin'."

Marigold nodded. "I'd like that…" She wasn't sure who Reisen was, but she trusted Tewi knew a reliable source when it came to that sort of thing.

The zombie, now liberated of the burden of opposable fingers and thumbs, sat on the floor.

Hikari readied her gohei like a golf club…

"Fore!" Osamu shouted.

SMAAAA~SH!

Pi~chun!

' _Satisfaction._ '

…

Tewi scratched her head. "So uh, we done here, or…?"

' _Right, right…_ ' "We need to find the princess' room, or something." Hikari proposed.

' _Why does a clinic have a princess?_ '

Tewi smirked. "Say no more. I know a few shortcuts here or there. We shouldn't have to deal with anymore stupid zombies…"

Walking down the hallway, Tewi stopped at one of the many generic tables with a vase upon it.

"Pay attention…" Tewi rotated the vase, and one of the squares as red instead of blue on the other side. "See that?"

' _Don't tell me the clinic has a series of secret passages for no explainable reason…_ '

Tewi proceeds slide the table into the middle of the hall, and it clicked into some subtle indents in the floor. A trap door opened where the table used to be.

"...The fuck?" Osamu stared down into it. There was a staircase leading down.

' _I'm not sure if this is a clinic anymore._ '

"Like it?" Tewi proudly grinned. "I dug most'a these passages myself! C'mon, follow me…"

Tewi runs down the stairs, and the party follows behind her carefully…

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

END OF CHAPTER 6

Protagonist: Hikari Hakurei, Disciple of Paradise

-Inventory-

Weapon: Magical Gohei - Ability to whack stuff really hard. Amplifies whacking power, too! Able to deal magical damage. Critical hits enabled.

Arms: Iconic Hakurei Arm Sleeves - Keeps arms warm. A Hakurei tradition. How they stay on is a Hakurei family secret.

Body: Nothing

Misc: Nothing

-Skills-

Attack: Quickly! Swing your gohei at them for massive damage!

PK Fantasy α, β - Bombards the enemy with pain in the form of flashing colors. Deals magical damage. Heavy mental strain that increases with each tier.

PK Flash α - A bright flash that distributes very random status effects to enemies. Usually makes people cry.

PK Hypnosis α - Puts weak enemies to sleep for a short time. Works better on tired or exhausted foes.

Shield α - Halves damage the target takes. Only works against physical attacks, and enough strikes, or powerful strikes, will dispel it.

PSI Lifeup α - Heals target a little.

PSI Healing α - Heals basic status ailments.

Ofuda Toss - Throw a holy ofuda that does massive holy elemental damage to youkai and dark elemental foes. Effect lessens the more holy the thing you're attacking is, to the point of healing holy things. Only works if you actually have ofuda, though.

β-β-β-β

Mage: Osamu Katsumi, the Wannabe Mage

-Inventory-

Weapon: Fisticuffs!

Arms: Nothing

Body: Worn Magician Robes - An old robe from the days when the village respected the medium of magic. Well past its due date, but still comfy!

Misc: Holmes Brand Designer Hat - Village swag! A retro village hat that ceased production ten years ago. Sells for a pretty penny nowadays, but it's pretty useless otherwise.

-Skills-

PK Thunder α - Very random thunder attack that deals limited damage.

PK Hydro α, β - Gets everyone wet. Usefulness with PK Thunder and PK Freeze depends on whether you hit yourself or not! Creates whirling water spirals at higher tiers.

PK Freeze α, β - Generates ice crystals at the target's location. Medium damage and effect; may freeze some targets, especially wet ones.

Fireball - Manipulate mana to make a shoddy fireball. Low damage and effect.

Static Hands - Not a real spell. Result of a very undercharged PK Thunder that can accidentally go off.

PSI Telepathy α - Speak to friends you haven't met yet! Unstable connection and only works if they have the skill or are asleep.

PSI Shield α - Halves damage from magical and psychic attacks. Thunder spells fry it instantly, and harder blows dispel it.

β-β-β-β

Inventor: Marigold Knowledge, the Tri-Magi Love Child

-Inventory-

Weapon: Air Gun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Uses air to propel moderately powered danmaku particles at high speeds. Bland, but efficient. Filled with foil chip bags to conduct the mana, and it is transmitted into a wind stone. Coagulated fairy fingers are currently the only viable mana-providing ammo for this weapon.

Arms: Nothing

Body: Custom Dress - A custom dress made by Alice. Provided slight defense against magical and psychic attacks.

Misc: Swirly Glasses - Lets Marigold not be blind.

Backpack - Allows extended inventory. Aged relic from the Kourindou.

Unnamed Lock Opening Device - Opens locks very precariously. Made with steel, burnt cloth, packaging peanuts, thumbtacks, string, and wooden wheels. Don't even ask…

Ruler - Lets you measure the world around you!

Protractor - Lets you find the angles of anything ever. Totally overpowered.

Deck of Cards - Allows Marigold to play Strip Poker with the party. Just kidding… or am I?

Pop Gun - A toy, very much harmless danmaku pellet gun. If you lay into something with it, though, it's still going to inflict some serious stunning and stopping power.

Stun Gun - Electrical device used to subdue harassers. Has settings ranging from Tickle Torture to Arse Blaster. Able to stun and inflict paralysis on certain foes. Deals electrical damage, and on the highest setting can fry shields, at the cost of temporarily shorting itself out.

-Skills-

Russian Tapdancing Extraordinaire - Skilled at curling into a ball and hopping on one leg while holding the other one like a rifle.

Knows How To Code In HTML - Shared skill with the rest of sentient beings in and outside of Gensokyo, and some various forms of primate.

Professional Bum - Actually, that'd be Osamu, innit?

Professional Bum Fondler - Patchouli has some interesting reference materials in her room's personal shelf...

Fairy Whisperer - Except when they're undead.

Author's Note:

hello brave new world!

ahhh, that time of the evening again, to publish a new chapter of work

this chapter went pretty smoothly for the most part; keeping track of skill, item, and etc progression at this point is getting a slight more convoluted however. i don't mind, though! s'all the fun of writing the progression…

i always have those moments where i'm like "how could i possibly sit down for an extended period of time and just write" and then i do it and am just like "...oh"

writers block is not a fatigue i've ever suffered from; slow moments, sure, but never a big ass "oh god i can't think ever again help no" of any sort. i dunno if that's just a thing other people get or if it's an excuse for being lazy

i should stop ranting about irrelevant things

marigold's a fun character though, yo

as always, see you all next time!

PROOFREADER'S NOTE:

All shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.


	7. Hakurei of the Hill

Crawling through the tunnel system, the party reached the Princess' room in a relatively short amount of time.

They sat in the tunnel right before it…

"Alright, wiseguys…" Tewi turns to the three behind her. "Hold up ju~st a second…"

Tewi takes a small plate from _somewhere_ in her pants. It has a picture of herself on it.

Hikari blinked. ' _Where was_ that _stored?_ '

She tossed it into the faintly illuminated room.

Blablam!

The disc was shattered into many pieces by a shotgun spread of technicolor bullets.

"...Come on out!" The girl inside calls out.

Tewi steps out. "I bring people. Don't shoot 'em if you can."

...Hikari steps out, slightly wary.

A pink-clad woman with long black hair brings her sci-fi shotgun up to aim at her…

"Oh. So it's not a rabbit, huh…"

Her gun went back to a neutral position, pointed towards the floor.

' _Another lunatic._ ' Hikari was getting tired of meeting loonies.

In the back of the room was a brightly lit screen, the only light the room had at the moment.

Tewi looked around in the darkness. "...Any particular reason yer wallowing around in the dark, o~r…?"

She glares at her. "Dude, you know zombies are attracted to light and noise. Of all the people in this clinic, you should know this. It's like, zombie one-oh-one."

' _Hmm._ ' Hikari didn't know about that.

Tewi shrugged, sighing. "Alright, Kaguya…"

She turns to the three. "This is Kaguya by the way. She's a freak."

Kaguya glares at her again. "Do you _want_ me to shoot you?"

Tewi grins. "Try me, sister!"

Osamu has a sudden urge to test the ability of his shield…

Osamu tried PSI Shield α!

Tewi was protected by the psychic shield!

Blablam!

The shotgun bullets were slowed as they entered the pale blue shield, Tewi dodging them matrix-style.

...Once they all pass, Tewi gives her a thumbs up. "Born lucky, baby!"

Osamu grinned sheepishly. "...I dunno why I did that. I just did."

Kaguya flips her off. "Fucking hacker…"

Lowering her gun, she goes up to Hikari. "She cheated, right, Reimu?"

' _You idiot._ ' Hikari glared at her.

…

"O~h, that's right! She had a kid. I forgot..." Kaguya nodded to herself, remembering. "...What do they call you? Reimu Junior?"

'...' Hikari was contemplating assaulting the lunar princess.

"I'm calling you-"

Marigold sensed the rising rage of Hikari, moving to intercept the conversation. "H-hey, uh, about that gun…"

Kaguya instantly shifted topics with her. "Oh, this thing? It's a SPAS-L. It's pretty bad ass, and it relies off the user's mana, so you never have to reload."

Hikari sighed. ' _I'm not a very big fan of this girl…_ '

Osamu walked over to the illuminated monitor. On it was a page that read 'One-hundred And One Ways to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse'.

...Osamu stared at the keyboard and mouse, wondering how to work the machine.

Hikari looked back to Tewi, only to find Tewi had conveniently evacuated the premises. There was a note left behind on the wall next to the entrance…

"How's this gun look to you?" Marigold took out her Air Rifle.

Kaguya raised a brow. "Never seen anything like that. What's it called?"

Marigold paused. "...Uhh~... Air Rifle?"

Kaguya gestured for her to go on. "Yeah, like, what's it called?"

Hikari examined the note left by Tewi.

"Hey guys,

Meet me after you fix the zombie problem or something. I'm bored of escorting you and you got Kaguya now, just point and she'll shoot, trust me.

Sincerely,

Tewi Inaba."

Hikari looked at it dryly. ' _She would._ '

Marigold furrowed her brows. "Umm…"

Kaguya rose a brow. "...You don't know the name of your own fucking gun?"

"I-It's a M18A1 Claymore!" Marigold blurted on reflex.

…

"Pffft… Hahahaha~!" Kaguya clutched her stomach, laughing. "S-sure it is!"

She puts her arm around Marigold's shoulder, sighing. "Good one. You know zombies are weak to headshots right?"

Marigold nods. She'd figured as much.

"Good. How's that gun work? It looks like it's either an assault rifle or a semi-sniper or something…"

Marigold thinks for a moment. "...Well, it's filled with chip bags, so~..."

Kaguya snorts. "Sniper it is, then. Got any Dew in that backpack of yours?"

"Dew?" Marigold questions.

"You know. Mountain Dew. Stuff of the gods?" Kaguya turns her around and starts going through her bag… "...You got a fuckin' pistol in here, too? Du~de, swee~t…"

Marigold was uncomfortable. "Y-you know, I'd rather you didn't-"

Kaguya takes out the metal cylinder. "Du~de…"

...She flips it over, noticing it's empty.

"...What the fuck?" She drops it to the floor, chuckling. "Why were you carrying an empty can on you?"

"Reasons." Marigold argues.

"...O~kay." Kaguya nods her head, satisfied.

Osamu figured out how to use the arrow keys to scroll the page. Most of the English is unknown to him, though. "Does this thing come in Japanese?"

Kaguya looks over to him. "Hey, don't touch that!"

Marigold bends down and picks the can back up while Kaguya is preoccupied with defending her computer. She stares at the can, then looks around the room…

' _This place looks pretty well worn._ ' Hikari looks around the room as well, noticing various details that are a little difficult to make out in the darkness, like the plethora of green cans and chip bags along one wall of the room. A large, inactive screen sits at one of the other walls, multiple devices seemingly plugged into it.

' _I'm burnt out on future chips…_ ' Hikari eyes the chips somewhat warily.

Marigold goes up to Kaguya's desk and plucks some sort of spray can off of it. Kaguya doesn't notice, far more concerned by Osamu's frantic key pressing.

"Look, I've got this! I heard a story from a bard about sci-fi keypads once!" Osamu justifies his flailing.

"It's a keyboard, you moron!" Kaguya tries to pull him away from the computer, but he holds onto the keyboard.

' _For the love of…_ '

Hikari walks up and yanks the keyboard from Osamu's arms, sending both him and Kaguya whirling back into the wall of chips and cans.

' _Oh, boy…_ '

Hikari cringes slightly at the sudden abrasive noise of bags being crushed, and the thuds of drink cans bouncing against the floor.

"...W-w-" ...Hikari clears her throat. "Ahem. Well, then…"

' _Totally natural._ '

...Looking over to Marigold, she sees her pouring both the fizzy drink and the chips into the can of spray.

Hikari is also hit by a powerful, perfume-esque odor coming from the open can.

"Ech…"

Marigold winces from the pungent odor, as well. Hastily jamming chips into the can, she twists the bottle's spray cap back on.

Marigold has obtained Magical Defense Reducer Spray!

' _She's made a weapon of mass destruction, to be sure. My only question is 'why'._ '

...She gives it a good shake, the sound of crunching chips coming from the can.

Kaguya darts up from the pile of snacks that buried her. "Get the hell out of- ugh…!" She plugs her nose from the scent, fanning the air.

Hikari walks up to her. "Do you know anything about magical places?"

' _Surely the best time to ask this. I might as well, because right now we're just screwing around._ '

Kaguya unplugs her nose, scrunching her face. "W-what the hell do you mean, 'know anything about magical places'? What does that even _mean?_ "

' _...I suppose I should be a little more specific._ '

"Um…" Hikari's not sure _how_ to get more specific. "You know. It's magical."

Kaguya nods. "Yeah. Seems legit. Totally."

Marigold gives her latest invention a hard look that lies somewhere between 'disgust' and 'satisfaction'. "...Not my uh, best creation…"

Osamu climbs from the chip bags and cans next, rubbing his head. "What was that for!?"

' _Alright… I should probably explain everything. Both to see if Kaguya's really worth talking to, and to tell Marigold about the whole sanctuary business._ '

Hikari clears her throat. "Ahem…"

...Everyone looks at her.

...Hikari clears her throat again. "A-ahem…"

"Yes, yes, get on with it." Kaguya folds her arms as well as she can with a large sci-fi shotgun… which is not very.

"Right… So, me and Osamu, and you, Marigold, uhh- we have to find these 'sanctuary' things. They're typically considered magical places, or at the very least, weird places. It's to save the world, or something."

Hikari nods to wrap up her few sentences.

"They're awesome places!" Osamu pipes in. "Like, you'll know 'em when you see 'em!"

Marigold smiles at the implication of adventure.

Kaguya nodded. "...Well, there _is_ a weird place nearby. It's kinda been there only in recent years, but no one fucks with it 'cause it's a _really_ weird place."

' _There we go. She actually knows something afterall._ ' Hikari smiles.

"Could you lead us to it?" Hikari requests.

Kaguya pump her shotgun.

Chi-chick!

Kaguya grins. "Let's rock."

==== GENSOYKOBOUND ====

Hikari sighs as they step into the hallway.

"Alright, where do we go-"

"Fucking _zombies!_ " Kaguya gives her battle cry as she runs into combat. A few zombies are shambling down the hall ahead.

Blablam!

Pi~chun!

Chi-chick!

Blablam!

Pi~chun!

"Yeeaa~h! Fuck you!"

Kaguya charges down the hallway, indiscriminately pulling her trigger finger at anything that moves, and occasionally on things that didn't move.

Before long, she was out of sight, having taken a turn down a different hall.

…

"Okay, then." Hikari nods acceptingly.

' _She was a bit of an ass anyway…_ '

Osamu clapped his hands together. "Whelp, guess we're just followin' the trail of destruction, then…"

After a few halls worth of destruction were traced, the three found themselves at the front door of the complex again. Kaguya was hiding behind a desk, her shotgun sliding around on the top of it, held by one arm.

Hikari held out an arm to stop her party members from continuing.

"...She'll probably shoot." Marigold observed.

"Mmm…" Hikari looked around for something to throw, and took a vase from one of the nearby tables.

She tosses it-

Blablam!

Shatter!

The vase parts scatter across the floor…

"...You _coulda_ just called out for me." Kaguya sighs. "That was still cool anyway, though."

Hikari shrugged.

Moving to the front sliding doors, Kaguya simply kicked the glass parts of them open, even though they opened just fine.

Shatter!

"Alright, look…" Kaguya looks into the bamboo woods outside. "If you uh… actually, it'll be easier if I just draw you a map."

She feels around on her dress, and takes out some strange two-screened device. "Here…"

She takes out a small plastic stick and draws on the lower screen.

"There."

She gives the device to Marigold. "Map's on the lower screen."

Marigold squints at it. The screen is almost entirely illegible scribbles…

"Just take a right from this door, do a loop-de-loop once you go past the clearing with the four short bamboo poles, and like… if you don't see a waterfall, you did it wrong. Don't ask why there's a waterfall, this forest is fuckin' _weird._ "

She turns to Hikari. "Tell Reimu she owes me like, fifty-thousand yen for that 3DSXL."

Hikari blinks. "...You're rather rude for a princess, don't you think?"

' _She sounds a lot like Mokou for some reason._ '

Kaguya's gaze lowers. "You're a little inexperienced to be a Hakurei miko, don't you think? S'what I thought. 'Sides, it's a zombie apocalypse. I don't really give a shit about being proper right now."

' _That's nice._ ' Hikari was ready to inflict violence.

...Osamu leans over Marigold's shoulder, looking at the device's screen himself. "These screen things are freakin' weird."

The moaning of zombies is heard nearby again.

Kaguya springs into action, firing at them.

Blablam!

Pi-pi-pi~chun!

"Oh, baby, a triple!" She pumps her fist in the air.

"...Let's just get out of here." Hikari walks for the sliding doors out of the clinic.

Marigold and Osamu follow, eyes focused on the map device.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: MARIGOLD'S VIEW ====

Trailing behind the Hakurei miko, Marigold stares into the map device…

' _She seems a little ticked from that unruly princess._ ' Marigold observed. ' _The people of the clinic don't seem very compassionate as a whole._ '

Despite it being day, the density of the bamboo made the atmosphere the atmosphere dark and curious.

...Hikari paused. "...Uhm, could you lead? You have the map and all."

' _...She means me? Oh._ '

Marigold gingerly steps forward. At the very least, they had been going right as Kaguya suggested.

She saw the bamboo poles coming up.

"...Now we gotta, uh…"

Marigold furrowed her brows at the map. ' _Kaguya said 'loop-de-loop', this looks more like taking four left turns… I thought she meant a spiral or something._ '

"Follow me…"

Marigold looked ahead, and saw something small dart behind a bush.

' _Uh?_ '

As they passed the bush, Marigold turned and looked around it. There was an odd trail in the snow, appearing as if something'd been dragged. Such a trail couldn't have been left by normal animals.

"...I think we got youkai or something. Look over there." Marigold pointed at the trail in the snow.

Hikari stared at said steps. "...What? I don't see anything…"

"The trail." Marigold stressed.

...Hikari's eyes widen in realization. "Ooo~h, right. Huh."

Osamu stretched. "Aa~h, no sweat. Me and Hikari know how to kick some youkai ass already."

...Snow fell from atop a branch. Marigold looked up and saw a small orb retract itself from the base of the branch, hiding behind the tree.

The snow landed on Osamu.

"Oof- hey!"

Hikari giggled.

They take a left turn.

' _We're probably going to get jumped by gremlins or something._ ' Marigold's imagination slightly freaked herself out.

They took another left.

' _...I still don't know how this works either._ '

They took _another_ left.

"Where the hell are we going?" Osamu questions.

"Home." Marigold absently provides.

"...Oh."

She wasn't _exactly_ wrong, but she didn't know that.

They took the fourth left.

They now stood aside a river, and up ahead was a waterfall.

"Where the fuck did that come from!?" Osamu pointed at it.

Hikari blinked at it.

Marigold looked up from the map device.

' _I didn't even hear the water until we rounded the fourth left!_ '

"Wha~t…" Marigold voiced her confusion.

…

Marigold narrows her eyes, small figures darting up the side of one of the stone walls to the right.

She draws her Air Gun. "We got company, guys."

Hikari jerks her head back. "Really?"

…

The nearby bushes rustle violently.

"W-what!?" Hikari was taken by surprise, drawing her gohei hastily at the sudden noise.

Fwooo~sh!

A jet of flames shoots from the bush, lighting it on fire.

"What the fuck!?" Osamu back away from the flames.

Klack! Klack!

Marigold fires into the flames.

…

A wheeled, stone square with a flamethrower atop it drove out of the miniature bonfire.

' _A machine?_ '

Hikari ran up to the side of it.

Thunk!

The whack made it shake.

Marigold assessed her current stock of weapons…

' _...I really have nothing to deal with a machine, do I? Especially not some stone thing like this..._ '

Osamu grins. "Piece of cake!"

Osamu tries PK Freeze ß!

KaKa-KaKaKling!

Rapid freezing and thawing rattled the device violently…

Kra~ck!

The arctic blast blew the wheels off.

Fwoo~m!

Osamu frantically fell out of the way off the fire stream, and crawled away in the snow.

The machine was now completely immobile.

Fwooo~m!

It shot fire into the air, hitting nothing.

...Marigold went around the side, and saw the flamethrower was attached to a small plastic box on the back by some large cords.

"Stand back, everyone!" Marigold stepped back from the device herself.

Hikari stepped away, and Osamu crawled like the wind to catch up with Marigold.

Klack!

It strikes the plastic box.

Kaboo~m!

The stone device explodes into a pillar of flames, the stone body of the machine twirling into the air, before landing in the nearby river.

Sploosh!

Marigold lowered her gun… ' _In retrospect, I could've salvaged those parts. Oh, well._ ' 

Osamu grinned. "Hell, yeah! That thing just got blown the _fuck_ up!"

Hikari gingerly stepped over the charred ground where the machine was. "...So, where next?"

Marigold shrugs. "The map just leads us to this waterfall."

Hikari rolls her eyes. "Of course it would… We should probably just wander aimlessly until we find something, then."

' _Why does everything in this forest need to be a huge, sprawling maze?_ '

There wasn't much space to wander aimlessly, however. Between the jagged cliffside to the right and the river to the left, the three were forced down a linear path.

Ahead, a few zombie fairies shambled out from behind trees.

Klack! Klack! Klack!

Pi-Pi-Pi~chun!

Nevermind, there weren't any zombie fairies to speak of.

To the right, there was an open cave entrance against the jagged cliffside.

Hikari looked to her party members, then walked inside.

Wordlessly, the other party members followed.

"Dark ass cave…" Osamu focused, and conjured a fireball in his hands as best he could.

Maybe not _so_ wordlessly...

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIKARI'S VIEW ====

Moments into the cave, everyone was thinking of light sources. Marigold held up the map device, Osamu had his fireball, and Hikari…

' _...I'll just stand between them._ '

They rounded a corner, and the exit to the cave was actually right there.

...Osamu shot his fireball into the wall.

Poof.

"So much for that…" Osamu sulked.

' _Guess it didn't matter anyway._ ' Hikari was somewhat pleased.

Exiting the cave, they found themselves in a small valley.

Marigold looked up at the walls, finding nothing interesting.

' _More strange geometry. This forest is an incident in and of itself._ '

The three continued… until they reached a town, of some description.

...Hikari blinked.

' _What._ '

Tiny structures made of rusty barrel drums dotted the snowy floor of the indent in the world. Ladders lined some of the walls, but didn't seem to go anywhere useful.

Marigold raised a brow. "...I think this is what they call a 'landfill'."

Osamu snorts. "No foolin'?"

...A tiny, round being slides from one of the barrel drum homes.

"Take it easy!"

It's a yukkuri, in the likeliness of Reimu.

' _...I'm not sure what to make of that. I wasn't sure when I was younger, and I'm still not sure to this day._ '

Osamu tilted his head. "...So, uh… just what the hell is that?"

Marigold stepped towards it. "It's a yukkuri."

"...Bless you?" Osamu was still confused.

"Living pastry." Marigold answered. "They haven't been so common in recent years, but I heard awhile ago they were _really_ big vermin."

Osamu nodded. "How big we talkin'? Like, person big?"

Marigold sighed. "I meant there was a lot of them, not that they were actually big."

"...Oh."

The yukkuri hopped back into its abode.

...Intrigued, Hikari goes to follow it inside. Crouching, she slowly edges her way into the hut…

...It's bigger on the inside, but not by much. Osamu and Marigold follow, noticing Hikari seemingly disappear once she got inside.

On the wall was a very tiny ladder that lead to some little black device with a cord.

' _Is this a ladder made for ants?_ ' It was so small that Hikari could probably run her finger down it and just tear off every step bar with ease.

The Reimu yukkuri stared into space. "Do want easy slumber?"

' _Uh?_ '

"...I guess?" Hikari wasn't sure what that meant.

The Reimu yukkuri looked at her. "Take it easy!"

…

Thud.

The entire party fell asleep.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Everyone awoke just as abruptly.

Osamu flailed his limbs, as well as he was able to, anyway. "What the fuck!?"

Marigold struggles back against his flailing limbs, everyone growing uncomfortable in the cramped space inside the barrel drum house.

Hikari crawls for the exit-

"Oof…"

-and successfully lands on the floor outside the house.

' _Surprisingly good sleep, but I'm super stiff…_ '

Osamu threw himself from the barrel house, landing next to Hikari.

"Oof!"

...Marigold carefully stepped out, stepping around her fallen comrades.

The Reimu yukkuri hopped out. "Sleep easy?"

Osamu sticks his middle finger up. "No. Fuck get. Gaa~h…" He reaches for his back, caressing it gently.

Hikari tried Healing α!

Her morning stiffness disappeared!

She stood and stretched.

"Aa~h…"

Osamu noticed the sudden limberness she had obtained. "How the hell'd you sleep so well?"

Hikari tried Healing α!

Osamu's morning stiffness disappeared!

...Standing up, he heard his back crack about five times in rapid succession.

"Hoho~ly crap…"

Marigold cracked her neck a bit, but seemed fine otherwise.

...Looking around, Hikari observed that the entire 'village' was filled with yukkuri.

' _...Kaguya wasn't entirely wrong, but this place doesn't seem to be a sanctuary…_ ' Hikari felt none of the familiar magical presence here, and didn't see anything of particular worth.

A yukkuri Marisa hops up to Marigold. "Easy welcomes to Easy Town!"

"...I don't know about this place, Hikari." Marigold was resisting the urge to punt it.

Looking to the sky, Hikari realizes they're at the exact same time of day again. ' _Did we even sleep, or did a whole day pass?_ '

Osamu got up, dusting himself of snow and assorted dust. He took a look around. "...Gensokyo's a scary place, du~de…"

Hikari walked through the 'village' casually, her friends trailing behind her. Various yukkuri hopped from their homes to look at them, all having uncanny resemblances of people they've met and others whom they haven't.

There was another cave at the edge of the valley, and the party went into it.

Inside was some fairy-style yukkuri, and by some miracle, torches on the walls to light the cave.

' _How did those even get up there?_ ' Yukkuri couldn't have put those torches up, yet they were burning as if they were new.

The fairy yukkuri made themselves scarce, leaving a lone Reimu-type sitting thoughtfully.

It looked up at the party, and just stared at them.

"...Hey." Hikari began the enthralling discussion.

The yukkuri took a moment. "...T-take it easy."

' _...That came out kinda weird. Is this one alright?_ '

"...Are you okay?" Hikari questioned it. ' _Might as well try to make friends with the populace. Maybe they know_ something _that the princess didn't, by some miracle._ '

It stared at Hikari again for a moment before replying. "...H-Hikari frustrated easy. Home under easy attack."

Hikari froze.

' _...That's not a Reimu type at all…!_ '

Osamu grinned. "Hehey, it's you!"

"Easy attack." Marigold echoed, liking the word combination.

"Easy attack…" The Hikari-type echoed back.

"B-by who?" Hikari inquired.

"Mean yukkuri and super easy fairies and-and-and easy _flame machines!_ " The Hikari type began jiggling violently. "Take it _ea~sy!_ "

It began hopping around, tiny technicolor sparks emitting from where it lands.

FizzleFizzleFizzle!

' _Definitely a me-type…_ ' Hikari was slightly unnerved.

Hikari looked to her friends. "...Yeah, uh, I don't know about this place either."

Marigold grinned.

Osamu took the interrogative initiative, for a change. "So uh, mini Hikari, you know where the bad guys are?"

The Hikari-type stopped bouncing around for a moment, becoming recluse again. "...Y-yeah. Behind waterfall, easy password need."

' _Easy password._ '

"...Wait easy minutes, for three. Open, door will. Take it easy!"

' _Sounds good, I guess._ '

The three moved to leave-

"But _wait_ , easy!" The Hikari-type leaped into the air and came back down. "Must not say _anything_ easy. All easy time."

"Right. Right. Gotcha…" Hikari acknowledged the message, moving quickly to leave.

Outside, a large Alice-type was sitting at the entrance to the village, it's back to the party.

Marigold blinked. "I-is that…"

Hikari nods. "Looks like an Alice type."

...Suddenly, Hikari facepalms. ' _I just realized I forgot the medicine! Ugh… I guess I can get it on the return trip, but it's gonna really bother me now…_ '

Fwooom!

Two flame machines drive in through the village's entrance path.

"Uwoo~h!" The Alice yukkuri yelled the sound of war, before, performing a great leap in place.

Thu~mp…

The ground shook as it landed.

Oversized sewing needles shot from the ground, making a path towards the flame machines.

ShinkShink, ShinkShink…

The ear-piercing screech of needles forcibly colliding with stone is heard.

' _O-oww…_ ' Hikari idly raised her hands to her ears after the fact.

"Shit, man…" Osamu covered his quicker, but still too late.

Marigold just winced at the noise.

The flame machines were flipped over, on the side and on the back, respectively.

Fwooo~m!

The didn't stop them from continuing to fire at nothing, though. The needles retracted into the Earth.

The Alice yukkuri stared at the machines, unsure what to do next. It proceeded to just hop away.

Fwooo~m!

"...Should we do something about that?" Hikari ran the idea over with her peers.

"...We _should_." Osamu shook his head.

Marigold agreed with him. "...But we're _not._ "

Hikari nodded. "Fine by me." ' _Don't really wanna see what an explosion would do to the local populace…_ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

They arrived at the waterfall…

"...Who's going in first?" Hikari asks.

' _It's not gonna be me._ '

Osamu shrugs. "Ah, whatever. A little water never killed anyone!"

He walked into the waterfall, and the force of the water pushed him back into the creek and onto some jagged rocks.

"Oof…" He got up, brushing himself off. "Now my robe's all soggy. Damn…"

Sharp pebbles fell from the back of his slightly scuffed mage robe.

' _How thick is that thing?_ ' Hikari thought for sure he would at least be surprised by how sharp the riverbed was.

He hugged himself. "It's co~ld, too!"

...While he tried to conjure a wimpy fireball, Marigold examined the waterfall…

"We could just go around the water- or try. We'd get wetter, but we wouldn't be blown back…"

Hikari withheld her feedback on that idea, making a strained face in contemplation. ' _I don't know about that..._ '

Marigold agreed with her. "I don't really like that idea either, but-"

"I got one!" Osamu stood and wrapped his arm around both their shoulders. "Why don't you do that wind thing, Hikari? Like, just power us up and we all run at once!"

' _...How did I forget about that?_ ' Hikari nodded. "That sounds like a plan…"

"Wind thing?" Marigold questioned.

Hikari lifted Osamu's arm off her. "I'll have to be the one in the center to make this work well."

He stepped back. "Oh, right, right…"

They rearranged each other, and now Hikari was the one with hands on both party member's shoulders.

"Okay… We should probably go back to the edge of the creek bed. Get a running start, you know?"

Osamu nodded. "Yeah, yeah…"

They backed up awkwardly, stepping back at different paces and almost falling over on the uneven river bed.

"...We sure this is gonna work?" Marigold questioned, skeptical.

"Well- no." Osamu summarized. "But it _could._ "

...A generic wolfman youkai took this moment to emerge from the nearby woods at the creek side. "Well, well, well… If we haven't some-"

"Tasty humans?" Osamu guessed.

"Delectable magicians?" Marigold added.

' _This youkai has no idea what's about to happen to him…_ '

The youkai glared. "...You mockin' me? Are you fuckin' serious? I'll eat you whole!"

Osamu tried PK Freeze ß!

KaKa-KaKaKling!

Rapid freezing and thawing of an ice pattern occurred, locking the youkai in place.

"Wha-ha-hat the-"

Kra~ck!

The arctic blast left portions of the youkai's limbs frozen, leaving him with only one arm and leg operable.

"...I can still fight!" He awkwardly maneuvers his frozen leg along the creekside, slowly but steadily making his way to the party.

"...Should we just ignore him?" Hikari wondered.

"I said… I can still _fight!_ " He took his free arm and punched his leg, breaking it free. "You stupid humans… and…"

He gave Marigold a funny glance. "Youkai, apparently. A weak one, I'm sure."

...Marigold lifts her Air Rifle.

Klack!

"Pftuh…" His head flipped back, thrown by the force of the danmaku pellet. He dropped to his knees, and passed out.

"Headshot." Marigold smiles.

"Dude just got fuckin' _owned._ " Osamu nodded in satisfaction.

Hikari snorted. ' _As expected._ '

...They got back into position.

"Alright. Everyone ready?"

Osamu nodded. "Let's get a move on!"

Marigold confirmed. "As I'll ever be."

' _...Alright…_ '

Everyone shivered slightly from a passing winter breeze.

Hikari channeled her wind, having it buff everyone.

"Now!"

They all bolted at irregular paces, something the wind only amplified. The wonky four-legged run style had them tripping over themselves at breakneck speed the whole way, but they eventually charged to the waterfall and burst through the current with the wind's guidance.

Sploosh!

They slid to a halt on the other side.

"...Uugh…" Hikari groaned from the floor. ' _In retrospect, we should've done a congo line instead…_ '

Osamu stood up. "That was _sick!_ We gotta do that again sometime!"

Marigold glared at him. "Not any time soon. It's really _freaking_ cold…" Marigold had had enough of cold weather for one lifetime.

A few feet past them was a metal door. A wall with a small indent was next to it…

...Hikari knocked on the door, bringing her finger to her lips to hush her teammates.

"Sshh…"

Osamu shuts up, and Marigold withholds further comment.

…

The indent in the wall slides open, eyes staring out. "Easy password?"

…

Hikari twiddled her thumbs, and turned to her friends, who were looking equally bored already.

' _Three minutes, it said?_ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Hikari and company were scribbling on the cave wall with some white stones near the entrance to the cave. They were pretty hard to actually draw with, so the most someone actually wrote was a very crude "S.O.S." by Osamu, and various illegible scribbles.

The yukkuri manning the door finally was satisfied. "Easy entry…"

The large metal door slid open. The party eagerly charged inside…

Beyond the metal door lied halls of metal and floors of steel. The ceiling was just rock, though. Hikari's sandals clicked against the metal tile floors.

' _What is this place…?_ '

She turned to the yukkuri that let her in…

...but it apparently wasn't any yukkuri she'd ever seen.

' _More importantly, what is that?_ '

The three looked at the malformed blob of paste and dough, random colors of hair and eyes decorating it. The 'normal' eyes she'd seen before were just two brown eyes of its pressed up against the glass of the eyehole.

It slid down a ramp to meet them. As opposed to the female voice it spoke in before, it was a lot more gruff now. "What!? I thought you were one of them stupid yukkuri! Hyonk, hyonk, hyonk!"

"...What the fuck." Osamu shook his head at the thing.

"...Looks like you're just some stupid humans instead! Hyonk. Hey, why dontcha get outta here? This is no place for outsiders! Hyonk!"

...Hikari readies her gohei.

"...I'm technically a youkai, you know." Marigold aims at it.

"Youkai? Human? They'll all be pasty goo like us when Master Giygas is through with them! Hyonk!"

' _There's that name again. Giygas…_ ' Hikari at least had a name for the person who was seriously out to ruin her day, now.

The goo creature slowly began flowing towards them…

Klack!

It wriggled and writhed from the impact, a few of the eyes near the point of impact closing and dissipating.

"Haaaugh!" A cry of mixed pitches and voices came from the blob. "Gurrarh…" It growled.

' _I wonder…_ '

Hikari tried Hypnosis α!

Energy rippled around the goo…

…

Nothing happened at all, seemingly.

"I'll fry 'em!"

Osamu tried PK Thunder α!

Thwaaa~sh!

A random section of walling was struck, the electricity dissipating uselessly into the metal and neutralizing.

"...Or not." Osamu scratched the back of his head.

The goo flowed up to his feet, and stuck to his shoes.

...Osamu started stomping it, which just made it splash about. "Hey, what's the big idea? You gonna get my shoes wet, or what?"

The eyes of the goo flash auburn, and Osamu is lit on fire.

"Holy shit!" Osamu roars, running out of the goo and around the room. "I'm on fucking _fire!_ "

' _Oh, no!_ ' Hikari's face hardened. ' _How can I put it out…?_ '

The goo flowed towards Marigold, who had little choice but to draw her Stun Gun.

Zzazazat…

It buzzed to life.

"Hyonk! Hyonk!"

...Marigold crouched casually, and stuck the prongs in the liquid body of the yukkuri amalgamation.

Zazazazzap!

"Hyao-!" It barked, suddenly getting cut off.

…

Ssss…

The goo began sizzling, all the eyes gone. Nothing was left but a flesh-colored splat on the floor, reminiscent of pancake mix.

Marigold retracted the prongs, turning off the Stun Gun.

Hikari tried Healing α!

Osamu's burns healed, but the fire continued!

"Oh, shit! Fu~ck! That _hu~rts!_ " Osamu coarsely wailed, the pain igniting anew.

' _N-no! Stop burning!_ '

Hikari tried Healing ß!

A glow shined over Osamu, and like that, the fire was gone.

...He was still burnt, though.

Marigold looked up at Osamu, and gasped. "W-woah…" The left side of his face was completely burnt off, it seemed.

' _...I can fix this._ ' Hikari shook the shock from herself. ' _I haven't healed something quite that bad yet… but I think I could!_ '

Hikari tried Lifeup ß!

…

Osamu's face slowly shifted and grew back as he squirmed. Other burns on his body healed, as well.

...He felt his face. "Oh, thank fuck. _Anything_ but the face, I mean, shit, man. Well, almost anything."

Marigold blinked.

Hikari sighed in relief. "...T-that went better than expected."

Osamu nodded. "Yeah. I thought I was dead, but it turns out I'm not! Lucky me, huh?"

Hikari snorted.

"...Are we just going to ignore the fact she just _somehow_ healed your face?" Marigold brought up.

Osamu shrugged. "Phenomenal psychic powers? Look, alls I know is that we're getting crazy awesome psychic abilities to uh…"

"Stop Giygas." Hikari fills in the blank.

"Stop guy gas? What?" Osamu scratches his head.

"...No, like-" Hikari sighs. "In short: someone who's trying really hard to ruin our days."

"This guy's gas sounds like an asshole." Osamu comments. "Is it a guy named gas, o~r…?"

Hikari snorted, shaking her head. "Nevermind that." 

Marigold paused. "...Why don't I have psychic powers?"

"...Do you need 'em? Last I checked, you can shoot people in the _face_." Osamu argued. "...I mean, I'll be level with you here: I'd trade my psychic magic for the ability to shoot people in the face, and I really wanna be a spellslinger."

...Marigold smiled. "Yeah, you're right. Guns really are more fun."

' _That's to be debated. Guns really aren't as versatile as magic, depending…_ '

…

Hikari looks around the facility. "Big place, huh?"

Marigold nods. "Kinda."

...Two more blobs of eyes, hair, and various yukkuri featured flowed onto the scene. "Humans! Hyonk hyonk! What's the password?" "Yeah, what's the password?"

' _...Do we have to wait for three minutes, or~..._ '

"Not talkin', hyonk?" "Not talkin'!?"

The three prepared for more combat.

"Let's hyonk them up!" "Hyonk!"

Osamu tried PK Thunder α!

Thwaa~sh!

Bam!

Zazaazt…

One of the blobs was reduced to a pile of charred paste.

One began flowing near Hikari, but Marigold walked up to it and turned on her Stun Gun.

Zztztzt…

She kneeled, and poked it with the Stun Gun.

Zazazzap!

"Geyohh…"

…

Marigold removed the prongs of the Stun Gun from the mush of the deceased blob monster.

"Not very combative things, are they?" Hikari thinks aloud.

"Not very. Electricity doesn't seem to agree with them." Marigold observes.

Looking around, Hikari doesn't see any way around the facility from their current platform. Trailing along the edge of it, she notices a thin ladder of sorts against the one part of the platform without railing.

She moves to it, and starts to climb down it.

"Did the ladder have to be like, hidden?" Osamu voiced a shared complaint.

Hikari neared the bottom, but was forced to pause.

Fwooo~m!

One of the flame machines came out from nowhere, and began blocking the lower part of the metal ladder by shooting a stream of flames at it.

"Hey, Marigold!" Hikari called up to her teammate.

"Y-yeah?" Marigold was trying to find a way to fit her gun into her backpack so she could use the ladder…

"Can you shoot the explodey bit of that machine from up there?" Hikari requested.

She looked down, unable to see the box… but she saw the cord to the box.

"I... I think so!" Marigold raised her gun, and aimed as well as she was able to from the top of the ladder…

Klack!

Thunk. It hit the stone uselessly.

"Dang it…" Marigold aimed again.

Klack!

The danmaku bullet struck the plastic and rubber cord, piercing it and igniting the fuel inside. The flame dispensary began burning itself, and then the box did.

Kaboo~m!

The block of stone was sent sky high, the flame thrower demolished with it. The block soared off into some abyss that was off the rails of the lower platform.

...The ladder was probably still hot, though.

' _I should just be able to do this…_ '

Hikari drops off the ladder, and uses a brief burst of wind to lessen the impact.

Clack!

She winces as her legs impact with the floor.

' _Could've been more graceful, but…_ '

"Hey, Hikari! Catch me!"

Hikari looks up to see Osamu falling towards her.

"U-uhm…!" She tries her best-

Thud.

"Aaagh!" Osamu lands on his arm. "Fuck! I think I broke it!"

Hikari sighs.

Hikari tried Lifeup α!

Osamu winced as he felt his arm shifting. "A-aack! Gee~z…"

...He moved his arm around. "Good as new!"

Marigold stared down warily. "H-hey, Hikari?"

Hikari looks up.

"Could you catch my gun for me? I can't really carry it safely, and I need to climb down…"

Hikari holds up her arms. Marigold tosses the Air Gun down, and Hikari catches it.

Marigold took a deep breath, and went to climb down…

...only for the weight of her backpack to throw her off it after an awkward movement.

"A-aaaa~h!" Marigold screamed, reaching her arms out for the ladder.

She landed on her bum.

Thud!

"Ooo~uch!" Marigold yelled, eyes tearing. "O-oooww…" She slumped against her backpack, moving her legs in a futile attempt to divert the pain.

Hikari sighed again. "Honestly…"

Hikari tried Lifeup α!

...Marigold suddenly felt somewhat better. She tried to stand, but fell over again, a piercing pain in her hip preventing her. "A-ah…"

Hikari blinked. ' _Was that not enough?_ '

Hikari tried Lifeup ß!

…

"T-there we go…" Marigold stands up and takes a few practice steps. "...Wow." She wipes the tears from her eyes. "...Never again."

"It's gonna happen again." Hikari assures her. ' _Hopefully not soon. The advanced healing thing drains more from me than the basic one…_ '

Marigold looks vaguely worried, but Osamu waves it off. "Aah, you'll get used to it."

' _I'm still not used to it when it happens to me. I usually just end up forgetting just how painful it is to experience some of these things…_ ' Hikari thought back to the times she got impaled or shot by lasers, and shuddered.

A metal door slides open, two more goo creatures flowing out.

"Hyonk hyonk! It's the chosen!"

"Hyonk 'em good!"

Osamu turned to them. "You guys are fucking annoying."

Osamu tried PK Freeze ß!

KaKa-KaKaKling!

The rapid freezing and thawing threw bits of the rightmost blob all over the place, scrambling its body.

Kra~ck!

It was frozen solid by the arctic blast.

...Marigold gingerly stepped to the other one, and drew her Stun Gun. Like the other times, she poked the goo monster.

Zazazazzap!

"Hyaao~!"

…

Ssss…

Hikari approached the solidified one, and brought her gohei up over her head…

SMAAAA~SH!

The creature was shattered into a million little icy pieces, effectively killed.

' _Good riddance. No one'd miss something like that anyway._ ' Hikari was sure of it.

After that event, the three continued through the open door and progressed through the facility. More blob monsters appeared occasionally, but they were swiftly dealt with by either electric or frosty means.

Eventually, however, they reached a locked metal door.

' _Hmmm…_ '

It was one of the larger, olden styled locks for some indiscernible reason.

Marigold tried shooting it.

Klack!

…

Nothing happened.

Hikari swung at the door itself.

Bo~ng!

"Thick…" Hikari felt the strength of the metal in her gohei.

Marigold snapped her fingers, and pulled out…

Hikari wasn't sure what it was she pulled out. It was made of swing, metal plating, and white foam.

Marigold stuck it in the lock.

Cli-Cli-Click!

The door swung open.

"Dude- how'd you do that!?" Osamu asked in amazement.

"...It's a device that opens doors, especially when you have a bad key." Marigold explains. "...I guess you could call it a Bad Key Machine."

' _More like a skeleton key…_ ' Hikari observed.

"...It only works on older, simpler locks, though." Marigold added. "That's why I couldn't make use of it before."

A booming sound came from the depths of the room ahead.

"Hyoo~nk!"

...The three looked into the room.

Marigold brought out her Stun Gun, and flipped it on.

Zzztztzt…

The three stepped in…

Directly ahead, they saw nothing, but when they looked to the left…

"Holy. Crap." Osamu's jaw dropped.

It was a large, person-sized blob of yukkuri features, akin to the smaller ones.

"It's the worms Master Giygas told me about!" The blob jiggled in glee. "So I was right to sit in front of the power room! Hehehehyo~nk!"

' _Power room, huh?_ '

The blob began wriggling, slowly approaching the three. "Move over, 'cause the great Byorg is in town, and these're my parts!"

Blobs separated from Byorg, flowing away independently.

' _...Let's just get this over with._ '

Hikari tried PK Fantasy α!

Fizzle!

The dark facility was suddenly lit alight by a barrage of hypnotically bright colors.

Fizzle!

Colors echoed off the walls, filling the room with vibrance.

Hikari focused on Byorg.

Bwaa~sh!

All the smaller blobs were reduced to paste, crushed against the floor. Gyorg jiggled violently…

"Hyonk! Hyonk…" It seemed shaken, but not stirred. "Bet you can't do that again! Haha-hyonk!"

Osamu tried PK Freeze ß!

KaKa-KaKaKling!

The rapid freezing and thawing was barely visible in the blob's mass.

Kla~ng!

The arctic blast turned it into a slow slush, chunks of ice forcing it to slow down…

"Hy-o-..." It flowed around the icy bits, slowed noticeably. "This… nothing!"

It shot one of the icy bits out from itself, smacking Hikari in the face.

"Pftuh…!" Hikari was thrown back, the ice chunk bouncing off her face and leaving her with a bloody nose.

Osamu shielded his face as another ice chunk shot out, doing the same. He stumbled back from the force, but stood standing.

Marigold invented a new strategy called 'ducking', which allowed her to avoid the oncoming ice chunk entirely.

' _O-ouch…_ ' Hikari brought her hand to her face, and wiped the blood from her upper lip. ' _I-I'm bleeding?_ '

Marigold reached into her pocket, and took out the Magical Defense Reducer Spray.

"Grenade!"

She takes the can, and tosses it at Gyorg.

It gets absorbed by the pasty goo…

"Hyonk! Grenades!? You think you can _blow_ me up!? I eat grenades for breakfast!" Gyorg boasts. However…

...in moments, Gyorg discovers the contents of the can after dissolving it open.

"W-what is this…? Eeaa~gh…"

Gyorg's Magical Defense fell drastically!

"S-stupid humans… what kind of food do you eat!?" The mass writhed in displeasure.

Hikari stood back up. ' _I should hold back a bit, I guess… I already feel pretty drained._ '

Osamu tried PK Freeze ß!

KaKa-KaKaKling!

The freezing and thawing violently mixed Gyorg's body around, bits splashing across the room.

Kla~ng!

The arctic blast froze most of Gyorg this time, leaving only some of the inner goo safe.

Marigold drew her Air Gun. "Open it up for me, Hikari!"

' _Guess I'm going in, then…!_ '

Hikari charged in, and whacked at the ice.

Thwack!

Crack…

Thwack!

Cr-crack…

Thwack!

Cra~ck!

The ice broke open, Gyorg on the inside and far smaller.

Klack! Klack! Klack!

"Hy-oh-hach! Oough…"

Splatters of paste flew out of the opening as Marigold stepped closer, pumping it with rounds.

Klack! Klack! Klack!

Paste spattered her glasses from how close she got

"O-oohhh…"

Gyorg's once booming voice became a whisper.

Klack! Click, click…

…

Marigold's Air Gun was out of ammo.

Click, click, click…

"...I uh, I think it's dead." Osamu adds. "You can stop shooting… or trying to shoot."

Marigold steps back from the ice that once was Gyorg. "...E-eheheh…"

She took her glasses off, and polished them clean with the fabric of her long skirt.

Hikari walked around the ice and dead goo, going to the metal door. Pushing it open, she saw a cartoonishly large lever inside.

' _...I think I know what to do from here._ '

Hikari leaped up to grab the switch…

…

She found herself in the air, holding onto said switch.

' _Uhh…_ '

"A little help in here?" Hikari called for her teammates.

Osamu and Marigold came in to see her hanging from the large lever.

"Pfft…" Osamu grinned at the sight. "...Alright, let me, uh…"

He looked up, getting a full view of Hikari's undergarments.

Marigold looked up as well, realizing what was going on.

"...Actually, I think it might be a few- Hey!"

Marigold pushed Osamu out of the way, and leaped to grab Hikari's ankles. The switch slowly budged, halfway off…

Osamu walked back up. "...Buzzkill."

' _What are they going on about?_ '

Osamu grabbed Marigold's waist, and pulled the two down, the lever pulled fully to the 'off' position.

Doors slammed open throughout the facility.

"We're easy free!" "Take it easy!" "Easy freedom!"

The facility intercom had a warning go off.

"Warning._Warning._Terminal_power_supply_is_currently_not_in_operation._Production_of_siege_vehicles_to_cease._Conversion_of_yukkuri_to_cease._Warning._Warning…"

Osamu grinned. "I think we did it, guys!"

Marigold smiled. "Alright, let's get out of here!"

The three charge from the room and race across the lower level of the facility, various blobs of goo hurrying to attempt to stop the yukkuri, but failing without the aid of their siege contraptions to intimidate them.

Whenever they saw one of the three beings that invaded their facility, though, they knew to run the hell away.

...They eventually came to the ladder of ladders again.

"Alright…" Hikari sighed. "Let's _not_ fall and break our legs this time, guys."

Osamu snorted. "You were supposed to catch me, y'know."

"I tried." Hikari defended herself. "The idea was stupid anyway. You coulda just jumped if you went down a few feet more."

Marigold was having different thoughts. She slipped her backpack off, and tried to find a way to fit the rifle into the main pouch.

She kinda did but didn't at the same time. The barrel was sticking out and it was only half-zipped shut, but she hoped it would hold.

Hikari looked over to her.

' _Hopefully she doesn't fall this time…_ '

"Telecast_ 2. _has_crashed._Send_error_report_to_Microsoft?"

…

' _Wait… Where are all the yukkuri going?_ ' Hikari looked around, noticing none were using the ladder at all, not that they could, but…

' _...Why does this place even have ladders!?_ ' Hikari realized that ladders would have absolutely zero purpose in a facility of goo monsters.

Osamu tapped his shoe on the floor. "...Any day now. You plannin' on standing there forever, or what?"

Snapping from her thought, Hikari goes to climb the ladder. Osamu follows her.

...Gingerly, Marigold steps up the ladder slowly and purposefully.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Outside the stronghold, Hikari saw yukkuri fleeing from strange places.

' _The facility probably had a lot more to it than we thought…_ '

Osamu squeezed the ends of his robe with his hands to wring out the water. "Guess we should go back, huh?"

Hikari paused. "Hmm… I think we should look around the yukkuri town a bit more. We didn't really get a good look at it earlier."

"What is there to look at?" Osamu turned to her. "We saved 'em and all, but…"

"We need to find the sanctuary location." Hikari restated their goal. "They should know something, especially now that we liberated them from harm."

...Osamu wanted to protest, but he relented. "Guess you're right. I kinda thought they wouldn't know anything."

Marigold readies her Pop Gun, considering her Air Gun is out of ammo.

Continuing through the caves they traveled previously, the three arrived at 'Easy Town'.

To say it needed some expanding now would be an understatement.

' _What happened here!?_ '

After going through the entry valley way, the three saw a sea of yukkuri now inhabited the 'village'.

"Geez louise!" Osamu took a step back from the yukkuri horde.

Fwooo~m!

The two flame machines that were there before were still there, and still shooting. The yukkuri simply kept a cautionary circle around them.

' _So much for blowing those things up now._ ' If they did it now, there'd probably be a myriad of casualties and an angry mob to deal with.

...Marigold hugged the wall and began progressing to the cave in the back of the valley. Hikari and Osamu did the same.

' _Even though the yukkuri are only ankle high, I don't particularly feel like stomping through them only to accidentally kill one and enrage the whole crowd, or something._ '

Eventually, they reached the back wall and the cave.

Inside was the tubby Alice yukkuri, among others.

"War over, easy…" It begins. "Friends. Take gift, easy."

It pushed a large gift box towards the party.

' _...Never one to complain about free stuff._ ' Hikari rubs her hands together, and ravages the box.

Moments of tearing and ripping later, Hikari pulled the object from the gift…

' _...A horn of some kind. I'm not surprised._ ' They were pretty primitive here, anyway.

Hikari obtained a Horn of Life!

"Use easy when times are not easy…" The Alice-type advised them. "Take it easy, Mary."

Marigold blinked at the yukkuri.

A wooden ladder dropped from the side of the room, a yukkuri with silver hair dropping from the new hole in the roof of the cave.

Hikari glanced at it. ' _Looks like that maid I saw a few days ago…_ '

Marigold gave it a long stare, as Osamu began climbing the ladder.

"C'mon guys!" He called for them.

Hikari began climbing the ladder as Marigold looked at it carefully, cursing whoever decided that ladders would be a staple of this forest.

Reaching the top, they ended up on a ledge at the side of the valley.

' _...I probably should've asked the big one about the sanctuary. I'm sure one of these other ones knows, though._ '

There's not as many yukkuri on this ledge, but there's still plenty milling about.

Hikari approaches a fairy yukkuri. "Would you happen to know where I could find a magical place? Something close and weird, basically…"

The yukkuri looks up at her. "Take it easy, okay?"

…

Hikari shakes her head, walking away. She instead decides to go into the nearest drum building while her party members take the hint from her previous conversation and begin asking around as well.

Inside the building, Hikari has no idea what's going on.

' _More strange devices with tiny ladders leading to them…_ '

...She looks down at a Marisa-type yukkuri.

"Welcome to easy shop! Easy buy! I can sell, too. Marisa-ze, do all for you! What can I easy?"

' _Uuuhh…_ ' "What's for sell, I guess?"

A metal latch in one of the barrels opened, and a selection of items came out. They included marbles, a slingshot, another one of those horns, a hair bow, a beanie, and a single peppermint.

' _...Hmm._ ' Her eyes ran over the bow. ' _It looks like a bad Christmas decoration. It'd be nice to give my attire some variety, though…_ '

She also saw the beanie. ' _Osamu likes stupid hats, so he'll like this._ '

Both the beanie and the bow had a lime green color scheme and had pictures of yukkuris printed on them.

She picked them up. "How much for both?"

The Marisa yukkuri smiled. "Three-thousand, six hundred, ninety easy!"

' _Three and a half thousand yen, basically._ '

Hikari dug up the money from her pockets, and placed it on the counter.

The Marisa hopped on it and seemingly absorbed it. "Take it easy, okay?"

Hikari nodded. "Sure. You too."

Leaving the store, she found Osamu and Marigold stacking barrel drums.

"What're you guys doing?" Hikari inquires, taking a moment to slip off her traditional Hakurei ribbon to attach the magnificently green one.

Hikari equipped Yukkuri Ribbon!

"Waitin' for you!" Osamu shot back. "I talked with that fat one, and she said that cave over there was where we had to go." He pointed to the cave dead ahead past the shop.

' _...We probably would've gone there anyway._ ' Hikari realized.

"Some of these barrel drums actually have stuff in them." Marigold informs the party. "...Not very useful stuff, but uhm…"

She tipped over a nearby one, and various smashed up 'keyboards', as Kaguya had called them, poured out.

' _Useful._ ' Hikari was unimpressed.

Osamu ran up to one, and bowled it over. Bright yellow objects clattered out, all of which were in the shape of guns.

Marigold's eyes lit up. "Oo~h!"

Moving over to the pile of guns, she sifted through them. Lifting a few up, she had discovered most had parts broken, and all of them didn't fire anything.

Lifting an oversized blue one that was reminiscent of a sniper rifle, Marigold aimed it into the sky…

Poof.

It shot a dart, which fell to the floor.

Osamu snickered. "Pfft… nice find, there…"

Marigold glanced at him, then moved around the drum barrel. She planted the gun on the side of the barrel, using it as a makeshift workbench.

"I can fix this." Marigold states resolutely.

' _Oh, boy._ ' Hikari reached into her pocket, pulling out that bag of goldfish snack crackers she bought many days ago. It was slightly soggy, but it seemed alright otherwise. ' _Might as well._ '

…

She took the moment to hand Osamu his hat, too. "Here. I know you like stupid hats, so have one."

He frowned. "Hey, I'll have you know this is a Holmes brand deerstalker-..." He looks over the beanie, lime green and plastered in yukkuri decals. "...O-oh. O~h. I, uh… I dunno what to say. The hell is this?"

She shrugged. "Variety." She gestured to her Yukkuri Ribbon…

"...Ah, whatever."

Osamu equipped the Yukkuri Beanie!

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: MARIGOLD'S VIEW ====

Marigold twisted the edge of the barrel off, which revealed itself to be a cheap plastic component that really wasn't there for any reason.

' _Might as well do away with that. Makes it too big to carry…_ ' She pocketed it anyway.

...Pulling an orange trigger, a clip slid out of the gun. Marigold picked it up, and noticed very mangled up darts inside.

' _...Is this a toy gun of some kind?_ ' It didn't seem very useful otherwise, and it _was_ brightly colored, but Marigold couldn't be sure.

She tried to open it up, but it didn't just pop open like the Air Gun did. ' _Hmmm… It seems to be attached by screws of some sort. Really modern ones, by the looks of it…_ '

...She took out one of the thin metal plates she found.

' _Knew this would come in handy. Well… more like hoped. Still._ ' She used it semi-efficiently to unscrew the side of the blaster. Removing it, inside was a variety of tubes.

' _...Is it air operated? Maybe those tubes channel mana…_ ' Regardless, Marigold had no idea how they worked, and they seemed way too complicated for their own good for her to bother with them to make a properly working gun.

' _Out with those, then._ '

She tore the tubes and pump bits from the gun, unscrewing where she needed to. She pocketed the mess of components in her backpack.

' _Now…_ '

She took out her Pop Gun, and put it in the center, aligning the grip with the toy gun's grip. There was still some plastic inside in the way, so~...

Bam! Bam! Bam!

She bashed the Pop Gun into place, smashing some of the internal plastic to do so.

' _Rather fragile, this thing…_ '

...She looked at the gun's grip, and decided it was ultimately unnecessary.

Bam! Bam!

Marigold smashed the grip off, allowing the Pop Gun's grip to be free.

' _Now, for power…_ '

She looked to the nearby, useless armaments, and began smashing them against the ground.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

She tried smacking the drum with one. Bo~ng!

' _...Maybe I should just unscrew them._ ' Smashing them wasn't terribly productive.

After a good few minutes of unscrewing random, larger broken toy guns, Marigold amassed a small army's worth of batteries of all sizes.

She stared at the plastic base… and just plopped all the batteries right in.

' _Seems legit._ ' The idea was that the batteries going nuclear would supercharge the Pop Gun, due to the magical catalyst used inside it.

' _If this goes well, this thing should shoot forever. If this goes bad, it explodes. I'm also hoping those cylinders and boxes do as they say on the labels..._ ' She was referring to the batteries.

She took the other side of the plastic base, and aligned it in place. She screwed all the applicable screws back in- a few that went on the grip couldn't be replaced for obvious reasons.

She slid the clip back in, only to stop the batteries from falling out of the clip hole. ' _Hopefully that doesn't interfere with anything. It shouldn't..._ '

...She took it out and tore the darts from it, and then reinserted it.

As she stood, her foot knocked a small stock aside.

' _...Wait, was that what went on the end?_ ' She was wondering what those pegs were for…

She lifted it and realized she needed a part of the grip to properly attach it.

' _Screw that._ ' She discarded the stock. ' _I'm just not going to bother. The Air Gun never did anything but vibrate, so the stock on that wasn't ever really needed. Pretty sure it's the same here…_ '

...She stood up, and aimed at a nearby barrel drum. Reconsidering, she aimed at the tipped over drum of keyboards.

' _Time for a test fire…_ '

Marigold obtained and equipped the NF Burst Gun!

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIKARI'S VIEW ====

Hikari and Osamu were halfway through the bag of goldfish snack crackers as they stared at the yukkuri mess below.

"...I see another Reimu type!" Osamu exclaims. "That's fifty eight!"

' _Dang. I only found like, forty nine Marisa types so far…_ '

She was snapped from her thoughts by the sound of danmaku bullets firing.

PoPoPoPoPop!

Bo-bo-bo-bo-bo~ng!

"There we go…" Hikari turns around to see that Marigold has finished her latest weapon of mass destruction.

"'Bout time." Osamu gazes upon the blue and neon-orange burst rifle. "What's she called?"

Marigold looked over the side of the gun. It read "NERF Longstrike CS-6", but Marigold wasn't sure about a name as clunky as that…

"NF Burst Gun." Marigold decided. The NERF part seemed too important to leave out entirely, but to Marigold the rest was unneeded garbage. 'Burst Gun' was all the information someone needed.

' _Sounds about right._ ' Hikari supposed.

Osamu nodded. "Pretty cool… I still have the same freakin' spells!"

' _They're improving, though. As are mine._ ' Hikari noted.

Marigold shrugged.

Since the conversation was mostly dead, Hikari wrapped up the bag of snack crackers and considered pocketing it… "Actually, Marigold, could you hold onto this? It's less likely to spill out if it's in the pockets of that pack thing…"

Marigold nodded. "Help yourself." She turned around, exposing the backpack.

Hikari moved to it, unzipped a side slot, and stuffed the bag of goldfish in, zipping it up afterward.

"There we are. Let's go."

The three continued into the cave ahead…

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

The cave, like the last, was mostly empty. It lead to a section of bamboo forestry that was seemingly lighter and more shallow than the portions around Eientei, however, when the party attempted to stray from the linear path, the trees suddenly got thick to the point of being impassable.

Hikari was trying to prove that last sentence wrong.

Thwack!

Bamboo fell as Hikari swung it aside and even managed to cut some of it with the force of the gohei swipe. She had cut ten feet into the absolute wall of bamboo, and it showed no signs of stopping.

"...Maybe we should just follow the path?" Osamu jested.

Hikari groaned. "Fi~ne…"

' _With a forest as weird as this, it's no wonder that the sanctuary would be nearby…_ '

They walked down the forest path eagerly, ready to locate the next area.

No one stopped to question why the wind wasn't blowing at all in the valley of trees. They did, however, question the fact the path was suspiciously clear of snow.

"So~, no snow. Couldn't get any more obvious than that, huh?" Osamu lampshaded.

They passed a small cluster of inconspicuously uniform and discolored bamboo stalks. Uniform in the way that they were not only the exact same color as one another, but they were also the exact same height. They appeared as if plastic, their neon yellow demeanor a far cry from the more natural browns and yellowish-greys of the surrounding bamboo.

"I guess. I've never really seen one of these so-called 'sanctuaries' before." Marigold reflected.

"Trust me, it's _sick._ " Osamu assures her.

...They pass a few more neon yellow bamboo clusters.

Hikari pauses. "What kind of fertilizer do _those_ stalks use?"

' _I can't really ignore them anymore. They really stick out._ '

The other two paused and looked at them.

… The stalks retracted into the Earth.

"What." Hikari blinked.

…

Woosh! Woosh! Woosh!

The dirt shot up from the floor as the bamboo seemed to shoot out of it. Humanoid but boxy figures composed entire of bundled, neon-yellow bamboo stood before the party.

Two tiny gaps at the top of what would constitute as the 'head' were open, clear water flowing out of them- but only at a trickle's pace.

Hikari readied her gohei. "They don't look friendly…!"

"You don't say?" Osamu waved his hands around, even though that didn't do anything.

Marigold raised her new gun, ready to put it to the test. She stared warily at the surprisingly limber bamboo humanoids.

…

They stared at one another for awhile.

"They fuckin' ninjas or somethin'?" Osamu asked.

Bamboo Ninja A tried Shield α!

Bamboo Ninja C was protected by the shield of light!

' _I recognize that… Isn't that what I can do!?_ '

Bamboo Ninja B tried PK Hydro ß!

A bubble was sent in the party's direction, but they just moved away from it.

Splash!

Fwuuu~sh!

A whirling spiral of water was created in the air, getting the forest floor all wet.

The third Bamboo Ninja, going by the letter C for tracking purposes, leaps up onto the bamboo wall and then into the air, completely obscured by the day's light above.

PoPoPoPoPop!

Marigold fires wildly into the air.

Thunk! Thunk!

She hit _something_ , alright.

The Bamboo Ninja fell from above, splashing in the large puddle. Water splashed across the battlefield, mostly in the direction of the party.

"Ugh!" Osamu seemed frustrated by the fact his robes got soggy again. "You fuckin'..."

Osamu tried PK Freeze ß!

KaKa-KaKaKling!

Rapid freezing and thawing had no visible impact on Bamboo Ninja C.

Kla~ng!

The arctic blast solidified it, rendering it unable to move.

"Take that!" Osamu pumped his arm.

Bamboo Ninja B leaped across the entire hall of trees, sending shurikens of a natural sort at the party members.

"A-agh…" Marigold winces as one nicks her arm, drawing blood.

"Ouh- fuck! Shit!" Osamu swears up a storm as one hits him right in the leg, embedding itself.

Hikari flinches as one clips her gohei, nearly disarming her.

' _They're so fast…!_ '

...She looked to the solidified one.

' _This is my chance!_ '

Bamboo Ninja A tried Shield α!

Bamboo Ninja B was protected by the shield of light!

Hikari ran up to it and whacked it anyway.

Thunk…

Nothing happened.

' _...Wow._ ' Now that she saw it from another perspective, that was a really cheap spell.

That also reminded her that she could cast it herself.

Hikari tried Shield α!

Osamu was protected by the shield of light!

"A little late for that, doncha think!?" Osamu tore the shuriken from his leg. "...Yeeoow~ch!"

Marigold aimed at the unshielded ninja.

PoPoPoPoPop!

It looked towards Marigold, and began trying to dodge matrix-style.

Thunk!

...One bullet hit it right at the end. It didn't do much of anything, but it did shatter the ninja's dignity.

Bamboo Ninja A's guts fell!

It shook a 'fist' at Marigold, then dashed towards her at breakneck speeds.

PoPoPo-

Whack!

"Aa~hh!"

-PoPop!

The ninja was forced to tank a few bullets as it slammed the magician aside. The remaining two bullets spiraled into the air above.

Marigold landed in the water. "Ugh…"

"Take this!"

Osamu tried PK Thunder α!

Thwaa~sh!

Bamboo Ninja B was moving cautiously in the background, waiting for a critical moment to throw shurikens again…

Bam!

It struck the ninja, lighting it ablaze. It stumbled forward, its shield of light also shattered.

Hikari paused, trying to choose between attacking A or B…

Bamboo Ninja A turned towards her, so Hikari knew who to attack.

She readied herself, and the ninja whirled at her.

Klaa~ck!

The gohei struck a large bamboo arm.

Whack!

"Pftuu~h!" Hikari had the air knocked out of her by a blow to the torso.

"I got it!"

Osamu tried PK Thunder α!

Thwaaa~sh!

Bamboo Ninja B dodged out of the way of the lightning bolt.

"Wha- how!?" Osamu saw it happen, too.

Bamboo Ninja B tried PK Hydro ß!

The bubble flew over itself. It jumped up and uppercut it, causing it to explode in a torrent of water and put out the flames on itself.

Sploosh…

The resulting spiral of water soaked it.

Osamu grinned. "You're not dodgin' _this_ one!"

Osamu tried PK Freeze ß!

KaKa-KaKaKling!

The freezing and thawing rocked the body of the weakened Bamboo Ninja.

Kla~ng!

The blast of frosty air froze it solid.

Speaking of frozen things, Bamboo Ninja C started moving again…

Osamu turned to it, annoyed. "Jeez- just stay _down_ already!"

Bamboo Ninja A turned to him.

"...I'm sorry?" Osamu smiles sheepishly at it.

Whack!

"Oof!"

Osamu flew against the bamboo wall.

PoPoPoPoPop!

Marigold drilled into the side of Bamboo Ninja A with sustained danmaku.

Patatatata! It pattered against the bamboo from the range it was fired. The bamboo composing its torso began breaking from the raw energy that pierced it…

Bamboo Ninja C moved lethargically towards Marigold. She turned at it, and fired at the head.

PoPoPoPoPop!

"Haaa~h!" Marigold roared.

Thu-thu-thu-thu-thunk!

The bamboo of the ninja's head began popping open and splitting…

Hikari shambled from the floor, and with a burst of wind, threw herself at the third Bamboo Ninja.

Woosh!

She brought her gohei down on its head.

SMAAAA~SH!

Bamboo shrapnel flew everywhere, a rain of water gushing out of the torso's top like a fountain.

Bamboo Ninja C stopped moving.

"Yeah!" Hikari cheered in the heat of the moment.

"Get me outta here!" Osamu was cornered by Bamboo Ninja A, flailing his limbs to defend himself from a series of jabs and punches.

PoPoPoPoPop!

Marigold applied the same strategy as before, and Hikari followed up.

It swung its arms wide to try and intercept Hikari, but it was too frazzled by the many targets to do anything efficiently. It missed Hikari.

SMAAAA~SH!

An explosion of bamboo and water came from the head of Bamboo Ninja A before it stopped moving.

…

All three turned to the figure of Bamboo Ninja B, who was frozen solid as a rock.

...Hikari walked up to it casually, and leaped onto its broad shoulder.

Whack!

…

Whack!

…

Kra~ck!

The icy head was shattered, rendering the third and final ninja deceased…

…

"Holy shit." Osamu sighed in relief. "The fuck was that?"

"Ninjas…" Marigold sat down, wincing as she did so. "Oof…"

Hikari shook her head. "...May~be we should go back and heal before we uh… go ahead."

Marigold tilts her head. "Why? Shouldn't we be close by now?"

Hikari nods. "Yeah. There's usually something tough at the end, too. The guys we just fought were supposed to be the weaklings, I think…"

Marigold paled. " _What?_ "

…

"Yeah, let's come back tomorrow. Pretty sure things stay dead when they die, so uh…" Osamu agrees with Hikari's idea.

Stiffly and tiredly, the three get up and make a trek back to the yukkuri village…

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

END OF CHAPTER 7

Protagonist: Hikari Hakurei, Disciple of Paradise

-Inventory-

Weapon: Magical Gohei - Ability to whack stuff really hard. Amplifies whacking power, too! Able to deal magical damage. Critical hits enabled.

Arms: Iconic Hakurei Arm Sleeves - Keeps arms warm. A Hakurei tradition. How they stay on is a Hakurei family secret.

Body: Nothing

Misc: Yukkuri Ribbon - Looks like a bad Christmas ornament. Lime green, with yukkuri decals!

-Skills-

Attack: Quickly! Swing your gohei at them for massive damage!

PK Fantasy α, β - Bombards the enemy with pain in the form of flashing colors. Deals magical damage. Heavy mental strain that increases with each tier.

PK Flash α - A bright flash that distributes very random status effects to enemies. Usually makes people cry.

Hypnosis α - Puts weak enemies to sleep for a short time. Works better on tired or exhausted foes.

Shield α - Halves damage the target takes. Only works against physical attacks, and enough strikes, or powerful strikes, will dispel it.

Lifeup α, ß - Heals target a little. Higher tiers heal more grievous wounds, like bone fractures.

Healing α, ß - Heals basic status ailments. Higher tiers can cure more dire effects, like burning alive.

Ofuda Toss - Throw a holy ofuda that does massive holy elemental damage to youkai and dark elemental foes. Effect lessens the more holy the thing you're attacking is, to the point of healing holy things. Only works if you actually have ofuda, though.

β-β-β-β

Mage: Osamu Katsumi, the Wannabe Mage

-Inventory-

Weapon: Fisticuffs!

Arms: Nothing

Body: Worn Magician Robes - An old robe from the days when the village respected the medium of magic. Well past its due date, but still comfy!

Misc: Yukkuri Beanie - Resembles a really tacky tablecloth, made in the Yukkuri theme. Lime green and has tons of fun yukkuri decals!

-Skills-

PK Thunder α - Very random thunder attack that deals limited damage.

PK Hydro α, β - Gets everyone wet. Usefulness with PK Thunder and PK Freeze depends on whether you hit yourself or not! Creates whirling water spirals at higher tiers.

PK Freeze α, β - Generates ice crystals at the target's location. Medium damage and effect; may freeze some targets, especially wet ones.

Fireball - Manipulate mana to make a shoddy fireball. Low damage and effect.

Static Hands - Not a real spell. Result of a very undercharged PK Thunder that can accidentally go off.

PSI Telepathy α - Speak to friends you haven't met yet! Unstable connection and only works if they have the skill or are asleep.

PSI Shield α - Halves damage from magical and psychic attacks. Thunder spells fry it instantly, and harder blows dispel it.

β-β-β-β

Inventor: Marigold Knowledge, the Tri-Magi Love Child

-Inventory-

Weapon: NF Burst Gun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Uses a Pop Gun as the base, but amplifies its power with an array of random batteries jammed into the base with the Pop Gun. The more batteries, the better, but the typical yield is about five bullets per trigger. Spamming the trigger doesn't make it go any faster, unfortunately. Has no foreseeable ammo limit, and the batteries are only there for mana circulation, meaning their power is really inconsequential.

Arms: Nothing

Body: Custom Dress - A custom dress made by Alice. Provided slight defense against magical and psychic attacks.

Misc: Swirly Glasses - Lets Marigold not be blind.

Backpack - Allows extended inventory. Aged relic from the Kourindou.

Unnamed Lock Opening Device - Opens locks very precariously. Made with steel, burnt cloth, packaging peanuts, thumbtacks, string, and wooden wheels. Don't even ask…

Ruler - Lets you measure the world around you!

Protractor - Lets you find the angles of anything ever. Totally overpowered.

Deck of Cards - Allows Marigold to play Strip Poker with the party. Just kidding… or am I?

Stun Gun - Electrical device used to subdue harassers. Has settings ranging from Tickle Torture to Arse Blaster. Able to stun and inflict paralysis on certain foes. Deals electrical damage, and on the highest setting can fry shields, at the cost of temporarily shorting itself out.

Air Gun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Uses air to propel moderately powered danmaku particles at high speeds. Bland, but efficient. Filled with foil chip bags to conduct the mana, and it is transmitted into a wind stone. Coagulated fairy fingers are currently the only viable mana-providing ammo for this weapon.

Holmes Brand Designer Hat - Village swag! A retro village hat that ceased production ten years ago. Sells for a pretty penny nowadays, but it's pretty useless otherwise.

-Skills-

Nerfphiliac - One who abuses NERF guns, but at the same times mods them really well.

Ph. D in Falling Off Ladders - Turned out to be mildly hazardous to her health, so she changed her degree.

Has A Mechanical Canine - She wishes.

Can Finally Beat Contra - Ratta-tatta, ratta-banga, take-a-bullet-in-yer-dang-a-lang-a- _bam!_

Mergol is Ver' Good Sentry Woman - Knows the perfect places to put dispensers. Unfortunately, does not know what a dispenser is, or how to place one.

β-β-β-β

Author's Note:

I TYPED THE BULK OF THIS IN ONE DAY

sweet jesus fuck

just GOT UP

and was like

"today is a good day to do what has to be done by me"

and then i DID IT

...bamboo ninjas, yo. came up with them on the spot 'cause i was feeling creative and fuck RANBOOBS, what the hell even is a RANBOOB

fight probably went on a BIT TOO LONG but y'know, funsies. it was also a fight only possible because there were three party members!

didn't really like how i started the chapter the night before, but looking back it's not SO bad… i far much more appreciate how i write in the morning as opposed to the evening, but the bulk of the time i have to write in the evening anyway

sad times friend ahead

anyway, yukkuri ville

choice was either SATURNS or FLUFFLES, and my proofreader decided YUKKURI to END THE WAR

...and i was like "ye sounds good"

yukkuri turned out to be both dynamic and easy to work with

fluffles, in retrospect, would just be TOO CRAZY since they're little ELDRITCIHAN HORROR BEASTS and really more NEUTRAL than something like yukkuris…

and saturns are just kinda boring and the font things i'd have to do with them would drive me up the wall, so y'know, all's well end's well yo

started this writing session at 7 AM… and it is now 12 AM. (provided many breaks were taken of around thirty minutes, and dinner was like an hour so take what you will of that), i'm not THAT FREAKIN' LOONEY

today was good day

...and, as always, see you all next time! 

PROOFREADER'S NOTE:

I take my payment for making him not put fluffles in this in blowjobs, thanks. Gender need not apply.


	8. Of Magi and Hakurei

The party stumbled into the yukkuri's home.

Yukkuri Reimu stared up at the. "Rest easy?"

"Just fuck our shit up." Osamu agreed on behalf of the party.

Thud.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

The three rose from an abrupt and sleepless slumber, stiffly crawling out of the tiny barrel drum hut.

' _Time to freshen up…_ ' Hikari supposed.

Hikari tried Healing α!

Hikari's morning stiffness disappeared!

"We gotta haul some serious ass!" Osamu shoots up out of the hut, stiffly waddling along like his trousers were made of cement.

"H-hey! Get back here!" Hikari ran after him.

...Marigold stiffly wiggled from the house. "A-ah… Hikari… Hikari~!"

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

After Hikari managed to cast Healing α on the entire party, the three made their way back up the canyon side and into the eerily linear bamboo forest path.

"This place still gives me the heebie-jeebies…" Osamu hugged himself, glancing around at the forestry nearby.

Hikari grinned at him. "It's not like they'd just come back to life, you know."

"I know that, but like… this place's freakin' weird!" Osamu emphasizes.

Marigold looks around the forest questioningly. "...Is it really that weird for it to be like this?"

"Dude- the forest's like a maze!" Osamu retorts.

Marigold shrugs.

' _...We're almost at the end._ '

The party was nearing the end of the linear path, which ended at a small cave entrance.

' _Hopefully we don't encounter any more nasty surprises. That last fight was tough enough to be the guardian; perhaps they were just mute and unable to announce such?_ ' Hikari could dream.

They stepped towards the dark cave… when dirt began flowing from it.

…

' _Well. Can't say I wasn't expecting that…_ '

…

The dirt continued flowing, the party backing away from it.

"...Anyone bring any shovels?" Osamu takes the initiative to ask.

"We could make some." Marigold proposed.

The dirt eventually piled up to the very top of the open door, and eventually came to a stop.

"How would we _make_ a shovel?" Osamu glanced back at Marigold critically.

"There's bamboo around, right?" Marigold began, "Surely that should be easy to sculpt. The tools would be bad, but they don't really need to be good if we're just gonna throw them away…"

A small sprout emerged from the dirt, its yellow leaves now exposed to the air.

' _Something weird's about to happen. I can feel it…_ ' Hikari never could be sure with this place, though. She took an aggressive stance.

The other two saw her, and looked to the sprout as well.

"...A plant. Nice place to live, buddy." Osamu snidely remarked towards the sprout, even if it couldn't hear him.

Dirt began sifting from two spots in the piles. As the dirt flowed out and emptied two small holes, tiny, tiny red dots illuminated the depths of the dirt mound.

Marigold furrowed her brows. "What's going on, there?"

' _Beats me._ ' Hikari wasn't letting her guard down, though.

More dirt began pouring away from the lower portion of the pile, making a large, gaping maw of dirt. The dirt just continued spreading, making the hole deeper and deeper…

' _I think the dirt's just going to keep shifting like this. Maybe there's another way around…?_ ' Hikari wasn't entirely certain.

"I… am the guardian- hou~hh… of Milky Well…"

Hikari froze. ' _Who said that?_ '

The unmoving maw of the dirt began moving.

"For millions of years… I have been- hou~hh… cursed… to be a sprout."

"...It talks." Marigold observed.

"Somehow." Hikari was perplexed.

"F-for millions- hou~hh… of years… I've obse~rved… fauna grow and move… onto other fields…"

The sprout spoke with immense strain, roots beginning to just through the mouth, revealing the method it used to control it.

"Now… you, too… shall endure my own pain…"

Osamu glared at it. "So's that mean you wanna fight?"

The sprout said nothing, its mouth moving as if breathing.

"Hupupupup…!" It made a large inhaling motion.

Hikari strafed around it, ready to whack at it.

"Hooo~h!" It exhaled, shooting stones from its mouth.

"Shit!" Osamu shielded his face with his arms, rocks launching into him.

Marigold reacted instantly, moving aside and drawing her NF Burst Gun.

PoPoPoPoPop!

ThuThuThuThuThunk…

The bullets struck the dirt, doing seemingly nothing.

Hikari engaged the dirt.

Whack!

A cloud of dust rose from where Hikari struck, but that was all.

' _...The sprout!_ ' It was high up on the pile, so Hikari wasn't sure she could reach it, but…

"Marigold, aim for the sprout!" Hikari was sure one of the others could.

Osamu dusted himself off. "I'm gonna need a little help over here!"

Hikari moved to guard him from further rocks…

Trillionage Sprout tried Paralysis α!

Hikari began to feel numb…

She fell to the floor, dropping her gohei aside her.

"A-ah…"

' _I-I can't move…_ '

"Hikari!" Marigold's eyes widened as the miko lied still on the dirt.

' _...But…_ '

Hikari tried Shield α!

Osamu was protected by the shield of light!

' _Huh. I can still do that._ ' Being numb wasn't so bad, Hikari supposed. She tried to open her mouth, but couldn't. ' _...Okay, maybe it is pretty bad._ '

"I have witnessed… species evolve… and head into eternal slumber… hou~hh…"

"Ah, shut up, you stupid plant!" Osamu shouted back.

Osamu tried PK Freeze ß!

KaKa-KaKaKling!

The rapid freezing and thawing of ice crystals made the dirt vibrate.

Kra~ck!

A blast of frozen air was produced, doing little but stirring up dust and sifting the soil.

"...I wonder how long… humanity will survive…" The sprout pondered.

Trillionage Sprout tried PSI Shield α!

The soil was protected by the pale blue glow of a psychic shield!

Marigold aimed her gun, and fired.

PoPoPoPoPop!

...The shield made all the bullets disappear!

"No way…" Marigold frowned.

'...' Hikari lied on the grassy floor of the woods, still. ' _This sucks._ '

Osamu gritted his teeth. "Oh, come on! Stupid…"

Osamu tried PK Thunder α!

Thwaa~sh!

…

Everyone heard a thunderbolt, but did not see a thunderbolt.

"Where'd that one go!?" Osamu yelled, confused.

"Hupupupup…!" The sprout breathed in again.

Osamu shielded himself with his arms.

"Hoo~h!"

Rocks flew out, the shield of light slowing them to a snail's pace once they entered. Osamu was able to calmly bat the rocks away once they were inside.

"Hah! S'not gonna work a second time, planty!" Osamu smirked.

Marigold perked up in realization. "Ah…!"

She pulled out the Stun Gun, and set it to 'Arse Blaster'.

Zzzzazazazazap!

Marigold focused on the Stun Gun as the sparks of the electrical surge began reaching even her arm, lightly…

She stomped towards the blue shield carefully…

Meanwhile, Hikari had figured out a solution to her predicament.

' _Let's see if this works…_ '

Hikari tried Healing ß!

…

Her numbness disappeared!

Rising from the dirt, Hikari readied her gohei again.

Zazaza-Blam!

Marigold was thrown back from the electrical blast, electricity running up and down her body as the shield was fried.

Hikari winced. ' _...That didn't look healthy._ '

"Aa-gua-ghu…" Marigold convulsed on the floor, tears running down her face, the Stun Gun lying next to her, now momentarily fried.

Hikari tried Lifeup α!

Marigold stopped convulsing and relaxed.

Marigold was paralyzed!

"A-are you alright?" Hikari asked her.

"Does she _look_ alright?" Osamu snarked.

Marigold's eyes darted around, but aside from that, she couldn't move.

' _...Actually…_ '

Trillionage Sprout tried PK Flash α!

Flash!

…

The bright flash forced the party member to shield their eyes almost immediately- for those that could, anyway.

It didn't work on Hikari!

Marigold started crying uncontrollably!

Osamu started crying uncontrollably!

Hikari tried Healing ß!

…

Marigold stopped crying, and could move again!

She took a moment to feel herself, and to stare at her hands. "M-my… I can move…"

Hikari pulled her up from the floor. ' _What was that flash…? It felt… familiar._ '

Osamu was quietly sobbing, for some reason. "A-ah… W-what the hell…"

' _O-Osamu?_ ' Hikari was slightly worried that he was crying _now_ , of all times.

Marigold stood uneasily, and lifted her NF Burst Gun, determined to keep going.

PoPoPoPoPop!

The bullets flew for the sprout at the top of the dirt mound.

Thu-thunk, thuthuthunk…

A few bullets struck the sprout.

"Uaauu…!" The dirt mound let out a guttural moan.

"I-I have an idea…" Osamu wiped his nose.

Hikari turned to him, curious. "Are you alright…? I mean…"

Osamu frowned. "Y-yeah, I'm a-alright! I just- ugh…" He stopped to wipe his nose. "I-I dunno why I'm crying… l-look," Nose wipe! "T-try that fancy move. With the-the colors and things…"

' _Oh, that one… I could, and probably should._ ' Hikari reflected. ' _It hasn't seemed as useful recently, sometimes. Here goes nothing, though…_ '

Hikari tried PK Fantasy ß!

She closed her eyes, focusing on the Trillionage Sprout.

Fizzle!

An array of colored sparks and drops slammed into the soil ahead, vibrating it with an echo of colors.

Fizzle!

The soil eroded partially to reveal more roots and other assorted bits of plant matter.

FwOwOw!

Throwing her arm forward, Hikari summoned a polygon of technicolor light. It flew towards the dirt pile, blasting a chunk of it away.

FwOwOw!

She did the same with her other arm, decimating the dirt pile.

Bwaa~sh!

The large blast flattened the sprout…

…

It stood up again, though.

' _W-woah…_ ' Hikari felt dizzy. ' _Not as bad as last time, but I don't think I'll be pulling that one out again anytime soon…_ '

The dirt slowly began reforming and piling back up…

"No." Marigold marched up to it with her NF Burst Gun.

PoPoPoPoPop!

The little sprout was crushed against the dirt by the danmaku orbs. The dirt ceased reforming for a moment, but continued.

"S-step back, I-I got this…" Osamu's strained voice attempted to announce.

Osamu tried PK Thunder α!

Thwaaa~sh!

The bolt struck the shorted Stun Gun.

Zazazap!

It was revived!

Marigold spared it a glance before resuming fire on the sprout.

PoPoPoPoPop!

"W-work!" Osamu wiped his nose before he tried again.

Osamu tried PK Thunder α!

Thwaaa~sh!

It struck some of the rockside nearby.

"Gaa~h!"

Hikari sighed, and stumbled up to the dirt pile, holding her gohei high.

Thwack!

She whacked the sprout with it like a broom.

Thwack!

The sprout was bent.

SMAAAA~SH!

The sprout was crushed. The dirt flowed back out across the ground, the roots ceasing to hold it. The dirt that blocked the doorway also flowed back inside, and the dissipating darkness revealed there wasn't even a real cave to speak of, it was just a doorway to the next part of the woods.

...Marigold retrieved the Stun Gun, turning it off. "That… that really was something."

Hikari agreed. ' _One tough battle after another…_ '

Osamu was still crying. "S-stupid eyes…"

' _Maybe I should see if I can fix that._ ' Hikari wasn't sure if it'd work, but…

Hikari tried Healing α!

Osamu stopped crying!

Wiping his eyes one more time, he had cleared them of their tears.

"Finally… I don't know how the hell _that_ happened." He examined the water and snot that built up on his robe sleeve, grimacing at it. "Aw, crap…"

Hikari awkwardly stepped through the uneven and loose dirt to get to the clearing on the other side.

Once inside, she immediately felt the warm glow of the sun comfort her, even though the previous hall was also just as sunny.

' _I think we've found it…_ '

Osamu and Marigold step in, Osamu kicking through the dirt and roots with Marigold following in his treads.

In the center was a milky pond, a single lilypad in the center, in pristine condition.

Hikari knew what to do, this time. She took out her Sound Stone, and pressed it to her forehead.

...

She heard a melody play.

 _A gentle breeze rolled through Giant Step, caressing the indent in the hill…_

 _It then rolled through the crevice leading to Subconscious Steps, before whirling around and escaping into the sky above..._

 _Fluttering through the valley, it weaved through bamboo trees before circling around the Milky Well. It circled back around, and flowed right back out through the trees..._

…

...

…

A beat continued to play after the numerous notes, but no more actual music continued to be produced by the stone.

' _Those visualizations are starting to become quite the adventure._ '

Hikari felt the breeze wash over her face, and through her hair.

Marigold looked around in wonderment. "...I don't think I've ever felt anything like that before."

Osamu shrugged. "Felt pretty good, I s'pose. Nothin' like the wind in your lungs…"

Wind whirled around the small clearing, rustling the tops of the thick wall of bamboo that protected the sacred place.

Hikari paused. She thought she heard something on the wind…

' _...Don't worry, Mom. I'll be strong._ '

…

Hikari stared down at the milky well, mystified. ' _With that wind, I gained all the knowledge of this place… except for this. Why is the water white?_ ' The world may never know.

Osamu stretched, walking over. "...Yeah, that's some weird ass water, alright. Looks like milk, sorta…"

Marigold walks up to stare at it, too. "It's kinda pretty…"

…

Osamu snapped his fingers. "I know where we are! We're on the world's boob!"

…

"Maybe we've been here a little too long." Hikari suggested, shaking her head.

Marigold giggled.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Walking back through 'Easy Town', the party found the time to notice the walls were now more prevalently lined with ladders.

"When'd those get there?" Osamu scratched his head, looking around.

"Probably while we were asleep. We were in a pretty big hurry when we woke up." Hikari explained.

"...Do we got _that_ bad of tunnel vision?" Osamu questioned.

Marigold got one word into the discussion. "Apparently."

As they neared the pile of trashed NERF blasters, a yukkuri was seated on the tipped drum barrel of keyboards.

It had some cups, and a pitcher of coffee next to it.

Hikari blinked. ' _An Akyuu yukkuri, huh? That's unique…_ '

It smiled casually. "Easy coffee…"

…

It was then crestfallen. "Cannot obtain easy coffee."

Hikari tilted her head. "Why?"

It stared at Hikari.

…

' _Ooo~h, right. No arms._ ' Hikari couldn't help but wonder how yukkuri got _anything_ done.

She took the initiative and poured the coffee herself, into all five mugs.

' _...Wait, there's only four of us. Ah, well. More for the yukkuri, then._ '

Osamu took the nearest cup and began chugging it.

...Hikari and Marigold lifted their cups reluctantly, neither having actually drank coffee before.

' _Well… I guess it couldn't hurt to try._ '

Hikari took her sip, and scrunched her face at the bitterness.

' _Ack!_ '

Marigold sipped hers, and quickly swallowed it without tasting it after the first few drops hit her tongue. "Egh… So bitter…"

Osamu looked over to them. "...Y'know, you guys coulda added sugar or… whatever. Not like we have any here anyway…"

Hikari shrugged.

…

She began to feel dizzy. ' _U-uh… Is this normal?_ '

...Osamu took a seat next to the barrel drum.

"C-coffee is weird…" Marigold stutters out, sitting down herself.

Hikari takes a seat, spacing out…

==== coffee break. ====

 _You've traveled very far from home…_

 _Do you remember how your adventure began by being nudged from your bed? It was Porky, the worst man from the human village, who shoved you out of bed that fateful night._

 _Throughout your adventure, you have walked, thought, and fought. Despite this, you have not faltered. You steadily grow stronger, even though you've experienced the pain of battle numerous times._

 _You are no longer alone on your adventure. Osamu, the headstrong and ambitious but loyal human magician, remains by your side. Marigold is with you as well. Timid she may be, she has stepped down from a more comfortable lifestyle to assist you._

 _Hikari, though you may know it by now, you are not a regular young woman… You have a bountiful destiny ahead of you._

 _Your journey from this point will be long. It will be more difficult than anything you have undergone up until this point. Saying this, I know you will be alright. When good battles evil, which side do you believe truly wins? Do you have faith that good is triumphant?_

 _One thing you must never lose is your will. Believe in the goal you strive for, and you will have will. You have many difficult times ahead, but if one keeps their sense of humor and ability to work through tough endeavors, even in adversity they can enjoy themselves. Remember, adversity and existence are one in the same._

 _When you have finished this cup of coffee, your adventure will begin once more. You will have to explore less straightforward locations, and once again reclaim the village of humans from the jaws of evil._

 _Hikari…_

 _Osamu…_

 _Marigold…_

 _I wish you luck..._

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Hikari blinked, snapping out of a trance. ' _W-what…_ '

Marigold shook her head around, and abruptly got up, wobbling around.

' _...I don't get why people drink that stuff, but I guess that was kinda cool._ ' Hikari nodded, satisfied.

Osamu shot up. "Holy shit!"

' _Zero to sixty._ ' Hikari summarized.

"I don't think that was fucking coffee, du~de!" Osamu looked to where the yukkuri used to be, and only saw nothing. Glancing around the side of the barrel, a broken pitcher, shattered cups, and a puddle of 'coffee' was also visible.

' _...Guess his needed more sugar._ ' Hikari recalled him saying something about sugar…

Marigold dusted herself off. "I think we should get going. That 'coffee' thing kinda freaks me out."

"That shit was _spiked_ , dude…" Osamu shook his head, lowering it. "We got juked."

' _...It was relaxing anyway. That was what people drank it for, right?_ ' Hikari wasn't entirely certain.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

The party walked through the bamboo forest without consulting the map in the slightest. Truth be told, they just forgot the map even existed, but the forest seemed to lead them to the clinic, anyway.

It was within minutes that they reached said clinic.

"...Is it me, or was the way here faster than the way to that creek?" Osamu pondered.

"Forests are weird." Hikari decided.

"Agreed." Marigold didn't have a lot of experience with forests.

The moving doors of the clinic slide open automatically.

On the inside, the lights were all on and a bunny girl was at the front desk, a green-haired one.

She looked up at the party. "Oh, hey. We're kinda closed right now, on account of um… zombies. Yeah. We had a zombie attack."

Hikari nodded. "Yeah, we know. Are they gone?"

The bunny furrowed her brows. "What's it look like? 'M I gettin' my brains munched, or what?"

"Alright, alright…" Hikari responded, reserved.

' _What's her problem…?_ '

"Man, this is a drag…" The bunny pulled out a cigarette and a lighter. "Stupid Reisen, not here to do her stupid job… stupid…" Lighting her cigarette, she put it in her mouth.

' _...Right._ '

Marigold stepped up to the desk next. "Would you happen to know where doctor Yagokoro is?"

"Nope, neva heard of her, wrong clinic." The bunny rattled off.

"We're here for a prescription." Hikari told her.

"Look, whaddaya want, advil, tylenol…?" The bunny stood from her swivel chair at the counter. "Chances are you just need some basic crap and none of that shit Doc prescribes. I gotcha medicine right fuckin' here."

Hikari furrowed her brows. "Um… I mean, we'll take some-"

The bunny chucked a box at Hikari's face.

Hikari obtained the Cold Medicine!

"There." She sat down again. "Get outta my sight."

Hikari stared at the box, then looked back up at her. "... I think we still need to see the doctor."

The bunny stood up again, more aggressively this time. "Oh my fucking- look, I don't care. I'm on my smoke break, kids. Life's not all sunshine and lollipops. Go home."

...Hikari glared at her. "We'll find the doctor ourselves, if we have to."

Marigold assisted her. "I'll also put in word about your rather rude reception."

Osamu folded his arms, saying nothing but looking like a dissatisfied customer.

The bunny girl stuck up her middle finger. "What? You buncha human kids wanna go? 'Cuz I'll go if you wanna, and you'll be sorry!"

She stuck up her dukes, beginning to step around her desk…

Hikari tried Hypnosis α!

Energy rippled around the bunny girl…

"C-c'mon… I, uh… I'll knock you…" She stumbled around, and brought her fist around for a sluggish hook. Marigold stepped back, and the bunny girl fell over onto the floor. Her cigarette rested a foot away on the floor, where it quickly went out.

' _Good job._ ' Hikari stared down at the unconscious bunny girl.

…

"Guess we're finding her ourselves, then…" Hikari decided, the team following her into the now-illuminated hallways. Other bunny girls moved throughout the halls now, seemingly devoid of the previously grim atmosphere.

' _This place had a complete turn-around…_ '

After backtracking through what they could remember, they came across the one laboratory from previously…

Hikari took a deep breath, and leaded the way inside.

Eirin was at one of the counters, filling out paperwork. She glanced at Hikari as she came in. "Ah, it's you. I take it you were successful?"

Hikari nods. "Mmm."

"Did it take you multiple days to find your way through the forest? I wouldn't put it past Mokou to not have helped you after that last encounter…"

Hikari shakes her head. "No, we had business to attend to. That magical place."

Eirin nods her head. "A~h, right, right. Did my recarbonizer vials come in handy?"

Hikari shakes her head.

"...No? Well, all three of you are still here, so…" She scratched her head in confusion. "Were not one of you diamondized?"

' _Diamondized?_ ' Hikari wondered.

"Whaddaya mean 'diamondized'?" Osamu asked.

"...It's nothing. I'd hold onto those vials, if I were you." Eirin told them. "In any case… my anti-zombification gas only seemed to work after the malicious intent had left the fairies. I don't know what the cause was, and it irks me."

Hikari traded a glance with Marigold. ' _Might have been that weird metal base in the woods, or something. It seemed like it did some pretty weird stuff._ '

"...Are you three here for any reason in particular?" Eirin inquired, glancing from her paperwork at Hikari curiously.

"Medicine. Three prescriptions." Hikari summarized.

"Ah, right… three?" Eirin shook her head. "Butterfly pills, cough medicine… and… Was there even a third?"

"Ice pack." Hikari asked.

…

"You do realize the entirety of the ground outside is coated in ice, yes?... I'll give you a bag, but the ice chipping is in your hands. I'm a doctor, not a miner."

Walking over to a nearby drawer, Eirin drew a empty bag of ice, and some notebook paper. She scribbled something down on it and handed it to Hikari.

"Here. Prescriptions for the attendant at the front counter. Green hair and such, she's a rather quiet character." Eirin told them.

' _Uhh…_ '

Marigold decided to break the news to her. "...She's kinda out of commission."

Eirin turned to her, slightly more serious. "...Why might that be?"

"Well, uhhh… She kinda fell over, and passed out." Marigold awkwardly described. "...She was also rude?"

"Rude…" Eirin pondered the word. "...Not sure if we're talking about the right rabbit. Regardless, someone at the counter'll help you, I'm sure." Eirin turned back to her paperwork…

"I don't think so." Hikari pressed.

"I think so." Eirin smiles. "It would probably be best if the three of you tried."

"Pretty sure no one was in a hurry to man the desk." Osamu argued. "Like-"

"It would _probably_ be best if the three of you _tried_." Eirin's smile became more forced.

Hikari looked at her determinedly. "Doctor, I think you-"

"Take a hint and get _out_ , I'm _busy_." Eirin's voice rose as she stood. "I don't care _who_ you find, and I don't care _how_ many rabbits it takes, but _only_ attempt to find me if you see this door _open_. Understood?"

' _...I'm not sure if we should bother pressing further._ ' Hikari looked to her teammates.

Osamu looked ready to rumble, but Marigold seemed to have slinked back a bit.

She sighed. "Let's just go. I'm sure there's _someone_ who could help us."

Eirin smiled more naturally again. "Thank you."

The party walked out, the door closing.

"...This is gonna be _great_." Osamu huffed.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

They had arrived at the front counter again.

The green haired bunny girl looked up at them from her swivel chair, and almost fell out of it. "Y-you three, again!?"

"Hi." Hikari casually waved at her.

The bunny girl angrily walked around the desk. "What the hell didja do to me!?"

Marigold and Osamu shrugged.

' _...Made you spontaneously fall asleep?_ ' Hikari didn't know how it worked, either.

The green-haired girl frowned at their lack of a response. "I see how it is…"

She walked back across the counter, addressing the party tiredly. "I take it you found Doc, huh? You get your pills you wanted?"

Hikari shook her head. "She wanted you to fill the prescription."

…

The green haired bunny sighed, and pulled some keys from one of the drawers. She moved to a large cabinet of unknown contents, plugging the key into the lock…

She then moved aside, and tipped the entire cabinet over.

Bam!

The party jumped at the sudden loud noise.

"...Looks like it fell over. Oo~ps. The key must be broken, too…" She melodramatically drew an arm across her forehead. "Oh, what a tragedy…!"

...She turned back to the party, expression souring again. "You want a prescription? I got your prescription right fuckin' here!"

She grabbed a small container full of pens, and chucked them blindly at the party, before leaping onto the desk.

' _W-woah!_ ' The pens bounced off Hikari, and she raised her gohei.

The bunny clicked the pen she had, and she jumped towards Hikari in an attempt to impale her with it. "Hraa~!"

...Hikari neutralized her landing by blocking with the gohei, causing the bunny girl to awkwardly slide off it and onto her feet.

She went for Hikari's gohei, attempting to grab it, which proved futile.

Marigold aimed her NF Burst Gun at her. "Hey, hey, hey!"

The bunny girl turned to her, and grinned. "Pffft… The hell're you gonna do with-"

PoPoPoPoPop!

"A-ah, hey, hey! Stop, that shit stings!" The bunny girl stumbled away, releasing grip of the gohei.

Hikari raised it up and slammed the bunny in the face.

SMAAAA~SH!

…

Thud.

Hikari stared down at the unconscious bunny girl. ' _...Okay, then._ '

Osamu snickered incredulously. "What the hell just happened…?"

...The party went around the desk to find the cabinet on the floor. It was metal, and large.

"We should try to flip it around or something." Marigold suggested. She bent down to try and tip it back into an upright position, achieving little.

…

Marigold looked up at her friends irately. "I-I could use a little help here!"

' _Oh, right._ '

Hikari and Osamu went to Marigold's side and started helping lift the cabinet…

Slowly but surely, they tipped it back into an upright position. Rattling and the movement of pills was heard on the inside.

The key was embedded in the floor, which had cracked open entirely to fit the key.

"Hoho~ly shit." Osamu stared at it. "That, uh… wow."

...The three looked at the lock, which seemed to be awkwardly jammed into itself, broken entirely.

Marigold did what came naturally in this situation.

PoPoPoPoPop!

PitPatPatPitPi~ng…

Nothing seemed to happen, but the lock glowed with residual energy a little while after.

…

"I think we should engage the door." Marigold elaborates on her idea.

"Just fuckin' wail on it? Like, _annihilate_ it?" Osamu searches for details.

Marigold shrugged. "I guess. Like, try _not_ to destroy the medicine, if you could."

' _Might as well get started, then…_ '

Hikari begins whacking the door.

Bo~ng…!

…

Bo~ng…!

Marigold fires at it again.

PoPoPoPoPop!

PitPatPatPitPi~ng…

Bo~ng…!

Osamu punches it.

Bo~ng…!

"Yeeeowch!" He caressed his hand.

' _What did you think was going to happen…?_ '

PoPoPoPoPop!

PitPatPatPitPi~ng…

The lock was glowing multiple colors of the rainbow now.

Hikari whacked it one final time.

Bam!

The parts of it were knocked inside the cabinet, and the door swung open.

Marigold swung the doors aside further, and looked inside.

…

"Uuhm…"

Hikari stepped past one of the doors to look inside as well.

' _...I have no idea what's going on in there._ '

Plastic containers with labels that read nothing but numbers were inside. These containers were translucent, containing nothing but pills in each of them.

...Osamu looked at the clipboard. "We need, uh… Forty two of… P-ninety?"

Marigold took it from him. "Give me that…"

...He folded his arms.

Marigold read over the clipboard. "...Yeah, he has the right idea, the things here correspond to the shelf labels."

Hikari found the box with P-ninety. ' _Why forty two specifically, though?_ '

Hikari just took the entire, two-hundred count container.

"...Fifty ounce bottle of C-Y-nineteen." Marigold listed.

In the upper left corner of the shelf was an entire plastic container full of fifty ounce bottles, which Hikari took out as well.

Marigold furrowed her brows at the bottom of the sheet. "...It says it costs nineteen thousand yen in total."

' _...They didn't give us money to pay for the things, did they?_ '

"...No one has to know." Hikari rationalized.

"But what if they find out?" Osamu questions. "It's not like we can take whole boxes of crap and, uh…"

…

The party all looks to the unconscious bunny girl.

"Nevermind, I'll carry 'em." Osamu takes the boxes of things, and the party moves for the door.

The doors slid open, but Osamu paused. "Hey, guys…"

' _Hmm?_ '

"...What if we take the _entire_ cabinet?"

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Heavy footsteps were audible, coming from the leaf-laden floor of the Bamboo Forest of the Lost.

Two teenagers were carrying an entire medicine cabinet with them, the third standing guard and escorting them with her rifle.

In moments, they found their way to the edge of the woods, where the large bamboo walls were mysteriously gone.

' _Works for me._ ' Hikari would've hated to put the cabinet down just to cut open another hole in the wall.

Like that, they marched across the plain towards the human village, following the path towards it.

"Hey, uh…" Osamu began, carrying the cabinet by the back. "How about we just go _around_ the human village? I don't think it'd be easy to get an _entire cabinet_ through the guard, even if we could fight some of them."

' _Agreed. I'd rather deal with them later…_ '

Continuing down the path, they eventually neared the walls of the human village and went around the side.

A guard took notice of the odd sight, and began following them.

Marigold saw him. "Hey, uh… we're being followed. Guard, I think."

Osamu sighed. "Ah, crap… Can you shoot 'em?"

Hikari blinked. "That'd just attract more. Ignore him unless he approaches us. Let's go faster."

Pretending they didn't see him, they quicken their pace and cut across the grass towards the path that leads to the Hakurei Shrine. The other guard at that gate saw them, but because they were moving away from the village, the guards had no choice but to give up their pursuit.

...They reached the final obstacle of their endeavor.

' _These stairs…_ '

Osamu looked up the staircase. "Holy crap. I heard uh… I heard about these stairs, but I didn't expect them to be uh… this big from the bottom."

Marigold nodded. "...They're not that bad. Unless you're carrying an entire medicine cabinet, then uhm…"

…

"Should I go get Reimu?" She proposed.

"Probably for the best." Hikari agreed.

They dropped the medicine cabinet on the ground at the base of the stairs.

Thoom…

Osamu wiped his forehead. "That's freakin' heavy…"

Marigold began her walk up the stairs…

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: MARIGOLD'S VIEW ====

She knocked on the front door of the shrine.

…

The door slid open, Reimu on the other side. "Hey…"

Reimu stared at her closely. "...You're Alice and Patchouli's kid, aren't you?"

Marigold nodded. ' _She should remember me, even though we've only met a couple times…_ '

"...You're kinda a hot topic at the moment, among other things." Reimu stated. "Come on in."

Marigold walked inside, only to see both of her mothers at the kotatsu… and Marisa.

' _W-woah…_ ' Marigold wasn't sure what to think of such a situation, but she knew it could only end poorly.

The three mages and Marisa all stared at each other silently.

…

Reimu glared at them. "You three were arguing up a storm moments ago. Someone say something."

Alice began the discussion. "...Where were you, Marigold? You said you went to the clinic, but…"

' _Well, I was…_ '

"It was a long stay." Marigold jested.

' _Explaining everything would be a little bothersome…_ '

Alice stared at her critically.

' _...Maybe I could afford to explain a little, though._ '

Marigold came up with her cover story. "...We had to negotiate for the medicine. It, uh… it took awhile."

"Numerous days." Alice stated. "...What do you mean, 'we'?"

Patchouli perked up at the mention of the medicine.

' _...Perhaps I should just be blunt about this._ '

"Well… come check it out." Marigold gestured for them to follow.

...Alice got up to follow, and Patchouli reluctantly rose to go with them.

Marisa got up even more reluctantly. "...I still don't know why you guys insisted I be here…"

If anyone acknowledged what she said, they didn't bother replying.

Reimu followed along.

Outside the shrine, Marigold pointed to the bottom of the staircase…

Reimu blinked. "...An _entire_ medicine cabinet. I know Patchouli has like, five different disabilities, but I don't think you needed that much."

Patchouli blinked in surprise, turning to Reimu. "Very funny, Hakurei…"

The other mages and Marisa giggled at her expense.

"...My daughter's apparently down there, too. I was starting to get really worried myself."

…

"Do any of you know who that guy is, though?" Reimu questioned.

Alice shook her head, and Patchouli didn't bother replying.

"Beats me, ze…"

' _...I don't know if I should say anything or not._ ' Marigold figured they'd find out eventually.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIKARI'S VIEW ====

Hikari looked up the stone stairs when she heard talking.

' _Oh, hey, there's Mom… and a bunch of mages, apparently._ '

Hikari waves her arm at them.

Osamu looks over to her. "The hell're you… oh." He looks up at a bunch of people he doesn't know. Debating whether to wave or not, he does a sort of awkward half-wave with only half of his arm.

Reimu begins floating down the staircase towards them, and eventually touches down at the bottom near them.

...She gazes at the medicine cabinet. "An _entire_ medicine cabinet, Hikari?"

Hikari grins sheepishly. "It was on sale."

Reimu snorts. "I assume you need my help with this?"

Hikari nods.

Reimu lifts the entire medicine cabinet over her head, and begins flying up the stairs with it.

Osamu's jaw dropped. "Oh. Fuckin', okay. Sure!"

Hikari giggled.

They continued up the stairs after Reimu…

Marigold greeted them at the top with a thumbs up.

' _I assume everything went well, then._ '

Reimu plopped the medicine cabinet down at the top. "...Don't ask how my daughter got an entire medicine cabinet, just take what you need."

...Patchouli floated up, looking at the cabinet. "Am I supposed to just know off the top of my head?"

Marigold pulls a clipboard out of her backpack, and hands it to her.

Patchouli stares at it dryly. "...Thanks."

After moments of examining the sheet, she reached for the box of cough medicine…

"Oh, there it is. I didn't see that earlier…"

Marigold rolled her eyes.

...Patchouli stumbled around after plucking it out, nearly dropping it.

"Easy there…" Marisa stepped towards her to help her, but Patchouli eventually just used telekinesis to hold it instead.

"I have it." Patchouli confirmed. "...Now, I believe I'll take my leave."

"See you later." Alice saw her off.

...She turns to Marigold. "What you did that evening was extremely impulsive... I'm glad you're safe. Bye Alice, Marigold."

She floats off with the entire box of medicine, likely to not need another refill for a couple centuries.

Alice nods as Patchouli leaves. "...Yeah, I'm still not sure what you were thinking that one night, but we've already talked about it anyway."

Marigold blinks, somewhat taken aback by the sequence of events.

Moving up to the medicine cabinet and grabbing the clipboard Patchouli left behind, Alice narrowed her eyes. "...How did you pay for all of this?"

...Marigold looked to Hikari for answers.

"Well… it was on sale." Hikari repeated. "Stuff."

Osamu piped up, too. "Yeah, it was a twenty finger discount!"

Hikari looks at him sternly. ' _Don't blow our cover, you…_ '

…

Alice sighed. "I guess I won't pry…"

Reimu shrugged. "As long as Eirin doesn't come knocking on my door in the next few days, I'm fine with it."

After a few moments, Alice pulled out the entire container of Butterfly Dream pills.

"I feel somewhat guilty taking all of it, but… it'd be a waste to just leave it here, wouldn't it?" She bobbed her head back and forth, debating with herself.

"It's just gonna sit and rot here anyway." Reimu told her.

"I might as well, then." Alice holds the box under one arm. She turns to Marigold. "Do you wanna come with me, or…?"

Marigold shakes her head. "I've got stuff to do with my new friends."

Alice smiles. "Right, Hikari, and…" Her gaze runs over Osamu, unsure of who he is. "...that guy."

...Osamu smiles sheepishly.

"He's actually an aspiring mage." Marigold tells her mother.

"Interesting… Well, I had best be going before it gets dark. Stay safe, Marigold. Love you."

"Love you too, Mom." Marigold responds as her mother begins floating off with the pills.

…

Osamu runs to the edge of the Hakurei hillside. "The name's Osamu, by the way! _O-sa-mu!_ "

Alice looked back in the air momentarily, continuing forward.

...The three turned to Marisa, who was awkwardly holding her broom behind herself.

She noticed the sudden attention, but became somewhat more relaxed now that the other two magi were gone. "...So, uh… how've you been doing, Mary…?"

Marigold stares at her judgingly.

"...Good, I guess?" Marisa answers for her. "Eheh…"

Reimu stares at her friend with a look of pity.

...The three turn around, looking back at Reimu again.

"H-hey, wait!" Marisa calls out. "I-I've got somethin' cool to show you this time! Honest!"

Marigold turns back around, folding her arms. "Is it another doofy hat?"

Osamu's eyes lit up.

Marisa shook her head. "Uh, no, I guess- just look…" Marisa slipped an object from her hat.

"It'sa homemade bottle rocket, ze!" Marisa grinned. "Just watch…!"

She kneeled and set it up against the floor. Marigold watched her slide the base around and undo some plastic bands on the bottom.

The rocket shakes, then it shoots into the air.

Fwoosh!

...Some ways into the air, it explodes.

Boom!

A small burst of star-shaped danmaku splashes against the night sky.

"Cool, right?" Marisa grins.

"I guess." Marigold shrugs.

' _Explosives, basically._ ' Hikari was pleased by the display.

Osamu grinned, which is probably all that needs to be said, and is also a bad sign.

Marisa scratched the back of her head. "...These things cost a fortune to make, ze… I could give you some, but uh… How's eight hundred yen a rocket, sound?"

...Hikari had different plans.

Hikari tried Hypnosis α!

Energy rippled around Marisa…

"W-woah, not again!" Marisa lost her balance for a moment, but quickly regained it. "Phew… Must be a nervous reaction or something, ze…"

Hikari was not amused, and neither was Marigold.

"Eight hundred yen." Marigold echoed. "Because I'm sure making returns on this investment of yours is a necessity."

Marisa winced. "H-hey, you know I've gotta make a living somehow!"

"That you don't really need. If I remember correctly, you can live off forest mushrooms just fine." Marigold argued.

Marisa sighed. "...I know, I feel weird about it, but these things were _so_ expensive…!"

…

Hikari tried Hypnosis α!

Energy rippled around Marisa…

"A-ah…!" Marisa spun around, battling gravity. "C-can my body cut that out, ze!?"

Hikari focused on Marisa harder…

' _Just fall asleep already…_ '

Hikari tried Hypnosis Ω!

Energy visibly rippled around the entire side of the yard Marisa was on.

"A-ah…"

Marisa fell over, eyelids drifting shut.

Osamu chuckled. "Woah! How much power'd you put into _that_ one?"

' _That felt a lot more draining than it usually does… I probably put too much power into that one._ '

Reimu wasn't sure what to think of the spectacle. "...So, was _that_ what happened to Marisa that other time?"

' _I probably shouldn't have done that with Mom standing literally_ right there _._ '

"...Yeah." Hikari confirmed.

"...It's getting late." Reimu noted. "Let's go inside."

Reimu, Osamu, and Hikari all moved to go inside.

...Marigold approached Marisa's fallen body, and searched her hat for additional bottle rockets. She pulled out one, perplexed how she fit two in her hat…

Marigold obtained the Bottle Rocket!

...She dug deeper, and eventually found two more, mystified further at how in blazes Marisa uses her hat like some sort of backpack in and of itself.

Marigold obtained two Bottle Rockets!

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Marigold entered at sat at the kotatsu with the other three.

"...Can you do any other magical things like that?" Reimu asked her daughter. "Barriers, talismans… anything of that sort?"

' _Not really, no._ ' Hikari realized a lot of her abilities to this point were utilitarian. ' _...I do have one thing, though…_ '

Hikari tried Shield α!

Reimu was protected by the shield of light!

...Reimu feels the air around her, looking over the shield. "...Not quite what I had in mind, but it's something. It's more like… raw light energy." She critiqued the shield.

' _Not like I knew what form it would take… I'm lucky that I can form that at all._ '

"Still… I'm proud of you, Hikari." Reimu smiled. "It only took ten years, right?"

Hikari gave a lopsided smile. "H-heh, I guess…"

Reimu stood up. "Let me get you and Marigold something to drink."

Osamu blinked. "What about me?"

"...I'll get you a water, or something." Reimu added offhandedly.

He grinned in satisfaction.

Reimu moved to the counter to get some orange juices and a glass of water.

While she was up at the counter, Hikari decided to make some chat to break the ice.

"...So, why was Marisa waiting with the other mages? I don't think she'd need that pack of ice so many days after the fact…" Hikari questioned.

Marigold sighed, making a tired face. "...All three of those mages," she began, "are my mothers."

...Hikari formed an 'o' shape with her mouth.

' _...I'm not sure how that works, but alright. It seems like a tricky issue, so I think I might just let it rest._ '

Osamu's jaw drops. "...How does _that_ work?"

Hikari gets ready to facepalm…

Marigold fidgets uncomfortably. "W-well…"

Osamu beams. "That musta been _hot!_ Did you _see_ that purple one?"

Hikari fumbles for her gohei, alarm setting in.

Marigold looks like a deer in headlights.

"Dude, imagine the rack under _those_ ro-"

SMAAAA~SH!

...Thud.

"A-ahah…" Osamu smiles from the floor, out of it.

...Reimu arrives back at the table to see a blushing Marigold and a facepalming Hikari. She sets down the orange juices, then looks over at the dead mage from the other side of the kotatsu.

...She walks over to him, and splashes the water on him.

"Hey, hoo, hah, I'm up, I'm up!" Osamu flails his arms before he realizes where he is.

Everyone stares at him judgmentally, and he eventually notices their stares after wiping himself off a bit. "...What'd I do!?"

Reimu gets up. "I think I'll be going to bed now. Don't stay up too late, you three… Also," She points at Osamu, "you're sleeping in this room, like last time."

Osamu grumbles to himself as Reimu walks off, leaving through a door into the side rooms of the shrine.

Hikari stands and stretches. "I think I'll head to bed, too."

Marigold gets up and follows her into her room.

…

Osamu stands from the kotatsu, instantly perking up. "...At least I've got the drinks all to myself now!"

He charges for the bar counter and slides over it.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

"The nerve of that man…" Marigold hugs herself, fuming.

Hikari sighs. "He means well. He's just a bit… careless. Tactless, rather."

"Grace and subtlety of an oni, more like it." Marigold agrees.

Hikari snickers. "Yeah, that's good…"

Moments pass, and Hikari gets herself into her pajamas. Marigold ends up using some of Hikari's pajamas, having none on her herself at the moment.

' _It's a good thing Mom keeps the guest futons rolled up in my room…_ ' Hikari would've had to use Hypnosis on Osamu if she actually had to leave the room in her pajamas.

After the moments of preparation pass, the two get into their respective futons.

"G'night, Marigold." Hikari gives her good night as she rolls over in her futon.

"Good night…"

…

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: MARIGOLD'S VIEW ====

 _Marigold sat at the table, eating her pancakes._

 _Alice sat down across from her, placing down no pancakes for herself, curiously. "...Marigold."_

 _They were in Alice's house, and it was a fairly sunny morning. It had been a string of sunny mornings, lately, Marigold realized._

" _Yeah?" Marigold looked up to her mother._

 _Alice exhaled evenly. "...I think it's time I told you about how you were born."_

 _It was the conversation that seemingly started it all- but Marigold had come to realize the world had a way of obscuring past facts until just the right moment arose._

 _This was that moment._

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Marigold awoke with a start, expecting the soft blowing of snow that typically accompanied such strange dreams.

Sitting up abruptly but not suddenly, she looked to the left for her window, only to see the paper walls of a shrine.

' _O-oh, right…_ '

Instead of the blowing of snow, there was light chirping of birds.

Shouting came from the main room.

Reimu made her presence known. "...What are you doing on the counter!?"

Thud.

"Aaa~h!" Osamu yelled.

...Marigold sighed in relief.

"Mmm…"

She heard Hikari begin stirring.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIKARI'S VIEW ====

Rising from her bed slowly, Hikari stretched…

' _Aaa~h…_ '

...Looking around, she saw Marigold smiling at her.

"...Good morning to you, too…" Hikari drowsily greeted her.

"Morning…" Marigold rose from her futon.

They drowsily got ready for their day, getting their respective outfits on.

Hikari lead the way into the main room of the shrine, Marigold following behind her…

Reimu was polishing the counter. "Your friend slept on the counter again like an animal. There were even soda cups everywhere."

' _About time someone drank the soda. The only other time it sees use is at parties, because neither me or Mom drink it._ '

Osamu stuck a finger into the air. "I'll have you know…!"

Reimu paused, looking at him.

"...That was some good soda."

Reimu continued polishing the counter.

"...Hey, Hikari." Reimu called to her daughter in a softer tone, and Hikari came to her. "...Your father left you, in fact, multiple allowances while you were out… buying discounted medicine." Reimu paused to evaluate how the last of that sentence came out. "...Here."

Reimu laid ten-thousand yen down on the counter.

Hikari's jaw dropped. ' _So much…!_ '

"...Don't spend it all in one place, now. And… I know Marisa was being a complete moron last night, but could you do her a solid and at least buy _something_ at some point? To make her feel better?" Reimu requested, more to Marigold than to Hikari. "...She's been rather down as of late."

Marigold folded her arms, which Hikari didn't miss.

"...We'll consider." Hikari told her.

"...Thanks." Reimu smiled.

Slowly waking up and going through the morning routine of eating breakfast, the three readied themselves for the day.

They all stood outside, ready to go.

Reimu adjusted her daughter's clean outfit. "...Try to _not_ disappear for days at a time. Also, I'm not sure if you should head towards the human village right now." Reimu cautioned them.

' _Why?_ '

Reading her daughter's expression, Reimu sighed. "When I went looking for you earlier, the village had some weird gathering, and ever since the guards have been acting funny, even towards me. I wouldn't want to see them do anything bad to you guys… in fact, I might go there today. The only reason I didn't stick around the other day was because I was looking around for you."

Hikari rose a brow. "Didn't you know I'd be going to Eientei?"

Reimu nodded. "When I saw the wall around it, though, I figured you couldn't get in, so I'd wondered why you hadn't come back."

' _Seems legit…_ '

Reimu walked back inside. "You're in good company, I hope, so you should be alright. Have fun out there, Hikari."

Hikari blinked. "Bye, Mom."

…

Hikari turned to her party, finding a smiling Marigold and a grinning Osamu.

"So, what's the plan?" Osamu started the discussion.

Hikari shrugged. "Well… we're just gonna look around for more magic places, I guess. We don't really have any leads for where to go today, and the human village sounds out of the question."

"Sounds good with me. I can feel the magic already, baby!" Osamu tried his spark hand trick again…

Hikari stared at it slightly warily.

"...I have nothing better to do." Marigold tells the party. "So, yeah."

' _Well, then…_ '

…

Hikari snapped her fingers. "I know where we could explore!"

' _There was that weird crawlway under the shrine that I never had the courage to go inside… I wonder if something curious is hidden there?_ '

The other two stared at her expectantly as she wandered off in search for the cave. They eventually followed her…

Down the side of the Hakurei hill, there was a small, square crawlway that lead inside the hill.

' _Here it is…_ ' Hikari stared at it. She wasn't claustrophobic, but the space always seemed scarily tight to her.

Osamu kneeled and looked inside. "That's dark as balls, dude."

' _We needed that analogy._ '

Marigold examined it. "...I don't think my backpack will fit with me."

' _Hopefully it's not a sprawling cave system, then._ '

Hikari got onto her stomach, and starting crawling inside the cave through the small, stone passage way.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

After a solid minute of crawling, the three made their way into some sort of inner sanctum. It was indeed 'dark as balls' as Osamu had put it, completely black.

Marigold had crawled inside with her NF Burst Gun, so she fired it at the floor to produce some light.

Five bright flashes of danmaku light illuminated the room, and lit it up. A large crystal hanging from chains reflected the light and shone brightly in the center. While the room was a myriad of colors at first, it later revealed its true color to be pale green after some moments. Smaller crystals hung on the walls by chains as well, and a collection of ofuda, talismans, and other assorted holy paper crafts were hanging everywhere.

Dark halls stretched from the stone room, all of paper walls and slightly smashed up from the earth surrounding them, sporting creaky floorboards.

"Woah…" Hikari gaped at the grandeur of the underground chamber. ' _This was underneath the shrine?_ '

Osamu's jaw dropped. "Woaa~h… I dare someone to lick that crystal. Two hundred yen says you'll do it."

Hikari sighed. "We share the same budget, and it's technically _my_ money. No."

He folded his arms. "Killjoy."

Marigold looked around the complex room, mystified. "Uhm… H-Hikari, are you _sure_ we should be here?"

"Nope." Hikari stated bluntly. "It's right under my home, so it's probably worth exploring, though."

"I guess…" Marigold's not certain about that logic.

Choosing a random direction, Hikari took the leftmost dark hall which lead away from the large crystal.

' _I'm pretty sure that large crystal shouldn't be poked, with all of the ofuda and seals on it… Something big must be locked down here, and that's all there is to it. I'm still curious about these side rooms, though…_ '

They continued down the increasingly dark and derelict hall…

Strange forms appeared in the halls, featureless.

Hikari looks up at them, holding her gohei ready. "...U~h…"

"Fuckin' _ghosts!_ " Osamu exclaimed.

Marigold frowned. "Ghosts, huh? So they _do_ exist…"

The ghosts sported red eyes, and became slightly more humanoid.

"Hakurei…" one echoed.

"...Hakurei."

"...Blood."

' _Well, that answers one question._ ' Hikari readied herself for combat.

' _...I_ really _need to remember to bring ofuda. When we get out of here, I should grab some._ '

Vengeful Spirit A tried PK Freeze α!

KaKaKoo…

Rapid freezing and thawing occurred right around Hikari's torso, a familiar pattern of ice crystals forming and melting rapidly.

' _E-eegh… s-so cold…_ ' Hikari wanted to hug herself on impulse, but the spell prevented her from moving much.

Krack!

The ice blast that resulted sent Hikari to her rear.

Hikari was chilled!

' _A-ah…_ '

Marigold fired wildly at the ghosts.

With the numerous pops of her NF Burst Gun, the ghosts began dispersing to avoid the danmaku.

Osamu debated what to do…

Osamu tried PSI Shield α!

Hikari was protected by the shield of psychic energy!

' _N-need… warmth…_ '

Hikari tried Lifeup α!

After a moment, she felt better, but still chilled.

She stood up shakily, shivering. ' _Ugh…_ '

The second Vengeful Spirit floated menacingly towards Marigold, spreading its ghostly figure out to avoid the danmaku she was firing.

She drew her Stun Gun, and turned it on.

Zazazap!

...The ghost began its advancement in the opposite direction, the bright light of the Stun Gun intimidating it.

' _That's it…!_ ' Hikari felt like an idiot for not realizing it sooner.

Hikari tried PK Flash α!

Flash!

The figure of Vengeful Spirit B was erased.

Vengeful Spirit A was unaffected.

' _It k-kinda worked…_ ' Hikari shivered.

Vengeful Spirit A tried Brainshock α!

Hikari heard an ear-piercingly loud static sound, but nothing else happened.

' _...Ouch. W-where did...?_ '

Marigold marched towards the Vengeful Spirit with her NF Burst Gun, firing a random spread of danmaku bullets.

The spirit produced a soft hiss as it retreated into the wall.

Vengeful Spirit A fled!

…

Hikari shook her head, still shivering. "T-that was… weird."

Marigold noticed how feeble her speech had become. "...Are you cold, Hikari?"

"...Y-yeah." Hikari thought that went without question.

Marigold walked up to her side and hugged her, causing Hikari to freeze.

' _...U-uh…_ '

Osamu groaned. "That was my idea! I just thoughta that, too!"

Hikari stared at him dryly. ' _If this was you, you would've caught a gohei where the sun doesn't shine._ '

Slowly they continued further, until they reached a familiar looking room- at least, to Hikari, as the other party members hadn't gone farther than the main room for the most part.

' _Is this… my kitchen?_ '

Hikari looked around curiously.

Osamu grinned. "Sweet! Never thought some creepy-ass underground tomb would have food and stuff!"

He walked over to the pantry, and opened it up.

Vengeful Spirit C lashed out with a raw burst of mana!

Osamu was flung from the pantry doors, landing against a very rotted kitchen table, breaking it on impact.

Bam!

"Fuck!"

Hikari broke from Marigold's hug and ran towards the vengeful spirit, whacking at it with her gohei.

"Oouhh…" The spirit recoiled in pain from the presence of the gohei colliding with its ethereal form.

Osamu tried PK Thunder α!

Thwaaa~sh!

Bam!

The lightning bolt struck a primitive stove, smashing it.

' _That freaking lightning bolt…_ ' Hikari snorts.

Marigold opened fire on Vengeful Spirit C!

"Fwaa~h…"

Vengeful Spirit C's form broke apart, disrupted by the danmaku which pierced its ethereal existence, tearing it asunder.

…

Hikari was still cold, but she felt like she was getting better.

She took a proper look around the surreal room, which looked far too much like the shrine's kitchen on the surface, sans the stalactites and stalagmites that adorned the roof and floor. Puddles and torn floorboards were also a commodity, and the appliances were all even more primitive than those the shrine had, if one could believe it.

' _...Creepy._ ' Hikari didn't mind spirits, being a miko, but the cavern was simply uncanny.

"I really shoulda brought my backpack with me…" Marigold reflected solemnly. "We might need it."

Osamu rolled his eyes. "Ah, they're just stupid ghosts. They're more scared of us than we are of them!"

' _I'd beg to differ._ ' The ghosts sounded like they held a grudge to her.

There was another hall along the room's right wall, which the party ended up deciding to traverse.

Continuing into the ever darkening hall, Osamu created a shoddy fireball to create some light for the party.

The entire hall was dark and empty.

…

Reaching the other side, what seemed to be a bedroom was found. It was a general, square room with a futon and dresser on the other side of the room. It was as simplistic as her mother's room, but laid out differently… not that it made much difference.

Hikari's attention was turned to the dresser. ' _I wonder how old the clothes in there are, if there's even any…_ '

Moving across the shattered floor of the room, she slid open the dresser.

Inside wasn't really anything she recognized…

' _Wait, I see some arm sleeves, and other red bits…_ '

...Hikari took out a few things from the dresser, including a black leotard and a hakama.

She glanced at the arm sleeves, and decided they weren't necessary to take out. ' _I already have my own, and those ones look a little different, so… no._ '

She couldn't properly gauge the quality of the clothes from the very dim light provided by Osamu's fireball, so she just folded them up to carry with her.

Osamu looked around the room slowly. "...Why's all this stuff underground, anyway?"

' _I have no idea._ '

...There was a curious, flat-ish box in the corner of the room, with a valve on it. On one of the sides was a hatch of some sort. The entire thing was made of wood.

Hikari picked it up, examining it.

' _What could this be…?_ '

She twisted the valve, but nothing seemed to happen.

' _It's kinda stiff…_ '

Sitting down, Hikari continued twisting the valve…

After a lengthy moment of twisting, something was shot out of the box.

Fwoop!...

Splat.

A green substance struck the wall.

' _Best machine, without a doubt._ ' Hikari stared at it dryly.

Marigold crouched next to her to properly examine it. "...That's weird. I wonder how it works."

' _I don't._ ' Hikari didn't have much interest in a giant box that only shot some slime.

"I don't think there's much down here but ghosts and knickknacks." Hikari told her friends. "We should head back before more ghosts get in the way."

Osamu shrugged. "Yeah, I was kinda done here after I found out the kitchen didn't have any food…"

' _...It would have been old, anyway._ '

The party backtracked to the large green crystal room they came in through. Osamu crawled out first, having nothing he had to carry out.

Hikari turned to the crystal one last time, mystified. ' _I wonder if Mom knows about this place… If she did, she never told me anything about it._ '

Hikari left next, precariously protecting the clothes she nicked from the underground dresser as she crawled out. Marigold followed behind her, pushing the box forward through the crawlway.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

With their newfound loot, the party returned to the shrine to assess it, since it was literally just up the hill, after all.

Reimu sat at her kotatsu, drinking tea to rouse herself for an excursion to the human village…

The three walked in, carrying their loots.

Reimu's eyes were drawn to the large wooden box. "You guys're back already?"

Marigold brings the box to the kotatsu table, prompting Reimu to look at it further. Hikari walked off to her room to try out the new clothes she found, while Osamu slinked towards the bar counter…

"...What's that?" Reimu finally asked after watching Marigold fool with it for a few moments…

"I don't know." Marigold replied, mystified. She turned the valve…

Fwoom!

Splat.

"...It appears to be some sort of slime generator." Marigold observed.

Reimu stared at the splat. "...Try not to get it all over the walls, alright?"

"Eheh…" Marigold gives a half-hearted giggle as she rotates the box around, looking for a way to open it.

Osamu chugged another glass of soda at the counter. After finishing it, he burped loudly. "Now that's the good stuff…"

...Reimu turned around to face him.

He waved back sheepishly.

Reimu just sighed.

Hikari's door slid open again, and she stepped out in her new outfit.

Hikari equipped Combat Miko Outfit!

She looked over her outfit one last time to make sure it was all set. ' _Man, this thing is faded…_ '

The leotard was more so a dull grey, she realized, and the fabric of the hakama was frayed in some places, even lightly ripped at the knees. The red was a fainter color than the red of her previous outfit, which Hikari figured was also due to aging.

Reimu glanced at her, but held her gaze when she noticed what she was wearing. Hikari navigated to the kotatsu.

"...You know, I wasn't going to question the neon green yukkuri ribbon," Reimu began, "but now you've suddenly put on your grandmother's clothes, somehow. My only question is where you even found those."

"They were in a hole." Hikari summarized.

Reimu snorted.

"...What was with that place? The one underground." Hikari questioned.

"It's really nothing," Reimu told her. "Just some old seal and dusty furniture. Nothing you really need to be concerned with."

"And the big, glowing crystal of doom?" Hikari pressed.

"...Part of the old seal." Reimu abbreviated. "Specifically, it's to seal a rather powerful vengeful spirit me and Marisa beat up awhile ago. She wasn't really that tough, but I don't think letting her get out would be a good idea, so don't go attacking the seal or anything."

Hikari was satisfied with the answer. ' _It's a good thing we didn't. I probably could have gotten away with licking it, though._ '

Marigold groaned in frustration. "How does this thing _wo~rk?_ I can't even open it…" She fumbled the box around rapidly as her strain increased. The box had seemingly no nails or screws to hold it together even though it was obviously made of multiple crude wooden parts.

Reimu shrugged.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

END OF CHAPTER 8

Protagonist: Hikari Hakurei, Disciple of Paradise

-Inventory-

Weapon: Magical Gohei - Ability to whack stuff really hard. Amplifies whacking power, too! Able to deal magical damage. Critical hits enabled.

Arms: Iconic Hakurei Arm Sleeves - Keeps arms warm. A Hakurei tradition. How they stay on is a Hakurei family secret.

Body: Combat Miko Outfit - A black leotard and hakama combination worn by the previous-previous Hakurei miko. Designed to be suitable for excessive physical activity and close combat, it slightly improves physical combat prowess.

Misc: Yukkuri Ribbon - Looks like a bad Christmas ornament. Lime green, with yukkuri decals!

-Skills-

Attack: Quickly! Swing your gohei at them for massive damage!

PK Fantasy α, β - Bombards the enemy with pain in the form of flashing colors. Deals magical damage. Heavy mental strain that increases with each tier.

PK Flash α - A bright flash that distributes very random status effects to enemies. Usually makes people cry.

Hypnosis α, Ω - Puts weak enemies to sleep for a short time. Works better on tired or exhausted foes. Can also be used in a far more costly form that works on multiple opponents.

Shield α - Halves damage the target takes. Only works against physical attacks, and enough strikes, or powerful strikes, will dispel it.

Lifeup α, ß - Heals target a little. Higher tiers heal more grievous wounds, like bone fractures.

Healing α, ß - Heals basic status ailments. Higher tiers can cure more dire effects, like burning alive.

Ofuda Toss - Throw a holy ofuda that does massive holy elemental damage to youkai and dark elemental foes. Effect lessens the more holy the thing you're attacking is, to the point of healing holy things. Only works if you actually have ofuda, though.

β-β-β-β

Mage: Osamu Katsumi, the Wannabe Mage

-Inventory-

Weapon: Fisticuffs!

Arms: Nothing

Body: Worn Magician Robes - An old robe from the days when the village respected the medium of magic. Well past its due date, but still comfy!

Misc: Yukkuri Beanie - Resembles a really tacky tablecloth, made in the Yukkuri theme. Lime green and has tons of fun yukkuri decals!

-Skills-

PK Thunder α - Very random thunder attack that deals limited damage.

PK Hydro α, β - Gets everyone wet. Usefulness with PK Thunder and PK Freeze depends on whether you hit yourself or not! Creates whirling water spirals at higher tiers.

PK Freeze α, β - Generates ice crystals at the target's location. Medium damage and effect; may freeze some targets, especially wet ones.

Fireball - Manipulate mana to make a shoddy fireball. Low damage and effect.

Static Hands - Not a real spell. Result of a very undercharged PK Thunder that can accidentally go off.

PSI Telepathy α - Speak to friends you haven't met yet! Unstable connection and only works if they have the skill or are asleep.

PSI Shield α - Halves damage from magical and psychic attacks. Thunder spells fry it instantly, and harder blows dispel it.

β-β-β-β

Inventor: Marigold Knowledge, the Tri-Magi Love Child

-Inventory-

Weapon: NF Burst Gun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Uses a Pop Gun as the base, but amplifies its power with an array of random batteries jammed into the base with the Pop Gun. The more batteries, the better, but the typical yield is about five bullets per trigger. Spamming the trigger doesn't make it go any faster, unfortunately. Has no foreseeable ammo limit, and the batteries are only there for mana circulation, meaning their power is really inconsequential.

Arms: Nothing

Body: Custom Dress - A custom dress made by Alice. Provided slight defense against magical and psychic attacks.

Misc: Swirly Glasses - Lets Marigold not be blind.

Backpack - Allows extended inventory. Aged relic from the Kourindou.

Unnamed Lock Opening Device - Opens locks very precariously. Made with steel, burnt cloth, packaging peanuts, thumbtacks, string, and wooden wheels. Don't even ask…

Ruler - Lets you measure the world around you!

Protractor - Lets you find the angles of anything ever. Totally overpowered.

Deck of Cards - Allows Marigold to play Strip Poker with the party. Just kidding… or am I?

Stun Gun - Electrical device used to subdue harassers. Has settings ranging from Tickle Torture to Arse Blaster. Able to stun and inflict paralysis on certain foes. Deals electrical damage, and on the highest setting can fry shields, at the cost of temporarily shorting itself out.

Air Gun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Uses air to propel moderately powered danmaku particles at high speeds. Bland, but efficient. Filled with foil chip bags to conduct the mana, and it is transmitted into a wind stone. Coagulated fairy fingers are currently the only viable mana-providing ammo for this weapon.

Holmes Brand Designer Hat - Village swag! A retro village hat that ceased production ten years ago. Sells for a pretty penny nowadays, but it's pretty useless otherwise.

Slime Generator - A bulky box that shoots a small splat of slime. Doesn't seem good for much.

-Skills-

Knows The Konami Code - Up-up, down-down, left-right-left-right, B A, start!

Crazed Gunman - Actually an assassin.

Also Not An Assassin - …

Debatably Professional - Is polite, quick, and efficient. Sometimes.

Does Not Throw Jars of Piss at People - Marigold cannot equip Jar of Piss.

β-β-β-β

Author's Note:

welcome, friends

...pissed off ghosts!

finally time to develop some of their skills, as it were!

my proofreader was really engaged with this chapter, and actually suggested a lot of neat ideas to help shape it along

it always helps to have a second person who is engaged judge what you're writing; it's definitely a strong step in quality control and keeps things fresh; you just gotta be ready to engage in a little light debate when it comes to ideas

don't be afraid if they bash your skull in; that's what they're there for, yo

as always, see you all next time! don't get freakin' gobbled up by VENGEFUL SPIRITS yo

Proofreader's Note:

If anything, bash their head in more. Keeps 'em on their toes. Remember to stone those writer-fucker's heads, otherwise they might do stupid shit like putting _fluffles_ in their fics.


	9. Hakurei Hideout

' _Where do we go, now?_ '

Hikari, Marigold, Reimu, and Osamu all sat around the kotatsu.

"...You're paying for that soda." Reimu told Osamu.

Osamu looked to Hikari hopefully…

"...No, I'm not accepting the allowance I gave my daughter. I want _you_ to pay for the soda." Reimu asserted. "I don't care how long it takes, either."

Osamu grinned sheepishly. "Eheheh…"

Hikari shrugged. ' _Knowing Mom, she'll probably forget even-_ '

Then, she gasped.

' _W-what was that?_ '

...Reimu stood up. "...You three stay here. I have to check on something."

Reimu got up, and left the shrine.

…

Hikari stood up. "We're following."

Osamu jerked his head back. "What? Why?"

' _I have a feeling…_ '

Hikari moved to go after her mother.

Osamu and Marigold exchanged a glance, and tagged along behind Hikari. Moving quickly, the three went outside. Hikari saw her mother moving down the Hakurei hillside, and she followed.

Her mother reached the crawlspace to the underside of the shrine. Grumbling to herself about the inconvenience of the tiny crawlway, Reimu went inside it.

Only a moment later Hikari and her friends reached there.

Hikari put her hand up a moment, and spoke to her friends in a hushed tone. "Hold on. We'll wait a moment, then follow her. Don't wanna awkwardly run into her."

Marigold saw her logic. "Mmm."

Osamu didn't. "I guess."

After a few anxious moments, Hikari crawled into the stone pathway…

...Osamu turned to Marigold. "You know why we're doin' this?"

Marigold shrugs. "Seems important, I think. Reimu'll be around anyway, so I don't think we'll meet any resistance…"

Marigold proceeded to crawl after Hikari.

Osamu snorted. "Alright, alright…"

The three crawled into the main room of the underground shrine-esque establishment, where the crystal sat. The entire room was filled with a pale red glow.

Reimu was on the other side of the room, her ofuda drawn and gohei ready. The talismans along the walls were shaking, multiple of them simply peeling off and other visibly losing their magic, the green and red glows conflicting before the talismans fizzle out and float away from their spots on the walls.

The crystal in the center was a vibrant red glow, as red gas ominously swirled around it.

' _So this is what I felt…_ ' Hikari felt the destruction of seals inherently made her skin crawl. ' _It might be a shrine maiden thing._ '

Marigold readied her NF Burst Gun on the off chance anything fishy happened…

Osamu finally made it through the crawlspace, and looked up. "...Hoh, shit! The thing's going nuclear!"

The crystal vibrated as the gas swirled around it, then-

Kra~ck!

…

Like flowing ink, the red gas flowed freely throughout the room…

'...!' Hikari shuddered.

All the talismans and associated chains and holy relics along the walls fell, and then the room went dark.

…

Marigold fired wildly at the ceiling to illuminate the room, the pops of the gun completely unfitting for the mood.

PoPoPoPoPop!

' _Flashing rainbow lights are not a lot better than complete darkness._ ' Hikari laments.

"W-what the hell…?" Reimu jumps at the sudden popping. "Who's there!?"

' _Well, crap._ ' "I-It's just us, Mom."

"H-Hikari?..." Reimu paused.

…

A magic light was generated in the middle of the room. A blue-clad, green-haired ghost sat in the middle, looking around cautiously. The dim light barely illuminated past the middle of the room.

"Stupid…" She flailed her hand a bit, and a few more magic particles were shot around the room, illuminating the walls, revealing Reimu, Hikari, and the party members.

Her eyes widened. "Oh, crap… Already? I-Is this a bad dream, or what? This is probably just a bad dream…"

The ghost floated towards Reimu, who took a defensive stance. "Hey there, Reimu, buddy! Awful nice of you to lock me in a power crystal fo~r, what was it… ah, who _cares_ how long it was? I mean, on the upside, this dream's better than the one I was just having. Lotsa red… lo~tsa red. Some freak was there, too, I think. Maybe I'm finally going insane after all these years…"

Reimu just glares at her.

"...Oh, now I _know_ this is a dream. You're not even saying anything back!" The ghost puts her arm around Reimu's shoulder, and takes a deep breath… "...I'm bored of this dream, now."

From the halls that deviate from the crystal room, red gas swirled in. Even though the halls were dark and the room was a very dim yet pale blue, the red of the gas was absolute.

"...Get your arm off of me." Reimu wiggles her way out of the ghost's arm.

"Oh geez- she talks!" The ghost jumped back, flailing her arms. Pointing her arm at Reimu, she conjured some magic…

A small blue orb shot out, and fizzled out.

...The ghost giggled sheepishly. "...Mana pool's kinda runnin' on empty, right now. Being locked in a crystal for who-the-hell-knows how long can do that to you."

The red gas neared her, and Reimu looked at it tensely.

' _...S-should I do anything?_ ' Hikari considered her options…

Suddenly, the red gas swirled around the ghostly figure.

"H-hey, what- ackh…" She grasped her neck, despite ghosts not having a need for breathing. "A-ah…!"

Subtle jittering accompanied by the erratic flailing of her ghostly tail lasted for all of a couple seconds, and then the red gas faded.

The magi-lights flickered out, and the room was dark again.

Osamu groaned.

…

"That's enough playing around, Mima." Reimu announces in the darkness. "I'm reapplying the seal, and that's all there is to it."

The ghost, named Mima, doesn't reply.

"...Once I get a match, about one hundred fifty talismans, and another power crystal, that is." Reimu added less enthusiastically. "...Actually, I might only need to beat you up. I learned some new sealing techniques since last time, you know."

No response.

"...A-are you still there?" Reimu asks. To illuminate the room, she makes her ofuda glow. A faint, holy yellow fills the room.

"I~'m _back!_ " The ghost exclaims, popping from the floor in front of Reimu.

"Hwaa~h!" Reimu leaps back, and throws her ofuda at the ghost.

Mima catches them with one hand. They light up red for only a second, then she lets them fall to the floor. "...I've got some new tricks, too, Reimu!"

Reimu draws more ofuda, and tosses them at the walls, giving the room consistent yellow lights. "Really, now?"

Mima grins. "Really! And I-"

...Her sentence stops abruptly, and she gazes into the distance for a moment.

...Reimu awkwardly stands in a combat-ready position as Mima spaces out.

The ghostly mage shakes her head. "...R-right, so…"

Mima tried PK Freeze Ω!

…

But it failed!

Reimu shivered from the momentary cold air, but it quickly dissipated.

"...Are you trying to give me the chills, or something?" Reimu comments. "Nice trick."

Mima scowled. "Hmph… Well, try _this_ on for size, then…!"

Mima tried PK Freeze ß!

KaKa-KaKaKling!

Rapid freezing and thawing of ice crystals occurs at Reimu's torso, forcing her to jitter in place.

Kra~ck!

The resulting blast of frozen air blows Reimu back a bit. Shivering, she glares up at Mima.

"I-Is that all?" Reimu grins. "Last week's snowstorm was colder!"

Reimu dashes towards Mima, who generates a magic barrier.

"Physical attacks won't work on me, Hakurei!" Mima haughtily declares. She blinks, and Reimu was no longer in front of the barrier.

Mima's eyes widen.

Thwack!

Reimu's gohei struck Mima on the top of her head.

"Gwaah!" Mima flew forward in surprise, crashing through her own barrier. "...Teleportation? My, how you've grown!"

Reimu tossed more ofuda towards her, but Mima caught them again. Upon neutralizing them with mysterious means, Mima spaced out again, her gaze wandering from Reimu to Hikari.

Hikari shuddered. ' _Red. I saw something red…_ '

Ofuda struck the absent ghost.

"Ah!" Mima twirled around in the air, the sudden pain from the holy magic bringing her back. "...I-I can't afford to fight you just yet. I-I've got to go…"

Her face became mischievous again. "Catch me if you can, Hakurei! Hohohoh!"

Mima floated through the wall, leaving the room.

Reimu ran up to the wall, even though she couldn't do anything past that. "...Damn, she's probably leaving the hill entirely…"

Reimu went for the exit, and encountered the party standing there.

' _...Hello._ ' Hikari could tell things might be awkward.

"...Look," Reimu began, "You should stay at the shrine with your friends, Hikari. Mima may be a joke, but I don't think any of you three really know how to fight yet."

' _If only she saw the literal days of adventure we were on._ ' Hikari lamented. "...W-we know more than you think, Mom."

Reimu blinked. "...Well, maybe, but-"

"We're going with you." Hikari declared.

"No." Reimu declined.

"We'll follow you anyway." Hikari shot back.

"I'll just fly, then." Reimu countered.

"We'll run under you." Hikari counter-countered.

Reimu double-took. "Wha- how? Surely all your friends couldn't run as fast as you…"

' _...She's right, but I think we could find a way to make it work._ ' Hikari readied herself to bluff…

"...Trust me when I say that the three of us can hold our own, miss Hakurei." Marigold decides to chip in. "We've actually had our fair share of experiences so far."

Reimu was about to counter, but Osamu just goes off on his own. "Dude, I don't think I'm the first person to say that we kick some serious ass!"

…

"...W-well, maybe I am, but… we do!" He stands by his self-praise.

Reimu sighs. "You guys…"

' _...How is she going to react?_ ' It wasn't often Hikari pushed her mother to this point in any sort of discussion.

"...If you guys think you're so tough, then so be it. Just try to keep up, because I'm not slowing down, alright?" Reimu lays down the compromise.

Hikari grins. "...Alright, Mom."

"Very well." Marigold adds.

"You're on!" Osamu gives a thumbs up.

…

Mima sticks her head in from an upper corner of the room. "Hee~y… You bozos gonna chase me, or what?"

Reimu tosses an ofuda at the corner, but Mima had already fled.

"Tch…" Reimu grimaced. "Let's go."

Reimu dived into the crawlspace, and began moving. Osamu eagerly crawled under next, and Marigold waited for Hikari to go…

' _Actually…_ ' "I've got an idea." Hikari states. "...Marigold, do you think you could lend me your gun thing for a second?"

Marigold reluctantly hands her the NF Burst Gun.

"Crawl in, and shield your head with your arms."

...Marigold curiously does as she's told.

Hikari gets on the floor, props the rifle up against Marigold's boots, and waits for Marigold to crawl forward a bit so that she herself could get into the tiny space.

' _Now…_ '

Hikari boosted herself with wind, using her arms to push the gun until she was pressed against Marigold's shoes.

' _More!_ '

Hikari continued powering up the wind conjuring that she was performing at her own heels. Soon, Marigold was pushed into Osamu's shoes.

"W-woah!" Osamu fidgets, unknowing of what's going on. Soon, he's pushed into Reimu's sandals.

Fwoosh!

The four shot out of the crawlspace like darts from a blowpipe, sliding down the remaining hillside.

' _...Well, we got out quickly._ ' Hikari reflected.

"The hell was that…?" Osamu was mystified by what just happened.

Reimu rose from the grass, brushing herself off. "...Let's go."

Slightly taken aback by her mother's seriousness, Hikari watches her march along the hillside.

' _She's not playing around, huh?_ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Hikari found herself trudging the Hakurei Woods once more, this time with a small following which was in turn following her mother.

' _I don't think there's really anything here to be afraid of…_ ' If Hikari recalled correctly, it was just a bunch of weird ant fellows. There was the occasional feral youkai, but they were few and far between, and her party saw plenty in the bamboo forest.

A bright flash lit up the afternoon sky, causing everyone to pause.

' _Oh, no._ ' Hikari recognized the situation.

"...Anyone else see that?" Osamu questioned.

"Yeah." Marigold confirmed. "Bright flash."

Whirring was heard from above. Two flying disc machines darted overhead.

' _They're bigger than last time._ '

With unrealistic speed, they darted around in the airspace over the party.

Reimu glanced up at them, annoyed. She tried intimidating them with a loud shout. "Hey, you!"

It was indeed loud, but the machines weren't very capable of being intimidated.

Hikari tensed up. ' _This situation feels-_ '

Vrrrrr~!

A thin laser was projected from the craft, which Hikari just barely moved out of the way of by means of a purely reflexive dodge.

'- _Familiar!_ ' Hikari nearly trips as she regains her balance from the sudden dodge.

Reimu sends a furious torrent of ofuda at the medium flying saucer, but most of them just bounce off harmlessly. "Seriously…?"

Marigold fired into the sky haphazardly. "One of these has to hi~t!"

Ping! Ping!

She wasn't wrong.

The other saucer flew near a tree, and a pale blue beam was projected, washing over Marigold. She tensed up, but relaxed when she noticed nothing had happened to her.

' _Wait for it…_ '

...Suddenly, Marigold's nose began dripping, and her mouth salivating. "W-whua- Achoo!"

' _Not fun._ ' Hikari remembered.

Hikari tried Healing α!

Marigold got over her cold!

"...Pftuh, ugh…" Wiping her eyes, Marigold spat out the rest of the discharge.

The saucer Reimu attacked orbited around her for a moment, before deciding to fire at Osamu for whatever reason.

Vrrrr~!

The laser clipped his arm.

"Oh, fuck- that burns!" He glanced at his arm, noticing an entire chunk of flesh gone. "Holy fuck!"

Marigold resumed firing into the air.

Ping! Ping!

One of the crafts wobbled slightly, the danmaku's energy rippling throughout it.

Hikari tried Lifeup α!

Osamu's wound healed!

He patted his arm through the new hole in his robe. "...I hate burning." He decided.

Reimu suddenly vanished, then reappeared above one of the crafts.

"Divine Arts! Sky Conquering Wind God Kick!"

SMAAAA~SH!

Reimu delivered a mighty flying kick to one of the crafts midair.

Blam!

The area she struck exploded, the saucer spiraling to the Earth below. The remaining saucer focused on her, recognizing the greater threat.

Ping! Ping!

Danmaku from Marigold struck it, forcing it to wobble unevenly and cease moving for a moment.

It fired at Reimu.

Vrrrr~!

Reimu effortlessly grazed the beam and spiraled towards it. It darted out of the way when she neared it.

"Annoying metal… thing." Reimu voiced her frustration. "I'll turn it into silverware when I'm done with it."

Osamu tried PK Freeze ß!

KaKa-KaKaKling!

Freezing and thawing took place on the craft's exterior, doing nothing productive.

Kra~ck!

The machine's exterior wobbled from the force, but ignored the temperature of the air that struck it.

More danmaku from Marigold struck, and the craft's rotations began slowing to the point it could no longer support itself.

...Hikari stared up at it. ' _...I can't really fight these things, can I? I don't have any ranged attacks…_ '

Reimu sent out a spread of eight danmaku Yin-Yang orbs, which all homed in on the disc and struck at once.

Kaboo~m!

There was nothing left of it except for some scrap metal after the fact.

' _...Mom's actually pretty powerful._ ' Hikari noted. ' _Like, really powerful. I knew she was before, but… seeing her in action always reminds me of that._ '

...Reimu touched down with the floor again. "So much for the silverware idea…"

As if remembering something important, she whirls around to the party. "A-are you guys okay? I swear one of you got hit…"

Osamu waved it off. "Aah, no sweat. Guys like me, we can take anything…"

"...As long as someone heals it for you immediately." Marigold elaborates.

Osamu scratches the back of his head. "...Yeah, what she said."

Reimu tilts her head. "Healing?"

' _How should I tell her…?_ ' "...Yeah, I can heal people." Hikari calmly informs her mother.

"...How did you even learn that?" Reimu questioned. "You're not a mage… and healing magic's pretty hard. I know you read a lot of books, but-"

"It's complicated." Hikari summarizes her quest.

"...I guess so." Reimu figures it's best not to press too hard at the moment.

In the time they spend talking, another saucer darts in overhead, its whirring making its presence known.

"Aah, shut up already!" Osamu snaps at it.

Osamu tried PK Thunder ß!

Thwaa~sh!

A tree was struck, a small part lighting on fire, but quickly going out.

Thwaa~sh!

A second bolt struck the flying object, sparks raining down from the metal.

Blam!

The fried saucer drops to the ground, thunking loudly against the forest leaves and light snow.

Reimu blinked. "...That works."

' _Yes, it does._ '

The combat over, Marigold curiously approaches the wreckage of the one Reimu kicked out of the sky. Parts littered the snow near it, and after a few moments of looking around, Marigold picked up something that interested her.

Reimu stared at her curiously. "...Should she really be touching-"

"She knows what she's doing." Hikari covers for her. "Just let it happen."

' _...No she doesn't, but she's smart enough to figure it out anyway, I think._ '

Marigold picked up a grey box with some sort of orange line being projected on a dim monitor. Cords hung off it, and twisted metal plates where bolts used to be hinted at the device's history.

Marigold toyed with the knobs on the front of the device…

Phhsshhh-zz',;.';,';.';zz-phhsshhh…

Hikari's skin crawls. "S-stop fooling with that thing…"

Osamu covers his ears. "O-ouch… The hell…?"

Marigold shrugs, and slides the box into her backpack.

Marigold obtained Counter-PSI Device!

Reimu shook her head. "Irritating thing. Speaking of… we've probably lost way too much ground as it is. If you're all okay, let's get going." Reimu mobilizes, flying lowly into the field ahead.

Hikari still has to dash to keep up with her, using wind to boost herself. Osamu jogs behind her, quickly falling behind, while Marigold attempts awkwardly to run but her backpack along with her lack of stamina causes her to slow to an exhausted power walk quickly.

"S-slow down, will ya!?" Osamu yelled from behind.

...Reimu eventually stopped in the air over the field, floating back down to meet the party. "Mima's nearby."

Soon, a youkai made itself known.

"Well, well, well…"

Osamu finishes his introduction for him. "What have we here?"

Hikari grins, continuing it herself. "Some tasty humans, huh?"

The wolfman glared at them. "W-what the fuck!?"

Reimu locked eyes with it.

The wolfman locked eyes with her.

…

"...Y-you don't scare me, Hakurei! From what I know, you're just a measly human like the rest of them!" The wolfman stepped back slowly…

"...You're new at this, aren't you?" Reimu shook her head.

"Well, yeah…" The youkai scratched the back of his head. "This is my third hunt, I'll have you know! You'll be the third meal I ever caught myself!"

Reimu nodded. "I see…"

...Reimu looked to the three. "You guys got this?"

Hikari nods.

"...Are you su~re?" Reimu confirms.

Hikari stares at her.

'...Alright, but I'll be right over here." Reimu floats away, which in turn angers the youkai wolfman.

"Hey! Cowardly miko! Get your ass back here so I can smack it!" He ran after Reimu, but she floated out of reach.

Hikari tried Hypnosis α!

Energy rippled around the wolfman…

"H-hey, w-what…" His speech slurred as he looked around, confused.

Marigold opened fire, unloading all five shots into his back. Audible thwacks were heard as each shot connected.

"A-augh!"

Osamu tried PK Hydro α!

A bubble of water floated towards the wolfman…

"F-fucking useless humans…" The wolfman went for the bubble, and punched it.

Splash!

The resulting blast of water sent him flying back. Hikari ran up to the fallen wolfman. As the wolfman tried to rotate himself onto his torso…

SMAAAA~SH!

Hikari's magical gohei met his head, knocking him clean out.

' _It's a lot easier with three people._ ' Hikari reflected. ' _It's pretty easy to just wittle enemies down with our weak attacks._ '

Reimu walked up to them. "...I'm not sure what happened there. You seemed to get lucky when that youkai got light-headed, though…"

"T-that was actually me…" Hikari claimed, half on impulse. ' _...I shouldn't have said that._ '

Reimu looked at her skeptically. "Really? Do it on me, then."

Hikari tried Hypnosis α!

Energy rippled around Reimu…

Reimu blinked rapidly, her balance faltering slightly, but quickly regaining itself.

"...Huh." Reimu bobbed her head back and forth. "That was pretty subtle. I don't even know how you're doing that…"

' _Me either._ ' Hikari was past questioning it at this point.

Reimu floated into the air again. "Mima's in that field up ahead."

Empty, open field was ahead of them.

' _...Are you sure?_ ' Hikari was sure her mother sensed something she didn't, but…

"...Really? Looks like a lotta air to me." Osamu stepped on the metaphorical landmine.

Reimu turned to him dryly. "How long have you hunted youkai?"

Osamu stared at her awkwardly.

"...That's what I thought." Reimu sighed. "...I didn't think you guys would actually make it this far. I mean, the walking. The fact you three can fight, even if messily, was kinda surprising… even so, Mima's kinda a whole different story. I don't think you guys would be able to do much at all to her with, uh… which of you was casting spells?" Reimu's gaze shifts to Marigold…

"Hey." Osamu raises his hand.

"No, you weren't." Reimu disagrees. "If anyone, it's- it's…" She looked to Marigold. "...Marigold, was it? You're a magician, aren't you?"

Marigold stared levelly at Reimu. "...You're half right. I'm a magician… but I'm not a 'magician'."

Reimu blinked. "...Well, what does that mean?"

"I can't cast magic." Marigold summarized.

…

"Oh." Reimu wasn't sure what to make of that. "...They, uh, never told me that…" Her shock turned to rage. "...I can't believe none of them told me that!"

"Would it be any of your business in the first place?" Marigold questions.

"W-well, I thought Marisa…" Reimu trailed off.

"If you expected anything from her, I'm not surprised you heard nothing." Marigold folded her arms.

…

' _I think we got off topic, here._ ' Hikari glanced between her party members and her mother, unimpressed.

Mima rose from the floor between them, her own arms folded. "...Look, I'm not one to judge, but you guys are _rea~lly_ slow. I was sitting in a tree trunk for like, an hour, and you four are getting all sappy on me in the middle of some random field."

Shaking her head, she cracks her ghostly knuckles. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to beat the shit out of you whether you like it or not, because I can, now."

Reimu floated up to meet Mima. "You three, get back! I'll handle this!"

"No!" Hikari loudly rejected. "We're handling this, too!"

Reimu grunted in frustration, her glare directed at Mima.

Marigold aimed her NF Burst Gun at Mima, and fired.

PoPoPoPoPop!

Mima grinned at the cartoonish sounds of the gun, avoiding both the danmaku bullets and a stream of Hakurei Needles shot by Reimu.

She grinned at the popping noise. "W-what kind of a weapon is that…?"

Osamu tried PK Freeze ß!

KaKa-KaKaKling!

Mima managed to phase through all the attempts of the flashing and freezing crystals' attempts at snaring her.

"The other ghosts didn't do that shit!" Osamu protested. "This sucks!"

Kra~ck!

Mima was unaffected by the cold air in any way.

"What did you think using magic on practitioner like me would do?" Mima grinned. "If that's the best you've got, you're a pretty crappy mage. Honestly."

Osamu seethed. "I'll show you a crappy mage!"

Osamu tried PK Thunder ß!

Thwaa~sh!

The thunderbolt grazed Reimu, striking a tree below her.

Bam!

"H-hey!" Reimu yelped. "What was that!?"

Thwaa~sh!

The second bolt struck Mima.

Zazazap…!

The electricity ran through her ghostly form, but nothing much happened.

She grinned. "You can hardly even _aim_ that one! Pffft… hahahaha~!"

Due to her laughter, Reimu's needles struck her in the stomach. The Hakurei needles, which may have resembled pins of a sort more likely due to the throwing end having a yin-yang orb styled disc attached, blinked as they stuck.

Mima froze, looking down. "...Aawh, shi-"

BlaBamBaBam, Boom!

Five Hakurei Needles detonated, creating an explosion of holy energy.

Reimu grinned. "Stupid spirit."

...The smoke faded to reveal Mima still there, her outfit scuffed up.

' _She's still not down?_ ' Hikari thought that was pretty potent.

"...That was cheap." Mima pouted.

Reimu grinned back. "Not as cheap as catching my ofuda."

"Or breaking my seal." A second Reimu caused Mima to turn towards her.

"Or trying to run away." A third Reimu appeared behind Mima again, also grinning.

Mima pauses in momentary mystification, but shakes it off. "...I see how it is."

"...Or as cheap as ignoring my shit!" Osamu adds from the floor.

Marigold keeps firing, but Mima just effortlessly avoids the shots.

"G-geez…" Marigold tiredly stares up at the ghost.

Mima raises her hand into the air. "Thunder Surge!"

Thwaa~sh!

One of the Reimus is struck by a large lightning bolt, exploding into a mess of ofuda which began fluttering to the floor.

Ofuda flew towards Mima in a spread, and she avoided or caught the majority of them.

' _Actually…_ '

Hikari tried Hypnosis α!

Energy rippled around Mima…

...but nothing happened!

' _...Figures._ ' Hikari noticed her more powerful opponents were hardly bothered by her status inducing moves.

Thwaa~sh!

A thunderbolt struck a tree as the Reimus drifted slowly in an attempt to avoid them.

Osamu folded his arms. "What _can_ I do? This stupid ghost's like, immune to magic!"

Hikari turned to him. "Defensive spells?"

"...I'm a fucking idiot." Osamu realized.

Osamu tried PSI Shield α!

One of the Reimus was protected by the psychic shield!

Mima put a hand to her chin…

Thwaa~sh!

Another tree was stripped of its life by a renegade thunderbolt. That one wasn't even near anybody.

"...If my guess is correct, that kid protected the wrong Reimu… but Reimu's lucky enough to get the right protection… so if I attack the protected Reimu… It'd probably be the unprotected Reimu anyway, which means I'll attack the one I think is the wrong one just incase!"

Mima formed a spike of rock. "Take this!"

It shot towards the shielded Reimu, who drifted out of the way of it.

"...There was no way that was going to hit after you took that long." The Reimu stated.

Thwaa~sh!

The protected Reimu was struck by the thunderbolt, and despite the majority of it being absorbed by the shield, the remaining damage caused the clone to explode into a tiny cloud of ofuda.

Mima sighed. "I was still wrong…"

Thwack!

Reimu whacked Mima across the back of the head.

"You over thought it." Reimu told her simply.

Mima whirled around, and Reimu teleported behind her. Reimu went for another whack, but Mima flew downward to avoid any potential damage.

"Tch… I suppose I have no choice but to get serious, then. I had hoped you'd be useless enough without that pupil of mine that I wouldn't even need to bother, but I suppose I underestimated you…"

Thwaa~sh!

Reimu was struck by the random thunderbolt.

"A-aah!" She yelped, electricity running through her body.

Hikari's eyes widened. "Mom!"

Mima blinked. "...Oh, yeah. I still had that going."

Reimu continued floating, gritting her teeth. "T-that sucked…"

' _S-she's alright!?_ '

Reimu took a swing at Mima, but the ghost floated away from the swipe.

"Not this time!" Mima grins sadistically. "Magic Sign! Liberté Arc!"

From the corners of the plains, strings of stars flowed in. Reimu escaped the epicenter, which created a large, technicolor flower of bullets in the sky.

"W-woah…" Marigold's eyes widened, and she began running for the nearby trees.

"Oh, fuck that! Fuck me! No, no, no!" Osamu wailed as large golden orbs spread from Mima and came for the party.

Osamu tried PSI Shield α!

Osamu was protected by the pale blue psychic shield!

He shielded himself further with his arms. A golden orb flew into him.

"Oooagh!"

He was sent flying from the blast, the psychic shield shattered in one hit.

Hikari braced herself, and began tensely dodging golden orbs with the aid of her wind manipulation.

' _T-this is intense…!_ '

Her mother's Hakurei Needles could be seen lighting up the sky as well. They clattered against Mima's magical circle barrier provided by the spell card, each strike slowly whittling down the spell card.

' _I think I have to go all out, here!_ ' It was a good time as any, Hikari supposed.

Hikari tried PK Fantasy ß!

Her own technicolor assault began.

Fizzle!

Despite the sky being daytime, the plethora of colors began drowning the blue out somewhat. Particles of technicolor psychic energy rained down on Mima, far too great in numbers and density for Mima to be able to dodge.

Fizzle!

Her spell card barrier began cracking under the pressure of the second assault, and moments after its impact, it broke.

"Hwaa~h!" Mima yelled, flailing her arms.

FwOwOw!

The resulting polygon of technicolor energy the Hikari launches from her left sleeve grazes Mima, who spun out of its way.

FwOwOw!

The second one, from Hikari's right sleeve, struck her, pushing her with minimal effect. "Guh…"

Hikari focused on Mima…

Bwaa~sh!

A point-blank blast of psychic energy made Mima writhe.

"Augh!"

…

Reimu kept gazing at Hikari, unsure of what to say.

Mima dusted herself off, readjusting her hat.

Hikari slouched, mentally strained from the exertion…

"...That was rude." Mima complained, turning to Reimu. "With how showy that last card was, I _thought_ that'd give you the hint not to go all-out just yet…"

Osamu finally stood himself up again in the background, while Marigold was fiddling with the Counter-PSI Device she found earlier, sitting behind a tree for cover as she did so…

"...That... wasn't me." Reimu was still staring at Hikari, in shock.

' _I_ think _she's surprised, all things considered._ ' Whether or not that'd be a good thing or a bad thing, Hikari had yet to find out.

Mima blinked. "...Well, who was it, then? I didn't recognize the danmaku…"

Marigold used the Counter-PSI Device!

Phhsshhh-zz',;.';,';.';',;.';,.,'.;...

A grating static noise filled Hikari's ears, interrupting her train of thought.

' _W-what- owhh… M-my head…_ ' Hikari clutched her head, unable to concentrate.

Osamu fared similarly, kneeling down and bringing a hand to his forehead. "G-geez… W-wow…"

Mima furrowed her brows. "W-what is that racket? I-its…"

Reimu clutched her head.

Hikari tried Healing α!

…

But it failed!

' _W-what…_ '

Marigold herself only heard a low ring emitting from the machine. She put it up to her ear, curious, but didn't notice any difference. She looked back to the chaos on the field with interest.

Reimu hung in the air, but then started dropping by fragments. After a few moments of her flight stalling, she begins falling.

' _M-mom!_ '

Hikari runs towards her, attempting to apply wind to herself, only to find it only somewhat works. With an awkward and varied running pace, Hikari tries to mobilize herself to catch her mother.

' _I-I'm not going to make it…_ '

Marigold feverishly fiddles with the knobs on the Counter-PSI Device to try and turn it off, but only subtly alters the frequency.

In a final act of desperation, Hikari readies to toss her gohei, using what wind she can muster to aid it. She flings it through the air-

Fwoosh!

It sails forward, and strikes her frazzled mother in the thigh, offsetting her fall somewhat by exerting most of the force onto her hip.

SMAAAA~SH!

Hikari winced, as did Marigold.

Thud.

"Aa-aaa~h!" Reimu screamed.

Hikari glanced to Mima, who was absently fidgeting her head around, as if realizing the situation anew multiple times.

Marigold finally managed to mute the Counter-PSI Device…

';,.';,.';.';zz-phhsshhh…

Hikari blinks, the splitting headache suddenly gone. ' _...Mom, no!_ '

Hikari tried Lifeup ß!

…

After a few moments, Reimu sat up.

"...Ouch." She rubbed her hip. "W-what happened…?"

Mima shook her head. "W-woah! What just happened!?"

Osamu stood again. "Goddamn, that stung…"

...Marigold sheepishly slipped the Counter-PSI Device into her backpack, then slinked back out to join everyone, holding her rifle as if she had been firing it all this time.

...To add to the effect, she decided to fire at Mima.

PoPoPoPoPop!

Despite being unaware, Mima just moved smoothly out of the way of the danmaku bolts, her attention turning to Marigold.

"Hey, hey, hey…" Mima put her arms up. "You shoot, and I'll move."

' _Pretty much._ '

...Reimu stumbled to her feet. "I need to end this right now, before things get any weirder… That last oddity hurt like hell."

Reimu ran towards Mima…

"Reflect!" Mima surrounded herself in a mirror barrier. "Hah!"

Reimu teleported behind her, and waited.

The mirror barrier slowly faded as Mima whirled around to face Reimu again.

"Not this time, Hakurei! Reflect!" The mirror barrier strengthened.

Osamu tried PK Thunder ß!

Thwaa~sh!

The bolt struck the mirror shield, the glass-like exterior cracking as the electricity whirled around inside. Reimu tensed up, and began to announce her spell card.

"Dream Sign…!"

Thwaa~sh!

The second lightningbolt made the reflective barrier explode into deadly, electric shrapnel.

"Evil Sealing Circle!"

Reimu was protected from the oncoming electric fragments by a torrent of ofuda that expanded outward from her position.

Mima would've paled, if a ghost could. "Hey, no! None of that crap! Get that out of here!" She began drifting backwards-

SMAAAA~SH!

Hikari blindsided her with her enchanted gohei, before leaping away to avoid her mother's ofuda.

' _...Not like they'd do a lot to me, but I don't want to find out anyway._ '

Mima floated forward into the expanding circle of ofuda, which engulfed her.

"Aaaaa~h!"

From the edges of the circle shot many spreads of talismans and golden danmaku pellets, not that they'd hit anything useful since Mima was trapped in the circle of pain, anyway.

Hikari picked up the pace to flee from the bullet hell of ofuda.

"Holy crap! Friendly fire! Friendly fi~re!" Osamu wailed, strings of ofuda colliding with his back, pushing him as he runs away from the storm.

Marigold found it easy to get out of the way, already being near her previous hiding spot.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

After numerous minutes of holy rain, Reimu's spell card ended.

' _...I think it's over._ '

Hikari and Osamu had found Marigold's tree, and joined her behind it.

At ground zero, a magic circle formed on the grass. In the air hung a magical crystal, which would've been glowing if it wasn't the middle of day. The crystal was significantly smaller than the last.

...Reimu sighed, and started scuffing up the magical circle with her sandals. "This thing's going to suck to try and fit into the basement again. I think this time I'll just stuff it under the floorboards, or something. Depends on how strong that seal really is… which I still have to gauge."

Hikari leisurely strutted up to the scene with her party members…

Reimu turned to her. "...I have many questions, but for now, they can wait. We kinda need to get this crystal out of here, 'cause that circle down there-" Reimu gestures to the magical circle she's trying to erase, "-is both to power the seal and a huge beacon to other youkai that something really powerful's been sealed here. The last thing we need is a 'free something powerful' raiding party in the middle of the night."

' _That makes sense._ ' Hikari nods.

"...How the hell does that work? How do they even tell from a freakin' circle in the dirt?" Osamu bluntly questions.

Marigold stares at him dryly.

Reimu looked at him equally dryly. "Very carefully."

…

"Well, don't just stand there, you three. We're gonna be carrying the crystal back." Reimu told the party.

Reimu held up her gohei, judging what angle to strike the crystal at. She chooses a lower side…

Thunk.

The crystal smoothly falls and embeds itself in the dirt.

...Reimu lifts it with both arms, holding it over her head. "...Lighter than I thought. Okay, _I_ carry the crystal home and you guys make sure I don't get jumped by flying frisbees of doom, or something. That would probably be inconvenient."

Hikari snorted. ' _Flying frisbees of doom…_ '

The four moved forward a bit, before Reimu stopped…

"Ugh, I still need to erase that circle…"

Osamu tried PK Hydro α!

A bubbled flew over the magical circle…

Marigold opened fire on it, and it splashed, the water washing over the newly settled magic markings. They weren't completely erased, but they were smudged a bit.

...Osamu ran up to it, and started kicking at the remaining bits. It only took a few moments for it all to get mudded up and reduced to an unrecognizable splotch of purple magical dust.

"...Good enough. Let's get going…" Reimu begins floating, and the three teenagers follow.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: MARIGOLD'S VIEW ====

They were halfway to the Hakurei Shrine…

' _This return trip has been pretty relaxing._ ' Marigold reflected. With no more rush, and the mysterious absence of the 'flying frisbees of doom', the four leisurely progressed towards the shrine…

' _...That strange device gave us quite a scare earlier._ ' Marigold thought back to the Counter-PSI Device. ' _I'm going to have to be careful if I want to use that in combat again._ '

This leisure was to be reprimanded, however.

A streak of light shot from behind Reimu, separating the party from her.

' _W-what!?_ ' Marigold raised her NF Burst Gun, looking around tensely.

Giggling was heard from the woods around them, but Reimu kept flying forward, unnoticing.

Hikari looked to her, confused.

Marigold was, too. ' _Where's she going?_ '

Osamu grinned. "...So, who wants a piece of the magical warlords over here?"

From nowhere at all, three fairies uncloaked infront of them.

' _Huh?_ '

"We bamboozled 'em, Star-chan! We did it!" The orange fairy pumped her fists into the air.

'Star-chan' paled. "W-why did you uncloak us, you twat!? They can see us!"

"We can take 'em! For Reimu!" The orange haired fairy punched the air. "They're so screwed, now!"

A blonde-haired fairy floated up to join them. "Reimu's too far to hear, no~w…"

"...Bloody hell, Sunny…" The blue-clad fairy shook her head. "Guess we have no choice but to fight. This can't end well, you know."

"Shut up, she's just a kid!" Sunny rebuked. "We can prank 'em, easy peasy!"

...Marigold decided to fire at the blonde one.

"A-ah!" She drifted back at a delayed pace, only after all five danmaku pellets struck her. "O~uch…"

"Luna-chan!" Sunny turned to her, then back to the party. "...You stupid humans're gonna pay!"

Sunny tried PK Flash α!

A bright flash filled the forest, blinding everyone present.

"A-ah…" Luna and Star blinked, their vision slowly returning.

Hikari was completely unaffected, and Osamu simply rubbed his eyes. "Why do so many things fuckin' blind you? Damn…"

Marigold began crying uncontrollably. ' _W-what is… M-my eyes..._ '

Tears flowing from her eyes like a waterfall, she took aim and fired randomly ahead at the three fairies.

PoPoPoPoPop!

"Shitstains!" Sunny exclaimed, getting stricken a few times. "Hit the poop deck!"

"You bloody twat!" Star shot small star-shaped spreads at Marigold, who was strafing randomly and without rhyme or reason in an attempt to dodge anything coming her way.

' _...I hate these things that force me to cry. It's embarrassing._ ' Marigold reflects, firing wildly at the blurry shapes ahead of her, having difficulty seeing through the water in her eyes.

Soon, Marigold couldn't hear anything either.

' _...Well, this sucks. Talk about sensory deprivation. I wonder if this is how they felt, when I used that device..._ '

All she could do was pull the trigger and point her gun in the vague direction of her enemies.

SMAAAA~SH!

Marigold _did_ hear that, however.

' _Hopefully Hikari and Osamu keep me from getting hurt like this. All I can do is-_ '

She felt a danmaku pellet strike her in the arm.

' _...keep moving._ ' She winced at the stinging sensation.

The was how the next few minutes went for Marigold; deafness of everything around her, except for the cartoonish pops of her gun, the occasional loud thwack from Hikari or a danmaku pellet's curious energy as it whirled past her, or into her. The danmaku ahead of her was blinding when magnified through her tears.

Hikari tried Healing α!

Marigold stopped crying!

Taking a moment to sloppily wipe her eyes and readjust her glasses, Marigold was grateful. ' _Yes! Thank you, Hikari!_ '

Now able to see clearly, Marigold sighted the fallen form of Sunny, the light fairy, on the floor.

' _She must've been the one Hikari hit…_ '

Speaking of, Hikari was dashing around with her wind, trying to hunt down the blue fairy who was still shooting spreads at Marigold.

Now able to properly see, Marigold weaved through the sloppy waves, using her bullets to deny Star her escape route.

"N-no...!" Star stopped, and turned to Hikari with a face of terror…

SMAAAA~SH!

Pi~chun!

"S-Star...chan…" Sunny stuck an arm up from the floor. "Tell Reimu… I loved her."

Marigold marched up to her with a stone cold expression.

"G-get…" Sunny tried weakly to crawl away.

"Will do." Marigold told her.

PoPoPoPoPop!

Pi~chun!

Luna pouted. "Strange humans…"

Osamu tried PK Thunder ß!

Thwaa~sh!

Luna evaded a thunderbolt. "No! I'll avenge my friends!"

Thwaa~sh!

Pi~chun!

Marigold's hearing returned in full. ' _...Moon elemental fairy? I didn't know if those actually existed, but I guess I do, now._ '

She tiredly walked up to Hikari… "...When we get back to the shrine, I say we spend the rest of the day relaxing."

Hikari shrugged.

' _Of course she wouldn't be tired…_ '

Osamu agreed, though. "Yeah! That soda's the shit!"

' _Not what I had in mind when I made the request, either._ '

They continued to the shrine.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Reimu slid the shrine's door open with her sandal, precariously holding the crystal overhead with two arms as she did so.

"Honestly… Where did those three run off?" Reimu noticed them mysteriously vanish without a noise earlier, making her believe they got distracted and found something else along the way of interest and just didn't tell her.

Inside the shrine, Marisa sat at the kotatsu. "Heya, Reimu!"

Reimu blinked. "...When did you get here?"

She shrugged. "I dunno. Considering the place is empty, I assume the kids are gone?"

Reimu wasn't quite sure how to respond to that, considering they _could_ be coming back, or not.

"...Also, I was kinda outside the whole time, lying in the dirt. Thanks, ze."

Reimu tensed up. "...S-sorry about that. I kinda forgot-"

"Nah, it's alright. I deserved it, anyhow."

…

Reimu brought the crystal over and sat it down on the floor as carefully as she was able…

Crack!

It fell through the floor, landing in the small space under the floorboards.

"Figures." Reimu shook her head, proceeding to the kotatsu.

"What's that crystal for? I feel like I remember it…" Marisa furrowed her brows, thinking.

"It's another seal crystal for Mima."

Marisa's eyes widened. "What!? W-wait… you managed to _reseal_ teach without me?"

Reimu nodded. "Well, with the help of those three kids. You'd be surprised what they can do, now, it seems. Some strange things happened, though…"

Marisa wasn't sure what to expect, from a description like that. "Strange?"

"Yeah," Reimu stretched… "Mima was acting really weird, and definitely didn't use her abilities anywhere near the level she normally does. It was like… it was almost like she was just experimenting- like, she was rediscovering her abilities. That doesn't make any sense, though…"

Marisa wasn't sure what to think of that, staring at Reimu with curiosity.

"There was some red mist in the seal room, too, when it broke. Mima didn't do anything to get out… it was all whatever _that_ was. I don't even know what it was… but it was scary."

"...What did she act like?" Marisa decided to prod things along.

"Like her usual self, but sometimes she just seemed to… space out." Reimu curled her lips in distaste of her own description. "She'd just stare into the distance. During the fight, it also seemed like all of us spaced out at once. I actually fell, I think, but I was only a little sore on landing. All things considering, I probably should have died from falling so far, or at least lost my legs."

Marisa didn't react to the last sentence, not visibly.

"...Enough about me." Reimu shook her head. "...You never told me Marigold couldn't cast magic."

Marisa froze.

"I-I mean… I know it's none of my business, but…"

"...Just drop it, Reimu." Marisa tells her, frowning. "I don't mean to be a jerk… but I don't wanna talk about it."

"Fair enough." Reimu nods. "Sorry."

…

The shrine door slides open again, Hikari walking in. After a few moments of absent pacing, Hikari managed to step into the hole in the floor and fall in.

"Ah!"

She landed on the crystal, the lower half of her body beneath the floor, now.

Marisa snickered.

Marigold and Osamu meander in next.

"Got anymore of that soda?" Osamu is tempted to ask right away.

"Not for you." Reimu deadpans. "...How do you even get by? It's like, all you drank was soda…"

Osamu shrugged. "Dude, that stuff is my lifeblood. It is the force that keeps me moving."

...Reimu nodded skeptically.

' _I think I tried soda once,_ ' Marigold reflected. ' _That stuff is toxic._ '

…

' _Speaking of toxic…_ ' Marigold glanced at Marisa for a moment, but looked away when she saw Marisa wasn't looking at her.

Hikari climbed from the hole in the floor, precariously finding an efficient way to do so. After she got out, she dusted herself off and stared at her mother questioningly.

Reimu waved it off. "Yeah, that thing has a mind of its own. I think we'll just make some liftable floorboards over it, or something. That reminds me, where did you three even go earlier? You didn't even say anything to me, you know..."

"We were jumped by some fairies." Hikari explained. "They're dead now, though."

"I didn't hear anything, though." Reimu tilted her head.

Marigold chipped in. "I think one of them could mute sound, she was a moon-elemental fairy."

Reimu nodded… then after a moment of consideration, she facepalmed. "Don't tell me… was she a blonde fairy?"

Marigold nodded.

"So that's how I didn't hear… Stupid fairies." Reimu shook her head. "I assume you three didn't have many problems, though."

Hikari sat down at the kotatsu.

Marigold remembered something. "Oh, yeah. The one called Sunny gave me her dying words."

Reimu snorted. "Do tell."

"She told me she loved you." Marigold grinned, approaching the kotatsu.

"Of course she did..."

...Osamu looked at the now full kotatsu. He nodded at the sight, then slowly began pacing his way around the table…

Reimu was on the ball this time, though. She turned to him. "No."

He put his arms up. "But I wasn't-"

"No."

He folded his arms. Reimu turned back around…

"...But the kotatsu is-"

"No. Sit down."

A single ofuda flew to his chest, knocking him on his bum. He proceeded to sulk, while Reimu grinned victoriously.

...Marisa tried to break the ice. "Yeah, them fairies sure are, uh, somethin', huh?"

Reimu snorted.

Marigold simply stared at her.

"...Anyway," Reimu cut in to prevent Marisa's dignity from being shattered further, "I don't know what to think of that strange red mist. It does remind me of the ones the vampires and that celestial did, though…"

Marisa nods. "Come to think of it, we do have a lot of mist related incidents, don't we? I think the troublemakers are runnin' outta ideas, ze..."

"Makes it easier to track them down, at least." Reimu reflects. "It just kinda came outta nowhere this time, though."

…

"Oh, shoot, that's right." Reimu realized. "I forgot to go to the human village today."

"You had somethin' to grab?" Marisa guessed.

"Actually, the village seems to have gotten rather weird as of late." Reimu explained. "I was going to go check it out, but Mima breaking free was kinda more important."

...Hikari stared at her mother.

Reimu noticed. "...No, you're not. The village can be a dangerous place when strange things happen in it."

Hikari facepalmed. "...Look, I handled something in the village earlier."

Her mother was skeptical.

"I'm pretty sure we'll be fine."

' _I've never really been to the village before._ '

"...Alright. I guess." Reimu reluctantly consents. "...I have half a mind to send Marisa to keep watch on you three."

Marigold blinked. "Pffft."

' _Like she'd watch us for more than thirty seconds…_ '

Hikari shrugged, causing Marigold to stare at her dryly. ' _Use words, you._ '

Marisa frowned. "You know what? That's what I'm gonna do."

' _Hikari, this is your fault._ ' Marigold sighed. ' _I suppose I'll have to deal with it, though._ '

"...Are you sure?" Skeptically, Reimu cautioned her friend. "I mean… things seem a little tense, I guess."

Marisa waved it off. "Ah, I'm sure it'll be fine, ze! It'll be fine…"

...Hikari nodded at the situation, amused in her own way.

…

Hikari gets up. "I think we'll be going, now."

Reimu blinked. "Really? It's kinda late in the day, you know…"

"We'll be fine." Hikari assures her. "Besides, we have Marisa with us."

' _We're not going to be fine. Also, a break would be nice… Maybe I should use words, too, actually._ '

"I'd like a break, actually…" Marigold begins.

Hikari tried Lifeup α!

Marigold's fatigue from the danmaku pellets faded a bit.

"...Better. Betterish." Marigold bobbed her head back and forth.

"We'll buy snacks in the village." Hikari baited.

"...A lot better, actually." Marigold smiled.

Osamu got up and joined them as they all made for the door. Marisa then got up, as well, moving to keep up with them.

"D-don't forget about me, ze…!"

The shrine door slides shut.

…

Reimu sighs. "Man, that got awkward fast… Don't screw it up, Marisa."

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIKARI'S VIEW ====

The four progressed towards the village. Marisa flew overhead the party on her broom…

"Can any of you three fly? Like, at all?" Marisa questioned.

"No." Hikari replied. "I never learned how."

"I can't." Marigold bluntly stated.

"Yeah, I wish!" Osamu chuckled.

…

"I'm suddenly anxious, ze…" Marisa stared at the three with slight worry.

"You would be." Marigold jabs.

"Is that so~?"

The three pause, and turn around.

Behind them is an orb of darkness hanging in the air. Marisa shakes her head, turning to face the orb as well…

"It's Rumia!" Osamu's eyes widened. "Holy shit! We're fucked!"

' _Oh. It's just Rumia._ ' Hikari relaxed.

Marigold blinked. "Who?"

Hikari tried Hypnosis α!

Energy rippled around the orb of darkness…

Thud.

The darkness dissipated, a child with blonde hair revealed. She lied on the floor, fast asleep.

Marigold was unimpressed. "... _That's_ Rumia?"

Osamu was amazed, slowly turning to Hikari. "...Y-you did it. You knocked out Rumia! Holy crap!"

Hikari shook her head. "What's so amazing about that? She's not very intimidating in the slightest…"

Marisa nodded slowly… "Anyone mind explaining to me why she just kinda fell over?"

"I made her fall asleep." Hikari answered. "Don't ask how."

"How." Marisa asked. "...Wait, is that what happened earlier?"

' _Uhh…_ ' "...No?"

Marisa nodded… "...You suck at lying, ze."

' _Oh, well. You win some, you lose some._ '

"...It must be real late, considering Rumia was out and about." Marisa considered.

The land around them was covered by a melancholic blue glow, one that might be considered nostalgic were the temperature not dropping equally as rapidly as the land's light levels.

' _...These pants are surprisingly warm._ ' Hikari smiled lightly at the convenience.

Osamu was wearing those robes. ' _It's a wonder how he hasn't complained of being too warm, yet…_ '

Hikari was sure Marigold was fine in her outfit, too. ' _It seems to be made for winter wear._ '

Marisa's outfit wasn't quite as winter-ready, but she wasn't complaining. ' _Probably used to the cold, all things considered. I don't imagine the sky to be a warm place, with all that wind._ '

They continued towards the village gates…

A guard with what looked like a shield and a lance was standing authoritatively at the gate to the village, unmoving.

Marisa grinned. "Yo, look at that guy… Looks like he's goin' off to war, ze."

Osamu grinned, too. "I never saw a guard that suited up. The hell's he need all that crap for? Fighting dragons?"

Hikari grinned, sheepishly. ' _Oh, boy. Getting in's going to be like pulling teeth, I can feel it already…_ '

They all approach the village gate.

"Halt."

The party does as instructed, staring at the guard. He was clad entirely in armor, and had he not said anything, the party might've just assumed it was a empty suit of armor.

"...I am Reigus Taft, Ninth Destroyer."

Osamu tilted his head. "What the hell kinda guard title is that?"

"A prestigious one. We are a class of siege lancers, employed by Porky Man to serve the village."

' _What._ ' Hikari double-took.

"...Siege _lancers?_ " Osamu chuckled. "When the hell did we make siege anything, let alone infantry? How does siege infantry even _work?_ "

"...That information is confidential, youkai."

' _Here we go…_ ' "Hey." Hikari announced her presence.

The guard never turned its head since they got there, so Hikari just assumed he was listening. "I'm a Hakurei miko, you know."

"...Even better." The guard warmly declares. "Porky Man has indicated the Hakurei as outlaws."

' _So it's who I thought it was…_ '

Marisa's jaw dropped. "Wha~t!? You can't be serious! What'd they even do!?"

"Commander Man has made it clear that the Hakurei's intentions are nothing but destruction and ruin. Such intentions… are what I intend to end, right here!"

The guard mobilizes… slowly. He lowers his lance outward, and begins marching towards the party…

Everyone backs away, and Marigold aims her NF Burst Gun at him. "Don't make me shoot this."

"Danmaku means nothing to me." He boldly claims.

PoPoPoPoPop!

Ti-ti-cling-ti-tink!

He wasn't wrong, apparently.

The party continued backing away as the guard slowly marched towards them, his heavy steps shaking the ground…

Hikari tried Hypnosis α!

Energy rippled around the Destroyer…

...but nothing happened!

' _Wow._ ' Hikari was awed. ' _Is this guy even human himself?_ '

He marched forward, ignorant of the fact Hikari even tried to knock him out.

"...I got an idea." Osamu grinned.

Osamu tried PK Hydro α!

A bubble of water floated towards the Destroyer, who walked right into it.

Splash!

The Destroyer got all wet, but nothing happened otherwise.

Osamu tried PK Thunder ß!

Thwaa~sh!

Osamu fell over as the bolt struck next to him. "Oh, fuck!"

Thwaa~sh!

The guard was struck.

Zazaza~p!

Electricity ran up and down the suit of armor, producing bright yellow flashes of light, before it eventually stopped.

...The Destroyer slowly lurched backwards.

Thud.

Marisa whistled. "Holy crap, you killed a man, ze."

Osamu laughed incredulously. "Hohoho~ly shit! Dude just got _owned!_ "

' _I'm going to pretend we didn't just kill someone in cold blood. Guards are kinda jerks anyway…_ '

Marigold stared at the fried suit of armor. "...Was that, uh… really necessary?"

"No, but it was _cool._ " Osamu argued. "I mean, c'mon…"

...Everyone navigated around the suit of armor, continuing back to the village gate.

The gate was still shut, though.

' _How are we going to get in now…?_ '

Marisa looked down to her non-flying companions. "...Hold on guys, lemme make this easy fer ya…"

She floated up to the gate. Taking off her hat, she reached in…

"Here we go… Magical Research! Deep Ecological Bomb!"

She took a plastic flask from her hat, and tossed it onto the floor next to the gate, and flew back to the party on her broom.

' _...What was the point of tha-_ '

Kaboom!

A raw mana explosion occurred, blowing the entire gate door away. Deadly wooden shrapnel flew inside, though no one was near the gate, fortunately.

"Yea~h!" Marisa pumped a fist into the air.

Osamu clapped. "Alright!"

Hikari shook her head. ' _I'm willing to bet the entire village heard that… It's night, too._ '

Marigold stared at the destruction dryly.

Moving inside, the party found there wasn't any guard attention… yet. Numerous villagers had vacated the scene, though.

' _We're gonna have to book it._ ' Hikari realizes. "...Guys, this way."

The other three follow Hikari down a random series of back alleys, before Hikari pauses…

"...I think we're a good distance from the blast site." She decides. "We should probably find Keine."

"Yeah," Marisa began, "Keine oughta know just what's goin' on, here."

They move into the main street, Hikari and Marisa leading the way to Keine's house…

"Hey, you!"

They turn to see a guard with just a short sword jogging up to them. "You…" He gestures to Hikari. "Are you a Hakurei?"

She shakes her head. "No, I'm actually a... " She paused, trying to find a good substitute…

"A bouzouki player!" Osamu answers for her.

' _A what._ '

The guard furrows his brows. "...I'm sorry, a what?"

Marigold snorts. "Talk about obscure…"

Marisa is confused. "What?"

...Osamu shrugged. "Look, it was this thing I read one time- nevermind…"

...The guard nods. "Okay. You're not a Hakurei, then…"

Hikari smiled. "Have a nice-"

"You four must be youkai, then!"

' _You're kidding._ '

Marisa facepalmed. "Dude, no…"

Hikari tried Hypnosis α!

The guard promptly fell over, and villagers began staring.

' _Yeah, subtlety seems pretty impossible at this point. The village guard is totally aggressive today._ '

"Let's just hurry." Hikari requests, jogging towards Keine's house.

"Sounds like a plan…" Marigold agreed, unsure of what to think about the village guard.

Once they saw Keine's house, Marisa felt something at the back of her mind…

"...Crap, I forgot something." She announced to the party.

"As you do." Marigold jabs.

"Hey, hey…" Marisa pouts.

Boom!

An explosion of some sort occurred elsewhere in the village…

"They're besieging themselves! It's every man for himself!" Osamu joked.

' _Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised…_ '

...Marisa turned to the party. "Hey, uh, what do you guys say I go and check that out?"

Marigold shook her head. "You'll flee."

"...Have a _little_ faith in me? Please?" Marisa pouted, again.

Boom!

The explosion was closer this time…

The stomps of guards of various suits and armaments were heard, rushing down the adjacent main village roads.

"...I think it's coming to check _us_ out!" Marisa announced.

' _If it wasn't official before, I think it is now: the village is a bad place to live._ '

Boom!

They couldn't see it, but that explosion was very nearby…

…

Marisa snapped her fingers. "Hey, hey, I remember! It's a-"

Kaboom!

The small house ahead of them had an entire section of wall blown open, Keine- or what looked like Keine- charging through head first.

"Holy shit!" Osamu flails his arms wildly, moving backwards away from her.

Marigold readies her NF Burst Gun, alarmed.

"Raaa~gh!"

This Keine had light hair which was of a mint tint, with two large horns protruding from her head.

A Destroyer approached her slowly from behind, a series of guards huddled behind it.

"Youkai." it began. "Your life ends here."

...Keine turned around. "Shut the _fuck up!_ "

She charged towards the Destroyer, which stuck its spear out to meet her head.

Creeaa~k!

…The spear was scrunched.

The guards behind the Destroyer started backing away, giving it ample room…

"...You are an abomination." The Destroyer dared.

Keine reeled her head back, clutching it, then unexpectedly shot it forward again, crashing into the armor.

Bam!

The guard flew back, his entire chestplate removed from him and remaining stuck on the schoolteacher's horns.

Thud. The guard's chest was entirely exposed to the world.

Keine tore off the chestplate from her horns, and ran forward, punting the guard into the others, then charging into the fray ahead.

"Aaa~h!"

"We've got a man down!"

"Lemme at 'er! Lemme at- oof!"

The sounds of violence faded as Keine charged off elsewhere.

' _...We should catch up with her…?_ ' Hikari wasn't sure.

"...So uh, yeah. Full moon. That's what Keine is like on a uh… full moon." Marisa nods. "...We still gonna 'find' Keine, o~r…?"

Hikari nods. "Well… we needs answers, after all. We'll just have to find a way to calm her down."

Marisa snorted. "Yeah, sure. Good luck, ze."

' _Although… I'm feeling kinda tired._ ' Hikari yawns. "...We should raid the snack stalls before we do anything else, though. Can't deal with genocidal town guards on an empty stomach."

Marigold nodded. "Me either."

"Me three." Osamu followed the two girls as they left for the village square…

"...I like their style." Marisa grins, following behind them.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

END OF CHAPTER 9

Protagonist: Hikari Hakurei, Disciple of Paradise

-Inventory-

Weapon: Magical Gohei - Ability to whack stuff really hard. Amplifies whacking power, too! Able to deal magical damage. Critical hits enabled.

Arms: Iconic Hakurei Arm Sleeves - Keeps arms warm. A Hakurei tradition. How they stay on is a Hakurei family secret.

Body: Combat Miko Outfit - A black leotard and hakama combination worn by the previous-previous Hakurei miko. Designed to be suitable for excessive physical activity and close combat, it slightly improves physical combat prowess.

Misc: Yukkuri Ribbon - Looks like a bad Christmas ornament. Lime green, with yukkuri decals!

-Skills-

Attack: Quickly! Swing your gohei at them for massive damage!

PK Fantasy α, β - Bombards the enemy with pain in the form of flashing colors. Deals magical damage. Heavy mental strain that increases with each tier.

PK Flash α - A bright flash that distributes very random status effects to enemies. Usually makes people cry.

Hypnosis α, Ω - Puts weak enemies to sleep for a short time. Works better on tired or exhausted foes. Can also be used in a far more costly form that works on multiple opponents.

Shield α - Halves damage the target takes. Only works against physical attacks, and enough strikes, or powerful strikes, will dispel it.

Lifeup α, ß - Heals target a little. Higher tiers heal more grievous wounds, like bone fractures.

Healing α, ß - Heals basic status ailments. Higher tiers can cure more dire effects, like burning alive.

Ofuda Toss - Throw a holy ofuda that does massive holy elemental damage to youkai and dark elemental foes. Effect lessens the more holy the thing you're attacking is, to the point of healing holy things. Only works if you actually have ofuda, though.

β-β-β-β

Mage: Osamu Katsumi, the Wannabe Mage

-Inventory-

Weapon: Fisticuffs!

Arms: Nothing

Body: Worn Magician Robes - An old robe from the days when the village respected the medium of magic. Well past its due date, but still comfy!

Misc: Yukkuri Beanie - Resembles a really tacky tablecloth, made in the Yukkuri theme. Lime green and has tons of fun yukkuri decals!

-Skills-

PK Thunder α, ß - Very random thunder attack that deals limited damage. Higher tiers increase number of bolts, and sometimes power.

PK Hydro α, β - Gets everyone wet. Usefulness with PK Thunder and PK Freeze depends on whether you hit yourself or not! Creates whirling water spirals at higher tiers.

PK Freeze α, β - Generates ice crystals at the target's location. Medium damage and effect; may freeze some targets, especially wet ones.

Fireball - Manipulate mana to make a shoddy fireball. Low damage and effect.

Static Hands - Not a real spell. Result of a very undercharged PK Thunder that can accidentally go off.

PSI Telepathy α - Speak to friends you haven't met yet! Unstable connection and only works if they have the skill or are asleep.

PSI Shield α - Halves damage from magical and psychic attacks. Thunder spells fry it instantly, and harder blows dispel it.

β-β-β-β

Inventor: Marigold Knowledge, the Tri-Magi Love Child

-Inventory-

Weapon: NF Burst Gun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Uses a Pop Gun as the base, but amplifies its power with an array of random batteries jammed into the base with the Pop Gun. The more batteries, the better, but the typical yield is about five bullets per trigger. Spamming the trigger doesn't make it go any faster, unfortunately. Has no foreseeable ammo limit, and the batteries are only there for mana circulation, meaning their power is really inconsequential.

Arms: Nothing

Body: Custom Dress - A custom dress made by Alice. Provided slight defense against magical and psychic attacks.

Misc: Swirly Glasses - Lets Marigold not be blind.

Backpack - Allows extended inventory. Aged relic from the Kourindou.

Unnamed Lock Opening Device - Opens locks very precariously. Made with steel, burnt cloth, packaging peanuts, thumbtacks, string, and wooden wheels. Don't even ask…

Ruler - Lets you measure the world around you!

Protractor - Lets you find the angles of anything ever. Totally overpowered.

Deck of Cards - Allows Marigold to play Strip Poker with the party. Just kidding… or am I?

Stun Gun - Electrical device used to subdue harassers. Has settings ranging from Tickle Torture to Arse Blaster. Able to stun and inflict paralysis on certain foes. Deals electrical damage, and on the highest setting can fry shields, at the cost of temporarily shorting itself out.

Air Gun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Uses air to propel moderately powered danmaku particles at high speeds. Bland, but efficient. Filled with foil chip bags to conduct the mana, and it is transmitted into a wind stone. Coagulated fairy fingers are currently the only viable mana-providing ammo for this weapon.

Holmes Brand Designer Hat - Village swag! A retro village hat that ceased production ten years ago. Sells for a pretty penny nowadays, but it's pretty useless otherwise.

Slime Generator - A bulky box that shoots a small splat of slime. Doesn't seem good for much.

Counter-PSI Device - A weird device Marigold found from a flying saucer. Works in strange ways, and seems to disrupt everyone's concentration. Marigold is immune to its effects.

-Skills-

Bouzouki Player - She's not sure what it is, though.

The Belmont Strut - Vampire Killer not included.

Nuclear Propulsion Officer - Saves 10% off college tuition.

Fish Palentologist - Good for studying evolution… but are there many fish in Gensokyo?

Microwave Warfare Specialist - Knows how to blow up a battleship with a microwave oven faster than you can say "can you make me a hotpocket". Also proficient at giving people cancer.

Meme Scientist - Even better at giving people cancer!

β-β-β-β

Author's Note:

the amount of times i think "i'd like to put that in the author's note / explain it there" then totally forget

you see, writing is a lot of not thinking and letting your mind go on autopilot, but still thinking enough not to drool on the keyboard and give up on your consciousness for the day

it can take practice and understanding, though, so such advice might only make sense if you've _been_ writing for some time...

also ten thousand words is a long time to remember things over, esp. when you spend like a week chipping away at it

mima was a tricky battle to balance because normally she'd be a lot tougher, but giygas be giygas'n, yo.

reimu was also only fighting half seriously mostly because mima was acting really weirdly, but she was trying to end things quickly without using her strongest attacks (both because holy crap mana costs and also because she didn't know what mima would do)

mima's a VERY RANDOM SORT OF PERSON…

also kinda wanted to tie up the "desert segment" quickly because lets be legit not a lot happens there, and adding the mima subplot was the best way to make it an actually engaging segment and not just seem like developmental filler; kudos to the proofreader for that direction, by the way

also, fluffnuggets.

see you all next time!

Proofreader's Note:

In other news, I think I'm done thinking up what the fourth is going to be, I think you'll like her.


	10. Natural Hakurei Exterminator

Hikari scarfed down another handful of Goldfish baked snack crackers, sitting behind the empty snack stall while chaos erupted among her surroundings.

"Mmm… 'Ey're ghood." Marigold commented, her mouth full.

Marisa and Osamu similarly tore into bags of their own.

"Shouldn't we uh…" Marisa paused to eat a handful, only continuing moments later. "...be following Keine?"

' _She can wait. She seems to be able to hold her own._ ' Hikari continued scarfing down Goldfish…

"O~rgh…" A Destroyer's dying moan was heard in the town square.

Osamu paused. "...I think she found _us._ Again!"

"That bitch!" A swordsman yelled. "Take her down, men!"

A volley of arrows flew towards Keine, but she sent a wave of danmaku towards the arrows, wiping them from existence.

"Shit!" The man guarded with his sword.

In a quick moment, the wave of danmaku washed past him and into the archer corps, wiping them out in a few simple seconds.

The guard, who had been at the forefront of the assault, was the only one still standing. "W-why… me…?"

He fell to his knees, and then onto his face.

...

Osamu quickly stood from the stand, examining the now quiet town square.

Keine froze, standing in the center. She slowly turned around to face Osamu…

...He ducked back down.

"Oh, shit…" He chuckled incredulously. "Dude…"

' _Hmm?_ ' Hikari peeked over the stand herself, and saw Keine slowly approaching.

She ducked back down as well. ' _Why would you do that?_ ' "She's coming…"

Marigold peeks over the counter herself, and yelps, "Ah!", falling back and scurrying away from it.

Thunk!

Keine's horns stuck into the side of the stand. Hikari jumped, nearly pierced by them.

' _Woah! Too close!_ '

She stumbled back as Keine struggled against the stand's wood with her horns, and eventually just tore apart the stand entirely.

Glancing up and glaring, Keine's eyes rested on Hikari…

' _I-I wasn't thinking- I should've moved-_ '

Keine froze.

…

"Y-you…" Keine clutched her head. "I thought you… were dead."

' _What?_ ' Hikari looked around to her teammates in confusion, only to find most of them had made a cautious distance from her and Keine.

Marigold opened fire on Keine's side, the bullets thumping against her side but doing nothing.

"...I-I…" Keine blinked. "H-Hikari?"

"...Hello." Hikari introduced herself.

Marigold withheld her fire.

"...H-hi." Keine added awkwardly, moving her limbs about anxiously. "I'm not going to ask why you're wearing _that_ … but… I-I'd go if I were you." Keine told her, backing away from her slowly.

"Before we do that…" Hikari began, "What's going on here? In the village?"

Keine's eyes turned to spite. "Those _bastards_ …"

Hikari readied her gohei preemptively. ' _Now I've gone and done it…!_ '

She shook her head. "N-no… C-calm thoughts…"

Osamu and Marigold went around her sides strategically, but still kept a distance of several feet.

"...It was that fat kid..." Keine explained. "He's held up in the Akyuu manor… You need to take your friends, and get out of here, Hikari. It's too dangerous."

Hikari shook her head. "I think we'll be the judges of that. Also, we have Marisa."

Another wave of guards ran in from the street. "Hey, we found her!"

"A Hakurei is even with her!"

"We hit the jackpot!"

...Keine began growling, her expression souring.

Hikari backed away from her…

Arrows flew in from the oncoming crowd of swordsmen and archers, heading for Hikari and Keine.

Keine leaped in front of Hikari, shielding her with her body.

Shi-shink!

Two arrows struck Keine's back.

' _K-Keine…!?_ ' Hikari paused, unsure of what was to happen next.

…

Keine let go of the powerful embrace she held Hikari in, and reached for her back, where the punctures the arrows made had healed, embedding them in her back. She slowly tore out the two arrows, reopening the wounds, but she hardly even acknowledged any sort of pain.

She looked at Hikari. "That outfit fits you well."

Turning back to the guards, she flung her arms, sending out blue and red danmaku randomly to meet the arrows coming her way. Reeling her head back, she roared.

"Hrraa~gh!"

Keine barreled towards them, and the swordsmen bravely, eagerly rushed to meet her, expecting their swords to sunder her flesh.

Bam!

"Dude- dude, no!"

"The arrows- they do nothing!"

"Did you try hitting her in the crotch!? Someone, aim for the- oof!"

Hikari turned away from the violence as her friends and Marisa rejoined her…

"...So uh, Keine really is a youkai, huh?" Osamu nods. "That's actually pretty cool."

' _...I guess._ ' Hikari hadn't had much time to think over that revelation.

"Yeah, ze. Reimu and I kinda knew for awhile now." Marisa added. "It was kinda sorta _supposed_ to be a secret, but y'know…" She grinned sheepishly.

"...Cat's out of the bag, as they say?" Marigold ventures.

Marisa nods. "...Yeah."

...Hikari realizes the four had began walking off, but she wasn't sure where they were walking off _to_.

' _...I'm pretty sure we know where to go next._ ' Hikari paused, turning to one of the side roads.

"We're heading for Akyuu's place, next." Hikari decided.

"Wasn't that where we were goin'?" Marisa asked.

Hikari hesitated before replying. "...No, we were just walking aimlessly."

Marigold grinned. "As we do."

Hikari snorted. ' _As we do..._ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Moving past the occasional shattered building, the party navigated through the city's streets.

On the way towards Akyuu's manor, they ran into more guards. Down the alley Hikari had chosen, there was a Destroyer, an archer, and-

' _...Is that a priest?_ ' Hikari had only scarcely seen any sort of magician or priest in the village proper before. As far as she was aware, the village only had one or two priests.

"Dude, check out that stick-in-the-mud. Bet they're gettin' some stupid make-believe blessing, or some'n." Osamu commented.

' _Blessing? There are numerous places to receive blessings, but as far as I'm aware, villagers can't just put robes on and do it themselves…_ '

Marisa giggled. "Yeah, village priests are a dying profession, ze."

Their banter caught the attention of the guards.

"It is the unholy one!" The priest exclaimed.

"Leave their disposal to me." The Destroyer assured the priest, as he began marching ever so slowly towards the party…

Marisa grinned, giving the party a thumbs-up. "Stand back, guys! Lemme show you how it's done…!" She walked in front of Hikari, bringing up her Mini-Hakkero...

The archer readied his bow…

' _No._ '

Hikari tried Shield α!

Marisa was protected by the shield of light!

"W-what?" Marisa stumbled back, examining the shield of light…

Woosh!

The arrow barely missed her arm, flying right past the party, but still coming very close to everyone.

Osamu shook his head. "Fuck me, that was a hell of a shot…"

Marigold opened fire on the archer.

PoPoPoPoPop!

The archer tried to duck out of the way of the fire, but some of it thudded against his meek armor anyway, pushing him along a bit as he ran away.

"Love Sign…" Marisa began, pointing her Mini-Hakkero at the Destroyer.

"Danmaku is for the feeble." The Destroyer commented, marching towards her slowly.

The priest came out from behind said Destroyer, and tossed holy water at Marisa. "Begone, foul Magician!"

The shattering of the bottle against Marisa's dress was dulled by the shield of light. Her dress was simply wetted a little.

"Master Spaa~rk!"

Marisa unleashed her annihilation of love.

Vrrrrr~!

A huge technicolor beam caused the buildings nearby to shake, and those closest to the laser to crumble.

"Th-this…!" The Destroyer was soon pushed, and launched, by the technicolor love laser.

"Gwwaa~h!" The priest was lost in the light.

-Rrrrrr~...

Soon, the Master Spark died down, revealing a tunnel of destruction through multiple buildings. Neither the priest nor the Destroyer were anywhere in sight.

Marigold blinked. "...I don't think anyone will appreciate that."

Marisa giggled. "Well… it's happened. People'll just assume it's a youkai or somethin's doing…?"

Marigold sighed. "You're not helping."

Continuing forward, Hikari found Akyuu's manor just around the corner. The front gate had two butlers with polearms guarding it, and multiple fallen town guards around them.

Hikari approached them, and the butlers pointed to her.

"The Hakurei!"

"This is her fault! Apprehend her at once!"

' _Honestly…_ ' It seemed like almost everyone in the village was willing to jump at the chance to beat her up.

More explosions in the distance distracted the butlers for a moment, but they turned their attention back to Hikari…

Marisa blinked. "...You guys sure I shouldn't keep an eye on Keine? She's bound to get hurt eventually with all these asses runnin' around…"

Marigold turned to her. "If you want to go, just go. I'm not stopping you."

...Marisa was very unsatisfied with that answer, frowning.

Hikari glanced back, only for a moment, talking to Marisa. "Go, help Keine. These guys shouldn't be a problem."

Marisa nodded. "Alright…"

She floated away on her broom, staying low and following the sounds of destruction.

The butlers flailed their polearms around, showing off.

Grinning, Osamu began rolling his fists…

Osamu tried PK Thunder ß!

Thwaa~sh!

The thunderbolt struck a nearby house, lightning its side on fire.

Thwaa~sh!

Another thunderbolt struck the polearm of one of the butlers.

Zazazap!

"Y-yea-yoohoohoo~!" He flailed his arms about and started blowing on his hands, the heat generated by the electricity in the weapon having burned them.

Hikari ran towards him, but the other butler moved to interfere…

Marigold ran alongside Hikari, and aimed at the butler, opening fire.

"H-hey!" He moved his polearm to try and deflect or block the danmaku, only striking a single of the five bullets. The rest all hit him.

"Oough…!" He kneeled, hands around his gut. His polearm dropped to the floor.

Hikari reached the other butler.

SMAAAA~SH!

He twirled around, and fell to the floor.

Thud.

"Kick ass." Osamu nodded, grinning.

...Hikari marched towards the gate, grabbed it with her hands, and began shaking it. It clattered, but did little otherwise.

"Because that would work." Marigold smiles.

' _Hey, I had to know…_ ' Hikari nodded towards her, and raised her gohei…

Cla~ng!

The gate shook violently with Hikari's strike.

"H-hey, I have a thing for this…" Marigold told her, taking out her Bad Key Machine.

Cla~ng!

"Stop." Marigold assured louder.

...Hikari paused for a moment, looking at her. Then, she attacked the gate again.

Cla~ng!

"...Honestly." Marigold sighed. "Not everything is solved by hitting it, you."

Hikari giggled, stepping away from the gate. Then, she had a moment of realization. ' _...Actually...!_ '

"Who was it who shot locks open in Eientei?"

Marigold blushed. "Shut up. It worked."

She inserted the Bad Key Machine into the archaic manor lock…

...

Cli-cli-click.

"Ey~." Osamu cheered quietly.

"There we go." Marigold nodded, pushing the metal gates open. As they swung open, the party made their way into the main courtyard of the manor…

' _...Well, this place became a warzone pretty quickly._ '

Hikari observed the bisected hedge structures, elegant works of art now cleaved into multiple parts, others smashed. She walked up to one that was of a circle, which was now of an uneven half circle.

' _That's actually kinda annoying. I was just here the other day, so I even remember what each of these was supposed to be... Porky probably did this. My question is why._ '

She shook her head at the destruction. Shouts of village guards were heard in the distance, slight vibrations felt as a nearby building was probably being leveled.

' _I wonder how cheap a village house is going to be, after this. I wonder if I could pay one off in full with just my allowance._ ' Hikari mentally jabbed at the village.

Osamu approached the front door, and tried to open it. His hand touched the door-

Pi~ng!

He slid back slightly, pushed back by a magical barrier. "What gives?"

' _There is only one way to solve this._ '

...Hikari walked up and whacked it.

Pi~ng!

Her gohei rebounded off it.

Marigold shook her head. "What did I just say…?"

Osamu tried PK Thunder ß!

Thwaa~sh!

The shredded sphere-shaped bush exploded into flames.

Thwaa~sh!

The manor's gate shimmered lightly from the electricity running through it, which was quickly diverted into the ground below, the charge completely lost.

' _...That missed completely that time. Good job._ '

Osamu groaned. "Shitty thunder magic…"

Marigold took out her Stun Gun, and set it to Arse Blaster.

She turned to Hikari. "...This is a bad idea. If this goes wrong, help."

' _Mmm…_ ' Hikari raises her brows in slight worry. ' _I'd rather you didn't…_ '

Marigold stepped up to the door, and pressed her Stun Gun to it.

Zazaza-Boom!

Hikari and Osamu had to cover their eyes from the blinding light that was emitted by the interaction between the Stun Gun and the magically sealed door.

' _A-ah!_ ' The noise and light made Hikari jump.

When her vision came back, Marigold was on the ground, twitching.

' _U-uhm…_ '

Hikari tried Lifeup ß!

…

Marigold groaned. "Uuu~gh… I-I forgot how much that hurts."

"Don't do that." Hikari advised. "You looked pretty fried for a moment there."

"I'll try not to…" Marigold coughs lightly, sitting up. Quickly, she grabs the Stun Gun and turns it back off before it starts up again.

...Osamu tries the door again, and it swings open. "It worked!"

Hikari stepped into the Akyuu manor, pulling Marigold from the floor as she did so. Her mouth gaped at the sight ahead of her.

Halls of purple columns, black and white tiled floors, accented with purple walls of what Hikari supposed was stone.

' _It was just wood and the stock-standard paper walls earlier. This is some renovation!_ '

She thought back to the stylized paper walls, for a moment.

Osamu looked around. "Woah, the hell happened in here? Looks like a picture book threw up all over the walls!"

' _Neon purple._ ' Hikari agreed.

...Hikari began following the vague path towards Akyuu's room.

' _If he's held up anywhere, it'd be there._ '

She began walking, and her two friends followed.

...Muffled explosions were heard outside as they traversed the quiet halls of the deserted manor. Hikari stared at the tiled floor as she walked ahead, then up at the silver chandeliers from the similarly neon-purple ceiling.

"...Dude, someone say something." Osamu speaks after a few minutes of silent walking. "This place is freakin' scary."

"Wha~t?" Marigold turns to him, head tilted. "Genuinely? I rather like the quiet compared to the shouts and violence we were witness to in the village proper."

"But, like, what if there's shit waiting around to kick our ass? You don't know, 'cause it's quiet." Osamu nods. "Exactly. Am I right?"

Marigold rolled her eyes. "Please. We're probably the scariest thing in these halls."

' _Other than Porky. They wouldn't really get that until they met him, though._ ' Hikari grinned to herself.

"...Are we just walking around aimlessly until we find things to brutalize?" Marigold ventures.

"No," Hikari shakes her head, "We're heading to Akyuu's room."

"Bless you." Marigold is smug.

Hikari snorts. "Tell her ancestors that."

The three came to an intersection just off the corner of Akyuu's room, coming into contact with two maids and a curiously wobbly humanoid robot.

A pale blue barrier formed in front of the robot as it stumbled about, even twirling when its balance particularly betrayed it. The barrier glowed softly, protecting the three newcomers.

"Welcome, honored guests." Maid A bowed. "Master Porky currently has disallowed guests upon his property at this time. We will have to ask you to leave."

Maid B bowed. "Welcome, honored guests."

The maids were dressed in simple, purple outfits. Hikari realized they weren't to keep in tone with the garish neon purple walls, rather, they were the original outfits the maids wore when they served Akyuu. A simple, lavender pink.

' _They weren't very formal at all, though._ ' Akyuu's maids were few and far between, and usually casual friends of hers that served in a few rooms, such as the kitchen and laundry. Her butlers were mainly aristocrats looking for employ, and were assigned guard duty and given directions to a simple armory of cheap polearms. Hikari knew all of this from her previous relations with Akyuu.

"...Well, they're the proper sort, aren't they?" Marigold observed.

"We ain't budgin'!" Osamu held up his fist. "Look, ladies, we don't want any trouble-"

The maids raised from their bows, bringing up their fists.

' _...Are… are they really going to fist fight us? Seriously?_ '

...They fidgeted behind the blue barrier as the wobbly, clumsy robot slowly advanced.

Marigold blinked. "...Apparently not _that_ proper."

Osamu rubbed his hands together. "Alright, this time, this shit better work…"

Osamu tried PK Thunder ß!

Thwaa~sh!

The lightning bolt went for one of the maids, striking the pale blue shield instead. It flickered, and simply vanished.

Thwaa~sh!

One of the maids leaped out of the way of the next strike.

"...Who the _fuck_ are you people!?" Osamu shouted. "People keep dodging fucking- _lightning!_ "

The maids were stoic. "...We are the royal maidship to-"

"I don't care!"

Now that the barrier was gone, the maids saw no reason to stick around the clumsy robot, advancing towards the party.

Marigold opened fire on Maid B, who then suddenly leaped from the floor and ran along the wall, racing towards her.

Osamu jumped. "Ho~h, shit!"

Marigold ran back and shielded herself with her arms, the maid catching up and doing a twirling kick off the wall that landed straight on Marigold's forearms. "Hyah!"

"Hngh…" Marigold winced at the force that struck her arms. "T-that's gonna hurt later…"

' _...Her maids also didn't know freaking martial arts!_ '

The maid backflipped away, landing in front of Osamu and promptly punching him in the face-

"Ooh!"

-in the gut-

"Ack-!"

-and finished with a sweeping kick to his ankles.

The flailed his arms as he fell to the floor.

"Fu~ck!"

Thud.

Hikari, eyes wide, braced herself with her gohei and concentrated on herself.

Hikari tried Shield α!

Protected by the shield of light, Hikari now felt more confident…

Both maids began approaching her.

Osamu looked up from the floor. "H-hot ass maids… hold up! I got some cookin' directions for you!"

The one that took him down turns to him, smiling face unchanging.

"I'm'onna teach ya how to make maidsicles!" Osamu slowly began standing back up…

Hikari's attention snapped to Maid A, who rushed her when she looked at Osamu.

The maid began with a punch to Hikari's face, dulled by the shield of light.

' _...That wasn't so bad, surprisingly._ '

Hikari whacked her in the side, and the maid buckled aside a bit, regaining her balance before delivering a kick to Hikari's torso, making her almost repeat how the maid received her blow.

' _We're evenly matched, somehow._ '

"Cooking directions…" Osamu began wiggling his fingers around as the maid stepped towards him.

"...Freeze well!"

Osamu tried PK Freeze ß!

KaKa-KaKaKling!

The rapid freezing and thawing forced the maid to hug herself, startled.

Kra~ck!

A sudden blast of frozen air encased her in a small chunk of ice, only a few parts of her body revealed.

Maid B was solidified!

Hikari and Maid A traded blows, both seemingly unhurt by eachother's antics.

A flying kick came towards Hikari's face but slowed as it entered the shield, allowing Hikari to deflect it with a precise gohei swing.

Thunk!

The maid landed and weakly grappled Hikari in a headlock, and she began stomping her heeled foot. The maid didn't register any sort of pain from it.

The wobbly robot almost regained its balance, but Marigold poked it, and it stumbled down the hallway. From there, Marigold raised her NF Burst Gun and advanced towards Maid A…

Hikari gritted her teeth, the maid's headlock seemingly successful now, but the maid still unable to inflict any proper damage. Hikari uselessly stomped in place, angry.

' _I-I can't believe this! Let me go!_ '

...Marigold pressed her gun against the maid's back. "Let her go."

The maid froze.

"Let the miko go, and we let you go."

The maid giggled softly.

"I'm not joking." Marigold assured.

The maid released Hikari and leaped into the air, doing a perfect backflip.

"A-ah!" Marigold began firing, striking Hikari in the back.

' _Ah-ouch-aah!_ ' "Egh…" Hikari stumbled forward, piercing pain entering her spine, forcing her to drop to her knees.

"Woa~h!" Osamu marveled at the height of the maid's jump.

Once the maid began descending, she prepared her landing, her feet together-

"Aaa~h!" Marigold let out a short scream, the heels stomping right on her head despite her best efforts to shield herself. Marigold fell right to the floor.

The maid landed, turning to Osamu, and rolling her sleeves up.

Maid A tried Offense Up α!

"I'm just getting warmed up." Her smile seemed marginally more menacing, now. "Please desist, guests. Master would be displeased if his belongings were to receive any further abuse from their own incompetence."

…

Osamu glares at her. "Bitch, please. _His_ belongings? No. It's go time."

Osamu learned Offense Up α!

He rolls up his sleeves. "We're doin' this, man. Old style."

' _Old style._ ' Dread welled up in the pit of Hikari's stomach as she recovered from the danmaku bullets.

Osamu tried Offense Up α!

He did a few practice punches. "Baby, you seein' these guns?" He flexes, a tiny bump raising on his bicep. "...Well."

"More like marshmallows." Maid A comments wryly.

"Hey, fuck you." Osamu glares at her. "Where're your muscles, then, huh?"

The maid rolls her right sleeve up further, and flexes. Her bicep is a bit bigger, but not by much.

"I said muscles, not marshmallows!" Osamu smirked.

The maid continued smiling. "Marshmallows harden when they mature."

She walked towards Osamu.

Osamu stood his ground, slightly wary. "You mean when they expire? You sayin' you're gettin' old?"

The smack of palm against flesh is heard, Osamu blocking a strike with his arm. Then, a fist hits his gut.

"Oof!" His face twists into one of pain, and he crumples.

"...All I mean is that I've been around the block a few times."

...Hikari takes a potshot at the back of her head with her gohei.

The maid whirls around and deflects it with her forearm. Hikari leaps back as the maid does a string of punches and kicks.

Hikari tried Hypnosis α!

Energy rippled around the maid…

She shook her head, otherwise unreactive.

' _That sleep magic is useless._ ' Hikari mentally groans. ' _I don't think I can take this kung-fu maid on my own without using too much power._ '

Hikari looks to her fallen allies. ' _I still have my shield, so…_ '

Hikari tried Lifeup α!

Osamu sat up from his crumpled position. "Holy fuck, my back… Dude…"

"Osamu, fry her." Hikari commanded. "Quickly."

The maid turned to him, and he put his fists back up.

' _No, no, no! You idiot!_ '

He half-smirked. "Come get some, you tramp."

Osamu tried Offense Up α!

Hikari felt strength build in her body!

' _W-what is this…!?_ ' She stared at her arms in wonder.

Thwack!

"Oouuhhh…!" Osamu wailed, falling onto his ass again.

"...Vile." The maid comments, turning back to Hikari.

Hikari walked towards her, ready to go to war, gohei extended. ' _Shield and whatever this new strength is. It's go time._ '

The maid comes at her with a punch, and Hikari goes for her shoulder out of reflex moreso than anything else.

Thwack!

"Ough…!" Hikari winced, her jaw suddenly aching.

"Ah!" The maid clutched her shoulder, backing away. She defended herself with a kick towards Hikari, who responded with a lunge with her gohei that poked the maid in the stomach.

She winced in turn, leaping away.

"It would not do if I were unfit for Master's assembly tomorrow. So, please, make my job easier, and simply surrender."

Hikari marched towards her.

The maid sighed. "You leave me no-"

PoPoPoPoPop!

The maid was riddled with danmaku bullets.

"C-ch…"

She dropped to her knees.

Thud.

Hikari looked to Marigold, who was holding her gun tightly with tears in her eyes.

"I-it hurts…" Marigold reached for the heel marks on her forehead, brushing them lightly and recoiling. "E-egh…"

Hikari tried Lifeup α!

...Marigold sighed in relief. "Thank you. Really."

Hikari looked back at Osamu, and sighed.

Hikari tried Lifeup α!

...He quickly bounced from the floor. "Where is she!? Lemme at 'em!"

Punching the air, he quickly noticed the inactivity from his party, and the inactivity of the maid behind him.

"...Oh." He nodded. "Well. Good."

...Maid B's arm broke from the ice.

"No." Osamu said flatly.

Osamu tried PK Freeze α!

KaKaKoo…

Brief freezing and thawing of a small pattern of ice crystals reinforced the ice, and refroze the maid's arm.

Hikari nodded. ' _Yeah, let's not deal with that one._ '

...The wobbly robot's head opened, and a small warhead was raised out of it, held by a tiny metal pole.

Marigold aimed at it, and fired.

Boo~m!

The party slid to the floor as the blast shook the entire mansion, but the explosion itself was small enough to not even damage the robot that held it. It did, however, collapse completely, its limbs uselessly bobbing about and jerking back and forth.

' _...Yeah, useful._ '

The explosion caused Maid B's ice to begin cracking again!

Hikari grunted in frustration, getting up again… "You're annoying."

She took a moment to ready her gohei…

SMAAAA~SH!

The maid wasn't free yet, but when she did eventually thaw out, she probably wouldn't be awake to be happy about it.

Marigold snorted. "...That was completely necessary."

"Yes. Yes it was."

...Hikari walked towards Akyuu's room, and her party members eventually followed her to it once she reached it and waited for them.

"...This the room?" Osamu wonders aloud.

"Mmhmm…" Hikari looks up at the door. It was rather unassuming, actually. Porky hadn't bothered to replace the door to Akyuu's room, apparently. She walks up to it, and jiggles the handle.

' _Locked. Of course._ '

With one last surge of her newfound strength, she reels her gohei back and attacks the door.

SMAAAA~SH!

The door rattles violently, then falls inward.

Marigold chuckled. "I guess it worked that time…!"

Hikari marches inside, where a large swivel chair is at the opposing side of the room. Akyuu is in the right corner of the room, bound around the legs and shoulders by glowing blue rings of some sort.

She noticed her friend's predicament. "A-Akyuu!"

Akyuu looked up suddenly. "H-Hikari! How did…"

"Nevermind that, we're going to get you out of here…" Hikari began walking towards her, but then the swivel chair whirled around…

"Not so fast, Hikari…!"

' _Porky…_ '

He aims a flintlock at Hikari. "Not one move, Hikari, or I kill you right here!" Porky beams, standing up in the swivel chair.

' _How did he even rotate the chair? It's so big, a small family could fit on it…_ '

Upon hearing this, Marigold began making her way around the side of the chair…

Osamu walked up. "Hey, fuckface! Forget 'bout me?"

Porky grins. "Oh, don't worry…" He draws a second flintlock.

"Pfffft…" Osamu grins, and pokes Hikari with his elbow. "Look, he thinks we've got a problem! Hahaha!"

"Why are you laughing!?" Porky's mood does a one-eighty. "I can shoot you both in the leg, right now, and you'll be sorry! I'll let you bleed out! I swear I will!"

' _...I mean, I could just heal us._ ' Hikari was marginally less intimidated now.

Leaping to the floor from his chair, Porky marches towards the two. "Whatever, you two are probably delirious from being stupid anyway."

' _Urge to kill rising._ '

Porky stops short of them. "Say, Hikari, did you go to~... that foresty place recently? With the stupid rabbits?"

Hikari blinked. "Eientei?"

"Yeah, so you did!" Porky grinned. "Eel-whatever. Anyway, you were the one who shut down my factory, weren't you?"

'Your _factory!?_ ' Hikari's head jerked in his direction, now paying more attention.

"What do you mean… _your_ factory?"

"I mean it! The, the... what's it called…" He paused. "Oh, yeah, the Yukkuri Processing Plant! It was going swell, too, until you ruined it by stumbling around like an idiot."

' _Words cannot describe._ ' Hikari's hands tightened around her gohei…

Porky noticed. "Aah-aah-aah! Pla~y ni~ce!"

Marigold poked Porky in the back with her NF Burst Gun. "Put the guns down."

He laughed. "Hahaha-what? Another stupid villager rebel!?" He turned around, and saw Marigold was pointing a bigger gun at him.

For a moment, he paused.

"...Wow, you're pretty, too!"

' _Oh, dear._ '

Marigold blushed. "W-what are you saying…?"

"Anyways, guess what! I don't know how to use these stupid things!" Porky tosses his flintlocks aside. "I found 'em in my dad's shelves. Speaking of…" He took out a remote control with a big red button. "Daa~d! Hikari and her stupid bully friends are being mea~n to me!"

He presses the button.

Osamu snickered. "C-calling for your dad at a time like this? That's rich!"

' _Please don't channel your inner Porky, Osamu._ ' Hikari cringed from how similar Osamu's phrase was to something Porky himself told her earlier…

"H-Hikari!" Akyuu spoke up. "Get out, now! You're in danger! Go!"

' _Calm down!_ ' Hikari was freaked out by how frantic Akyuu was compared to her normal calm and composed demeanor. ' _Am I really…?_ '

Bam!

Akyuu screamed.

The wall bursts open, and what looks like a man charges in…

' _Mister Man?_ ' Hikari blinked. It _looked_ like Porky's father…

"Meet the Hakurei Exterminator three-point-oh!" Porky gleefully introduced his creation. "My dad grounded me when I got back from Eel-town or whatever, so I made sure he could never ground me again!"

' _W-what?_ '

Osamu chuckled incredulously. "What the fuck. S'that Captain Man? Holy shit!"

Marigold opened fire on Porky.

"H-hey, stupid, stupid! What- agh!" Porky was hit by most of the shots, before running towards his bionic father figure, hiding behind it. "Sick 'em, Hakurei Exterminator three-point-oh!"

The green glass caps that replaced his eyes lit up red. "L-Lifeforms_Detected_of_Hakurei_origin...Commencing_extermination_procedures…"

His left arm shifted into a gatling gun,

"Youkai_Lifeforms_Detected…"

His right arm shifted into multiple shafts which held pads of some sort.

"Youkai_Genocide_Protocol_five-six-three_in_effect. Anti-Magician_counter_measures_online."

' _None of that sounds good._ ' Hikari nodded slowly…

"After he kills you, he'll kill your mom, too!" Porky shouted. "When I come back, you'll all be dead! I mean, I _wanted_ to capture you and ask you if you wanted to be my personal royal guard, but now nothing but death would fit your stupidity! Later, losers!" With that, Porky ran through the hole in the wall, fleeing.

' _That's way too far._ ' That last statement of his jarred Hikari. She readied her gohei, glaring at the mechanical form of Captain Man.

"H-Hikari~!" Akyuu wailed.

The Hakurei Exterminator marched towards them slowly, legs moving in an automated fashion, and vibrating the floor every time they stomped down.

Hikari stared at the barrel. ' _That's a big gun…_ '

Osamu looked to his friends. "...So, the hell're we supposed to do? Just shoot it?"

Marigold opened fire on it.

The danmaku pinged uselessly against the flesh and metal.

Osamu tried PK Thunder ß!

…

But it failed!

"W-what…!?" Osamu looked at his hands, disbelieving.

Osamu tried PK Thunder ß!

…

But it failed!

"Shit! M-my magic! It wont work!" Osamu stared at his hands in horror. "No~!"

Marigold sighed. "Did you ever remember to restore your mana pool at any point today?"

...He shook his head. "My mana what?"

Marigold's jaw dropped. "You don't know!?"

He glares at her indignantly. "I do, but what the hell does my mana pool have to do with anything!? Doesn't it just mean I can't cast stupid big spells?"

"No, it means you only have so much mana _to_ cast spells with…" Marigold used a free hand to rub her left temple. "You idiot…"

Osamu blinked. "...Are there any spells to regenerate mana?"

Marigold sighed. "You're useless."

"What? It's an honest question!"

Hikari sighed. ' _Not the time to be bickering over stupid things, you two!_ '

"Anti_ _execute."

Hakurei Exterminator raised its shafted arm with the pads into the air. It then shot them around the room, the pads folded into orbs that glowed.

"Mana_syphoning_beacons...activated."

Suddenly, mist was visibly seen draining from Marigold…

Marigold didn't notice anything though, as her friends stared at her. "...What?"

"N-nothing…" Hikari shook her head. One of the pads neared her, and she felt her mana draining. "A-ah, no!"

She swung at it.

Bam!

The pad orb exploded into raw mana, some of which Hikari felt enter her system. Most of it just flung her aside though.

"Oof…"

Osamu gritted his teeth. "What the fuck am I supposed to do, then? I want _mana!_ "

He focused on the Hakurei Exterminator. "I bet that thing's got more mana than it knows what to do with!"

He looks over to Marigold. "You can't even _use_ yours!"

Marigold frowns. "Hey, hey, hey…"

"Give me your mana!" Osamu commanded Marigold.

Osamu learned PSI Magnet α!

Blue and purple rows slided towards Marigold, and ran up her body. She blinked at the visuals.

The rows shot back towards Osamu when they finished traveling up her body, now traveling down his.

Osamu recovered some mana!

…

' _What just happened?_ ' Hikari was slowly drifting towards the largely inactive robot, careful not to get too close to any of the drifting mana-leeching orbs.

"Holy_armor_at_ninety-five_percent." The robot reported. "Point_blank_execution."

' _Maybe this wasn't a good idea…_ '

The robot's legs folded in, and from the shoulders extended two large swords. It then spun around in place, only diverging from its simple circle when it was thrown off by the uneven force of the swords as it spun.

Hikari leapt away from the blade storm, watching it. ' _Deadly, but very easy to predict…_ '

Osamu grinned. "Nevermind, I think I uh… I think I know how to get myself some mana!"

Osamu tried PSI Magnet α!

The rectangles of energy shot towards the Hakurei Exterminator, traveling up its body before shooting back to Osamu.

But Hakurei Exterminator had no mana!

"...What gives?" Osamu sighed in frusteration.

One of those orbs floated near him, and drained the rest of his mana.

"F-fuck, dude…"

He ran up to it and punched it.

Bam!

He was thrown to the floor by the mana blast. "Geez!"

Marigold began shooting at some of the mana leeching orbs, to clear up some of the room. Unfortunately, the orbs were immune to magical damage, absorbing the danmaku as it neared, instead.

"Annoying…" Marigold hissed. "Hikari, can you do something about all these orbs?"

"Maybe." Hikari paused. "Would it be worth it, though? It can probably make more."

Osamu tried PSI Magnet α!

Marigold ignored the rectangles running up her body and back to Osamu.

Osamu recovered some mana!

"Alright, here!"

Osamu tried PK Thunder ß!

Thwaa~sh!

Bam!

The robot was struck, jittering and flashing violently.

Thwaa~sh!

A random mana mine was struck, which absorbed the entire bolt effortlessly.

"That thing's weak to magic!" Osamu noted. "We just gotta find a way to beat the shit out of it!"

Marigold reached into her backpack for something...

' _My energy's kinda low, but…_ ' Hikari focused on the Hakurei Exterminator, closing her eyes.

Hikari tried PK Fantasy α!

The technicolor storm began.

Fizzle!

The mines intercept numerous sparks of energy, but some still break through and hit the robot.

Fizzle!

Most of the mines were pushed to the floor by the sheer amount of particles striking them, but most of them were perfectly fine otherwise.

Hikari opened her eyes.

Bwaa~sh!

The raw blast of psychic energy pushed all the mines to the farther reaches of the room. They slowly drift back up…

Marigold grins as she kneels, standing a bottle rocket up. "Alright! Clear the way!"

Osamu and Hikari stand clear…

"I hope this works…" She mutters, twisting the side component and removing some plastic wrapping from the bottom…

As she does so it begins shaking and she hastily aims it into place-

Fwooosh!

Marigold jumps back from the rocket, startled.

It flies into the Hakurei Exterminator, and explode on contact, a small burst of mana and star-shaped danmaku searing the exposed flesh and denting the metal.

Boom!

"V-Virus_Detected…" The Hakurei Exterminator's joints sparked a bit, and it shook lightly.

"There we go!" Osamu pumps his fist, grinning.

"E-Exterminate…" The robot raised its gatling gun, and pointed it at Hikari.

' _Let's not do that!_ '

The gatling gun began revving up, and Hikari began running to the right to try and avoid it. She stopped briefly to grab Akyuu, who was wide-eyed but otherwise unreactive to the situation.

"H-Hikari…"

...Chaka...Chaka...ChakaChakaChakaChaka-

The robot rotated slowly, too slowly to keep up with Hikari, its gun drifting to the right as Hikari dashed behind it.

The bullets struck numerous anti-magic mines, causing them to explode.

Bam! Boom! Bam!

Osamu tried PSI Magnet α!

Once more, he summoned rectangles to steal mana from Marigold, who hardly noticed, too lost in thought to care.

He paused. "Y'know…"

Osamu tried Offense Up α!

Marigold felt confidence well up inside her!

She began opening fire randomly. "Yeaa~h!"

Between the gatling gun fire, NF Burst Gun fire, mines exploding, and Marigold yelling, the all the sounds started to blend together into one big storm of violence and pain.

"Fuck, me…" Osamu covered his ears.

' _This got really loud, really fast. My ea~rs…_ '

Hikari glanced at the sizzled flesh of Captain Man in various places, and saw the various bloodied metal bits that attached the bionic components to his flesh.

' _...He's not dead yet, is he?_ ' She wasn't certain. ' _I wonder…_ '

Hikari tried Lifeup ß!

Captain Man's flesh began healing, the burnt parts reconstructing once more. Then, some flesh began growing _over_ the previously exposed metal, presumably also growing under and inside it.

The gatling gun continued firing, but stopped advancing, instead jittering back and forth.

Captain Man, for the first time since the battle started, took a deep breath.

"B-Biotic...control_at...forty-four percent." The robotic tone crossed over with Captain Man's natural voice. "I… I'm a-alive!"

He noticed Marigold going apeshit with her NF Burst Gun.

"...Even here, little brats with stupid weapons. The old fat man must have sent me to hell, he did…"

Marigold eagerly ran up and kicked him in the shin, accomplishing both fuck and all.

"...T-that blasted, _bastard_ son of mine! I will dig my way out of this fresh, new hell to give that disgrace a piece, of, my, mind!" His token anger returned in full force, his face growing red as a tomato.

Flesh began growing into the gatling gun arm, and into the arm that shot the anti-magic mines. From there, however, the advancement began slowing…

Hikari tried Lifeup ß!

The advancement continued.

"Biolo-B...Biological_overrun." The machine stated. "Incendiary_measures_mandated…"

The shoulders and knees burst into flames, causing Marigold to jump back and fire at them feverishly.

"A-and now, f-fire! Fire! Ah, hell! Anything but hell!"

The flames ran up Captain Man's body, in an effort to combat the healing that was being undergone.

' _No you don't!_ ' Hikari was sweating from the mental strain…

Hikari tried Healing ß!

The fire went out in a flash, and the four joints lit again, but the flesh around those areas were already depleted to the point nothing lit.

The healing slowed…

Man looked around, unable to move himself still. "...Now I appear to be extra-rare. Not that it matters, because I apparently have large metal arms, it seems. All the better to avenge myself with!"

"Osamu! Freeze those flame things!" Hikari exclaimed.

Man sighed. "I even get to hear the voice of the accursed Hakurei down here. I always _knew_ they were demons…"

' _I hate you, too. What Porky did is still far from right, though._ '

"I'm shit outta mana!" Osamu argues.

"Find some, then!"

He nodded, cracking his knuckles…

Osamu tried PSI Magnet α!

He stole some mana from Marigold, and readied himself for his next action.

Osamu tried PK Freeze ß!

…

But nothing happened!

"How much does that even cost…?" He grumbled to himself. "I need mana potions or some shit!"

He looked to his hands, then he looked to the remaining mines on the left.

"Fuck that slow ass, dinky mana stealing spell!"

Osamu tried Offense Up α!

He rolled up his sleeves, again, because they rolled down themselves earlier. "It's time to punch some motherfuckin' mines!"

He ran up to one, crouched, and punched it.

Boom!

"...Ow." He got back up from a few feet away, and went to the next mine, kicking it.

Blam!

"...Shit." He rubbed his leg, and continued. He then tripped, and fell into three mines that were still low from Hikari's previous PK Fantasy.

"Oh, fu-"

Bam! Boom! Kaboom!

...Osamu unsteadily stood up, grinning. "A-anyone see the youkai who clotheslined me…?"

Man chuckled. "Well, I guess hell can't be _that_ bad, if I get to see the fallen dishonored bloody themselves with explosives."

Osamu tried PK Freeze ß!

The spell succeeded, with the combined mana that leaked from all the mines he threw himself at.

KaKa-KaKaKling!

Captain Man's body was subject to rapid freezing and thawing, which froze multiple flame ports, leaving only one open.

"Now I'm being frozen!... Quite preferable to fire, actually. Carry on, demons, carry on."

"Do it again." Hikari requested.

"Freaking…"

Osamu tried PK Freeze ß!

…

But it failed!

"I can't!" Osamu shouted back.

"Ugh…" Hikari groaned. "...Marigold, can you do something about that last flame thing?"

Marigold stopped drilling into Captain Man's chest with danmaku fire, looking over at Hikari eagerly. "You _bet_ I could!"

She runs over to the flame port, legs moving faster than she can carry herself, and she unloads into it.

PoPoPoPoPop!

After a few seconds of sustained fire and rapid trigger-mashing, the port sizzled out, fried by the amount of mana and energy that was going through its circuits and machinery.

' _Alright…_ '

Hikari tried Lifeup ß!

"O-oh, my…" Man felt the sensation of healing continue. "I never knew being dead was such a _tingly_ experience!"

Captain Man's flesh continued growing, and it grew onto the ice in some places, and over the one shorted flame port.

His head itself thawed out quickly, though. "Incendiary measures...offline. System_compromised. S-self_destruct e-engaged…"

' _Self destruct?_ ' Hikari wondered.

Osamu jerked his head back. "Self destruct?"

Man blinked. "Hmm… self destruct?"

Marigold's eyes widened. "S-self destruct?" All her vigor from before was gone, and she began running in the opposite direction. "Self destruct!"

Osamu saw her panic, and began running towards the door with her. "Self destruct!?"

Man's face was heating up. "S-self destruct!?"

Marigold nodded hastily. "Self destruct!"

Hikari was confused. ' _What exactly does that mean? He's just going to destroy himself, then, isn't he? Why're they running?_ '

Marigold noticed Hikari's hesitation to follow, and gestures to the door exaggeratedly. "Self. Des. Truct!"

Hikari began walking towards the door, carrying Akyuu, only for Marigold to run up to her and begin pushing her along to move faster.

When they got outside the door to the room, Marigold slammed it shut, and sighed. "...We escaped."

Akyuu was curious. "...I take it self destruct is a bad thing, somehow?"

"I have no idea." Hikari confesses.

"Me either." Osamu agrees, despite being terrified by the prospect of it. "I was just following Marigold."

KABOOM

Hikari crouches, closes her eyes, and covers her ears, the sudden movement, vibration, noise, and what sounded like metal striking the wall startling her fiercely.

...Opening her eyes, she sees Akyuu on the floor, rubbing her head and looking at her slightly crossly.

' _...Sorry about that?_ ' Hikari grins sheepishly.

She looks up to survey the hallway…

...It's not _exactly_ a hallway anymore.

' _W-woah…_ '

Numerous sections of wall were missing, with tiny holes in other places presumably made by deadly shrapnel that shot from the Hakurei Exterminator once it exploded.

Osamu looked around frantically. "...Holy shit! Did-... Did anyone else feel that?"

Marigold glared at him. "What do you _think?_ Of course we felt that!"

Hikari slowly walked around a section of wall and looked around it, at the room…

The giant swivel chair, which had been pushed to the side of the room for the entire battle, was now completely absent. The ceiling was gone, and a hunk of flesh and metal that once was Captain Man sat against the door, the pile completely unrecognizable.

' _D-disgusting…_ ' Hikari winced at the sight.

Osamu looked around the corner, too. "...Wow. Hard day at the barracks, huh?"

Hikari glared at him. ' _Not funny._ '

Marigold was up next, having to walk past the other two to get a proper look. "What're you two so worked up ov-..."

She saw the pile of flesh and metal.

"By the elements, we just killed a man." Marigold noted. "A-alright, uhm… None of us saw anything. None of us were here."

"Agreed." Osamu nodded. "Infact, tell the town guard I didn't exist, period. My new name is Rusty, and I was born on a barn."

Hikari didn't say anything, still a bit shaken.

Akyuu walked in, having to walked past Marigold. She glanced at the pile of metal and flesh, before glancing back at the party. "...I've never seen _that_ much gore up close and personal, before. Revolting, but curious."

...The three look to her questioningly.

"I-I mean…" She sighed. "Nevermind."

"You saw nothin'." Osamu assured.

"Not a single thing. You kicked that Pork kid in the crotch, that's your story." Marigold told her.

Hikari turned towards them. "...When did we become street thugs?"

Osamu grinned. "When we turned the Captain to a flesh slushy, with extra iron!"

Akyuu smiled. "...Don't worry. We all saw Porky do that himself, right?"

Marigold paused, then smiled. "Yeah, we did. Horrible, yeah?"

Osamu caught on. "Yeah, that Porky dude's an asshole."

Smiling, Hikari nodded. "I agree with this recounting of events."

…

Maid B, now thawed out and ready for action, ran into the room. "Master Porky! I-..."

The four turned towards her.

Akyuu looked her in the eyes.

Maid B paused. "...A-Akyuu, I...M-master Porky…"

Akyuu sighed. "Poor thing."

Hikari tried Hypnosis α!

Energy rippled around the maid…

…

Thud. She was out like a light, unable to combat the hypnosis in her confusion.

Akyuu blinked. "...I suppose it was too much for her."

' _Definitely._ '

She turned to Hikari. "...I can't thank you enough, Hikari. I thought my number was finally up, today."

' _Was Porky threatening to kill her?_ '

...Akyuu takes notice of Hikari's worried expression. "...I don't think I was _supposed_ to be in any danger, but… considering certain circumstances, I find myself fortunate."

' _...Weird way of saying things, but okay._ ' Hikari shrugs.

"That was suspiciously vague." Marigold pointed out. "You seem to know more than you let on."

Akyuu sighed. "I want to tell her when she's ready. Is that so hard?"

' _You what?_ '

"...Though, with that said… let us meet in the garden, or what's left of it, anyway."

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

The four sat at a garden table, ruined shrubs all around them.

"What a mess…" Akyuu reflected, sipping tea she acquired along the way.

Hikari decided to push things along. "What do you have to tell me?"

…

"Alright, then. No time like the present." Akyuu sips her tea.

…

She sips it again.

"Quit foolin' around!" Osamu slams the table.

"Ae! Right, right!" Akyuu jumps, and Hikari glares at Osamu.

"...Almost every Child of Miare before me has died around the age of thirty." Akyuu told her. "...I happen to be in my late forties."

…

' _Oh. O~h. Oo~h._ '

"For at least ten years now, the preparations for my reincarnation have been in place. I even had to cut a deal with the Yama two years ago, pertaining to this unique circumstance."

"...So you're supposed to be _dead_ , is what you're sayin'..." Osamu tilts his head.

Akyuu sighs. "Yes, I was supposed to suffer an untimely death many years ago, but it seems fortune has been vastly on my side for some time. The deal we recently cut was that if I hit fifty, a shinigami will be sent to kill me."

Hikari frowns. "I won't let them, then."

"I'm afraid it doesn't work like that, Hikari. It won't be a struggle, it will simply be a departure. The Yama and I had a deal, it all has to do with the timing of Hakurei births and the timing of my next reincarnation… and how fast the Yama herself can go through the truckloads of paperwork involved in the ordeal. I've actually seen it before… you wouldn't believe the amount of paperwork."

"But, if you had a deal, then-"

"I'm pretty sure the shinigami are more painless than any form of suicide." Akyuu tells her. "...I think they've got special execution methods, or it may be something in their scythes. I don't really know, but the Yama told me it would be painless should the time eventually come. I hope it does come to that, both so I can see you grow just a little bit more, and because I'd really rather not have a painful, untimely death like I've suffered before."

' _Right. She remembers all her previous lives…_ '

…

"If we are done here, I believe I'll be off to find one of my shelter rooms. Wait this whole mess out, since my staff are both unreliable and largely absent, right now… Don't think too hard on things, okay, Hikari?"

Akyuu got up, and left the garden.

…

"That was probably something important..." Marigold nodded slowly. "...but I have no idea who she is."

"...Just an old friend." Hikari summarized, smiling sadly. "Things change, don't they?"

' _We might not have talked all too much, but still… That sucks._ '

Osamu nods, thinking. "Tell me about it."

"Mmm…" Marigold has a brief recollection, but shakes it off.

Never let it be said that teenagers didn't dislike change.

' _...She's right, I shouldn't think too hard on it. It's sudden, and it sucks, but I still have things to do. I can come back here when we've chased Porky out of town._ '

"...Let's get going." Hikari announces. "Porky's probably still hanging around the town somewhere, waiting for us to split."

Her party members nod, and the begin making their way out of the mansion…

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

The commotion of the evening was dying down. After Hikari and company left the manor, they found what was essentially the entirety of the town guard strewn about in various states of injury on the floors of the town's streets. Shattered walls and armor parts were almost everywhere.

Hikari smiled awkwardly. "...Keine's been busy, huh?"

"No foolin'." Osamu nodded at the destruction. "...Glad I didn't go for the town guard. Geesh. We got kids makin' cyborgs outta their fuckin' dads, then we get literally run over by a single youkai."

Marigold yawned. "It'd be great if we found somewhere to rest for the evening. I think Keine can wait until morning, at this rate."

Hikari paused. ' _Where to go… I mean, we could crash at Keine's house, but I don't know if this transformation's just a full moon thing or not. I think they said it was. Akyuu's mansion still has hostile maids and things roaming around, so that would be bad._ '

"...How 'bout we crash at my place?" Osamu offers. "Well… what _was_ my place, anyway."

Marigold blinks. "You had a house, here?"

He nods. "Yeah. Inheritance, and all. C'mon, I'll show ya."

Navigating through the streets filled with fallen guards and somewhat disgruntled villagers, whom were cleaning up after said fallen guards, the party made it to…

"Tadaa~h!" Osamu swings his door open. "Feast your face!"

…

' _Three rooms._ ' Hikari noted. ' _Two of them don't even have anything._ '

"The place isn't locked, 'cause my dad didn't leave me a key, and I got tired of crawling in that hole in the wall over there." He pointed to a small hole in the main room, that was otherwise obstructed by fence on the outside. Osamu's outer yard was almost entirely fenced in and was just a patch of dirt.

"...Wow. I mean, I wasn't expecting much compared to the places I've lived, but… this is, uh…" Marigold grinned at the house, amused. "It's cute."

Osamu smiled. "Yea~h! Cute! That's good, right?"

Hikari gave herself a full tour of the house in ten seconds, opening three doors in the process. ' _At least there's two beds in one of these rooms. Probably one for him, and one for his father._ '

In the back room, there was a single, bland table. The main 'living room' had no furniture to speak of. There were no lights, so the whole house was relatively dark, only illuminated by the torch-lit lampposts outside in the village streets. They shined in through the two windows shoehorned onto the front of the house.

' _This place really didn't need windows. It does not feel like a secure place to live._ ' Her shrine didn't have any real windows, now that she thought about it, except for her room. ' _Actually, why does my room have a window? Not that it matters, since I've had no problems with it, but now that I think about it…_ '

Probably something to do with shrine grounds, she figured.

Osamu clambered into his own bed, which had no covers and was just a slightly torn mattress with a pillow. It had sheets of a vague description, but they were halfway off it. "G'night, guys..."

Out like a light.

Marigold blinked. "I wish I could get to sleep that easily…"

…

"H-hey! He only left us one bed!" Marigold realized, slightly irritated.

"Would you honestly want to sleep in his?" Hikari argued, gesturing to its state of disrepair.

Marigold furrowed her brows, looking at it… "I-...I guess not. Darn."

His father's bed next to him was untouched, and relatively pristine by comparison.

"...That one I feel bad about getting into." Marigold clutched her arm.

Hikari sighed. "I don't think it's doing any good just being untouched and gathering dust. I can't speak for his father, but I don't think he'd want the, like, _third_ possession his son owns to go untouched."

Marigold nodded. "I guess you're right…"

She slipped into the identically sized but much better kept bed adjacent to Osamu's.

"...I can't sleep, but I'm tired." Marigold announces to the dim room. "Help."

…

Hikari tried Hypnosis α!

"Th-thanks…" Marigold drifted to sleep.

Hikari blinked, her eyes growing heavy from the mental strain…

' _She's going to be out for awhile, and I refuse to use a table._ '

Hikari scoots Marigold aside and flops over onto the bed.

"A-ah…"

' _Sweet release…_ '

…

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: MARIGOLD'S VIEW ====

' _C-cold…_ '

Marigold's eyes blink open in the dim morning light of a particularly cloudy day.

' _Cold as it always is…_ '

...She feels for her blankets, but finds none. She looks around in her bed, and finds no blankets.

Now fully awake, she sits up. "What…?"

She looks to the sleeping form of Osamu, who had rotated ninety degrees in his bed in his sleep, apparently.

...She looks off the right side of the bed, and sees Hikari on the floor, rolled up in the entire blanket.

' _Blanket hog._ '

Stretching, Marigold looks around…

' _Nobody seems to be up yet, and I have nothing to do…_ '

She gets up, and moves to the lone table in the house where she deposited her backpack. Reaching into it, she rummaged through it randomly.

' _This Slime Generator is borderline useless as it is now, the Air Gun has no useful ammo at the moment, and that Counter-PSI Device is more of a hazard to my friends than our enemies for the most part. Hnngh…_ '

...Slipping the backpack on and glancing at her still-asleep party, she decided to explore the perimeter.

' _Might as well take a look around. I'm sure they'll come looking for me when they wake up, provided I don't go too far…_ '

Walking outside, she noticed the town was marginally more clean that earlier, but the buildings were still pretty much as smashed as last night. The injured guards and shattered armor parts were probably the easy part of the cleanup…

' _I almost want to rummage through that cyborg's pile of parts back at that one mansion, but the amount of blood kinda makes it not worth it._ '

Marigold traveled to the town square, where she saw the stalls beginning to be setup.

"Someone ate all the priceless snack crackers!" A bald, bearded man yelled. "I-I've… been robbed! Guards! Gua~rds!"

He ran into the square, and walked into some other villager with stock-standard brown hair. "Hey, dude, watch it. For all we know, the guards were the ones who took your stupid youkai crackers."

The bald man recoiled, as if hurt. "Y-youkai crackers!? Wh-why, I'll have you know, those are priceless consumables distributed only by the Yakumo clan!"

"Which is why they're youkai crackers." The generic everydude shakes his head, walking away. "No one wants to buy expensive youkai crackers. Go feed them to the ones outside the walls, or something."

"S-sir…!" The bald man reaches out to him, but stops. "...Deplorable. Absolutely deplorable! Even the Hakurei bought from my stall the other day, and I get repaid with- ooh… actually, that makes a lot of sense, now that I think about it…"

He walks back behind his stand and drops his head on the desk, which seems to have been lousily reconstructed with nails and two-by-fours since the previous evening.

' _...I almost feel bad for him. Almost._ '

Marigold tore her attention from the shattered stand, and looked over the rest of the stands. Her eyes stopped on a blue one, which had a hole in its back wall. A bunny girl was hastily repairing it with blue panels, which didn't totally fit but Marigold supposed it was better than haphazard two-by-fours.

She walked up to the counter, intrigued. ' _A bunny girl, in this den of apparent prejudice? Curious…_ '

Marigold walks up to the counter, and rings the little metal bell.

Ding!

The bunny girl jumps. "H-hya~h!"

Her arms shoot up, the flimsy blue panels flying into the air and floating everywhere.

' _...Wall material._ ' Marigold observed.

The bunny girl turns around and notices Marigold… "A-ah… Hello! Please excuse the disrepair to the stand…"

Marigold nods. "Mmm…"

"...What would you like to buy?" The girl smiles.

…

' _What does she even sell?_ ' Marigold saw a cross on the top of the stand, which may have meant…

' _Holy… things?_ ' She guessed. ' _...It'd… probably be better if I asked._ '

"What, uh, do you sell here?" Marigold questioned.

The bunny girl blinked. "O-oh, you're new, aren't you? O-or maybe you just never bought here before… eheh…" She scratched the back of her head. "Anyway, we sell medicines here. My name is Reisen."

Marigold's eyes shot up from the counter. ' _Reisen!? The one with the guns?_ '

She placed her hands on the counter. "I would like to talk with you about guns."

Reisen blinked. "...I-I'm sorry?"

"That rabbit- Tewi, I think- she told me you were a good person to go to for guns." Marigold leaned closer, propping herself on the desk a bit to do so. "I happen to have guns."

...Reisen nodded slowly. "...A-alright. Come around the back, then, I guess. It wouldn't be good if we talked about uh, guns, in the middle of the town plaza…"

Slightly weirded out, she moves to the back door and goes through it.

' _...Did I come on too strong? I think I did…_ '

Marigold followed her into the back door, moving around the counter to do so.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

After a few moments of silence, Reisen nodded slowly. "...So, uh… you wanted to talk about-"

"Guns." Marigold nodded. "Yes."

…

Marigold slid off her backpack, and opened it. "Would you happen to know of a magazine that's dynamic enough to work with, uh… this thing?" She takes out her Air Gun. "Or something similar, at least? I could probably make it work. Somehow."

Reisen takes it, and examines it… "...This thing can't take magazines. It's a toy gun."

Marigold rolls her eyes. "Don't give me that- look…" She takes the Air Gun back, and removes the grip. "I used these chip bags as magic conductors, and I _used_ to store zombie fairy fingers in this grip. They'd travel up the bags and to a stone that shot a single powerful danmaku pellet, but it costed fairy fingers. Problem is, I can't really get more fingers."

…

"Wh-...what the hell?" Reisen's eyebrows raise. "That-that _works?_ I'm almost eighty percent positive that, uh… guns can't and shouldn't work like that."

Marigold sighs. "You got anything magical in here? Like, just a basic source sorta thing. Anything like-"

"We have mana restoration supplements, if that counts…" Reisen interjects. "Both in syrup and pill form."

Marigold narrows her eyes. "Purely magical, or are they some chemical cocktail?"

Reisen blinks. "...Well, they're what one might call a 'mana potion', if that's what you mean. Yes, they're, uh, 'chemical cocktails'."

Marigold shakes her head. "No good. Probably. It doesn't have to be strictly mana restorative or affecting, just something that's very basic and magical in nature."

Reisen nods. "...We~ll, we _used_ to sell Magic Pellets, but no one ever asked us for them- being a medicine store and all- and we ended up selling that patent to a private company."

' _This place has private companies?_ ' Marigold would believe it when she saw it. "Nevermind. Look, all I need is, like, a block just stuffed full of residual mana or something. Something _lathered_ in the stuff."

Reisen shakes her head. "Nothing like that here, I'm afraid. You'd have better luck down the road."

Marigold raises a brow. "Down the road?"

Reisen blinks. "O-oh, right, you're new, or something. Uhh- it's the Kirisame second-hand magic goods shop. The owner's a nice guy, sort of. To girls, anyway."

…

' _It would be. Wait, 'guy'?_ '

Marigold nodded. "A-alright, then… Thanks for the help."

Reisen smiled. "Any time."

With that, Marigold got up and left the stall.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

She almost regretted forgetting to ask for directions, but when she saw the big sign with the stars, moons, and wizard hat, Marigold kinda knew _exactly_ where to look.

A small chime sounded as Marigold swung open the door, entering the marginally stuffy shop.

' _About as I expected, really._ ' She looked at the various knickknacks the shop had with a mix between repulsion and curiosity.

She paused during her impromptu browsing. ' _An entire shelf dedicated to empty spell tomes. Why…?_ '

"Eh? Ah? Who's there? Them damn ghosts ringing the doorbell again? Or s'it the wind?" The grouchy voice of a old man sounded from the side of the shop.

' _...Charming._ ' Marigold awkwardly approached the desk.

"...Yeah, hello." Marigold began, a hand on her hip. "I was wondering-"

"Oo~h! You's a Magi, girl!?" The old man questioned, excited suddenly.

"W-well, maybe?" Marigold was startled by the sudden outburst from him.

"Aa~h, just kiddin'... I know you are! I might be gettin' old, but I can read a mana pool like that from a mile away! Damn!"

' _Ahah…_ ' "Right, well-"

"Marcus. Marcus Kirisame. Nice to meet'cha." He holds out his hand.

Reluctantly, Marigold shakes it. "...You too."

"Hahaha! Alright, girl… whaddaya need?"

"...I'd like a small, heavily charged magical block."

He blinks. "...That all?"

She nods.

"...The hell'd you even come out here for, then? I'm sure you could do it yourself, like-" He tries snapping his fingers rapidly, but fails after the third or fourth. "Like-" He tries again, failing around the same point. "...You get the picture!"

' _Hmm…_ ' "W-well, it's part of a, uh, thing I'm working on and…"

He tilts his head.

' _Quick, what status aliments prevent a magician from calling on their mana…!?_ '

"Uhm, I got syphoned really bad recently. Like, big syphon."

Old man Kirisame's expression softens. "Oh, no shit? I got a status restoration potion right-"

"Big syphon." Marigold restates.

"Deluxe status restoration-"

" _Bi~g_ syphon." Marigold insists. "Like, I got smacked by a talisman, like, _this_ big." Marigold held her arms out as wide as she could.

"Holy…" Old man Kirisame puts a hand on his forehead. "...Let me guess, was it that Hakurei miko? Maybe her daughter?... She has a daughter, right? Hika… Hikaru, was it?"

' _Hikaru._ ' Marigold stares at Marcus dryly. "...Yeah. She did it."

He shakes his head solemnly. "Aah… Nothing I can do about that. You'll have to appraise to the Hakurei miko herself. Her seals are serious shit. I mean, I _could_ break 'em for ya… but lets just say it'd cost ya extra! Hehaha!"

' _...Let's not._ ' Marigold nodded slowly at the old man. "...I think I'd like that single block. Make it big enough to stand up a little in my hand but still fit in the palm."

He nods. "Alright, alright. Look- I'm not even gonna charge you for this one. Both 'cause I feel bad that the Hakurei syphoned the shit outta ya, but also 'cause I can tell you got an eye for magic wares! Specifically, mine! Hehaha!"

' _Can he stop laughing like a lunatic?_ '

A magic circle forms in his hand, and a small block of wood is erected in the palm of his hand. From there, he focuses on it, and it glowed brightly for a moment, before fading back to appearing normal.

"How much magic you want in it?" He asked.

"All of it." Marigold told him.

"Hah! Seriously, though…"

"...Enough to make it glow, I guess." Marigold shrugged.

Old man Kirisame gave her an incredulous look, before proceeding to charge the block further. It slowly glowed a bright, pale purple color, the light growing to a point that Marigold had to look at it only indirectly.

Once it was done, the light flashed out, and the block had a pale green glow to it.

"Here ya are." He smiles, handing her the block. "On the house. Just remember to come back, ya hear?...With money, preferably."

"Thanks." Marigold offhandedly added, before making her escape from the stuffy store.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Marigold closed the door to Osamu's house.

"E-ehn…" Hikari stirred slightly in her tri-layer blanket cocoon.

Marigold moved over to the single table, sat her backpack down nearby, and took out the Air Gun. Laying it down on the table, she took off the grip, and shoved the block inside.

' _It's going to rattle a bit, but it'll be fine. Better to be a little small than too large. Small is easier to fix._ ' Marigold knew from experience. ' _Especially concerning keyholes…_ '

She clicked the grip back on, and walked to the back door.

' _This place has a back yard, doesn't it?_ '

She opened it, and went outside…

…

She was stopped by a fence about two feet from the door. It was so close she couldn't even open the door fully.

' _Here I thought the manor walls were prison-like. Geez…_ '

...She aimed the Air Gun up, and pulled the trigger.

Klack!

' _Satisfaction._ '

Marigold has obtained unlimited ammo for the Air Gun!

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIKARI'S VIEW ====

Klack!

"Wh-whah…" Hikari twitched in bed, startled by the loud noise.

' _What was that…?_ '

She tried to move, but found herself unable to.

Looking down at the multiple blanket layers she wrapped herself in, she realized why. ' _...I'm stuck!_ '

Klack! Klack!

"What the fuck…?" Osamu rolled out of bed, and onto the floor.

Thud.

"Who the hell's buildin' a stupid house at like two in the morning…?" Osamu dizzily got up, rubbing his eyes and walking towards the back door…

' _It's not two. The sun is very clearly up._ ' Hikari noted. "H-help…"

Osamu didn't hear Hikari's quiet plea for help in the blanket pod, instead moving towards the back yard…

He walked outside, and into the fence.

"...I keep forgetting that." He stepped back, and saw Marigold.

"...Hello." Marigold greeted him. "I was doing some hunting on your luscious estate."

He was too busy taking note of the sun, however. "Dude! Turn off that light…!"

…

Marigold turned to the sun, and started shooting.

Klack! Klack!

...Hikari tried wiggling her limbs again, but was firmly trapped.

"...H-help!"

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

It took a small war and two fatalities, but Osamu was now fully woken up, Hikari was freed from her soft prison, and Marigold got her backpack together.

"Where to next?" Osamu asked the moment they stepped out the door, looking around eagerly.

' _...I'm not entirely certain, to be honest._ ' Hikari thought for a moment… ' _That's right! What happened to Keine!?_ '

Hikari started walking towards Keine's house, the two party members following her.

Marigold grinned. "Never will we know exactly where we're going, apparently."

Hikari observed the village's state of disrepair as she moved through it, and the peculiar absence of guards on the village pathways. Instead, there was an occasional unarmored villager with a sword or something just standing about, one or two per street, and they seemed to change hands often.

' _It seems like the entire town guard is absent..._ '

Eventually, they made it to Keine's house, and Hikari found the town guards.

All of them.

Next to Keine's house was what looked like every town guard, between Destroyers and priests to archers and officers, all tied up with one big rope, with suspiciously big welts on their foreheads. Some temple monks stood guard over the large roundup around it.

' _...Oh._ ' Hikari nodded. ' _Apparently the town guard lost, then._ '

Osamu smiled…

"Aa~hahahaha! Oo~h, holy shit! W-what the fuck…!"

He fell over, pointing at the guard roundup. "Du~de, that's mint…!"

Marigold chuckled at Osamu's reaction.

' _...I think Keine's alright._ '

Hikari proceeded to Keine's door, and walked inside.

Inside, Keine and Marisa sat at the strategy table, which was now clear of strategic maps, folders, and other assorted elements Hikari didn't very much care about to make room for tea.

Marisa noticed them. "Oh, there you guys are! Didja find that tubby kid?"

...No one spoke up, and Hikari realized she was going to be doing the talking. "A-ah, yes and no."

"Say wha~?" Marisa tilted her head.

"We found him in Akyuu's manor, like Keine said," Hikari began, "but he ran off before we could actually stop him."

Keine nodded. "I figured that would be the case. The town's guards are still brainwashed, so he must have some sort of… thing, for lack of a better word, active. I haven't a clue where he'd hide something of that power, though. If only his father were around to bring that criminal back to earth, or to rouse some sense into the guards…"

' _About that…_ ' "Mister Man has taken explosion-based work leave."

...Keine blinked. "You mean he quit?"

Marigold nodded… "In a way, you could say."

Osamu grinned. "We turned him into freakin' spaghettios!"

Marigold froze, and turned to glare at Osamu, elbowing him in the ribs. "Ow- hey!"

Grinning, Marisa tilted her head. "Didja fry him like that one armored dude outside the gate, ze?"

Nodding his head, Osamu continued. "No, even worse! The dude went fuckin' nuclear!"

Keine was beginning to look worried. "...You guys mean he got angry, right? As he is prone to?"

Hikari nodded. ' _Better not tell her…_ '

Contradicting Hikari's wishes, Osamu continued. "No, dude, he's dead. Not just dead, he's like, super dead. He's a pile of flesh, dude!"

…

"What happened!?" Keine finally yelled.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

END OF CHAPTER 10

Protagonist: Hikari Hakurei, Disciple of Paradise

-Inventory-

Weapon: Magical Gohei - Ability to whack stuff really hard. Amplifies whacking power, too! Able to deal magical damage. Critical hits enabled.

Arms: Iconic Hakurei Arm Sleeves - Keeps arms warm. A Hakurei tradition. How they stay on is a Hakurei family secret.

Body: Combat Miko Outfit - A black leotard and hakama combination worn by the previous-previous Hakurei miko. Designed to be suitable for excessive physical activity and close combat, it slightly improves physical combat prowess.

Misc: Yukkuri Ribbon - Looks like a bad Christmas ornament. Lime green, with yukkuri decals!

-Skills-

Attack: Quickly! Swing your gohei at them for massive damage!

PK Fantasy α, β - Bombards the enemy with pain in the form of flashing colors. Deals magical damage. Heavy mental strain that increases with each tier.

PK Flash α - A bright flash that distributes very random status effects to enemies. Usually makes people cry.

Hypnosis α, Ω - Puts weak enemies to sleep for a short time. Works better on tired or exhausted foes. Can also be used in a far more costly form that works on multiple opponents.

Shield α - Halves damage the target takes. Only works against physical attacks, and enough strikes, or powerful strikes, will dispel it.

Lifeup α, ß - Heals target a little. Higher tiers heal more grievous wounds, like bone fractures.

Healing α, ß - Heals basic status ailments. Higher tiers can cure more dire effects, like burning alive.

Ofuda Toss - Throw a holy ofuda that does massive holy elemental damage to youkai and dark elemental foes. Effect lessens the more holy the thing you're attacking is, to the point of healing holy things. Only works if you actually have ofuda, though.

β-β-β-β

Mage: Osamu Katsumi, the Wannabe Mage

-Inventory-

Weapon: Fisticuffs!

Arms: Nothing

Body: Worn Magician Robes - An old robe from the days when the village respected the medium of magic. Well past its due date, but still comfy!

Misc: Yukkuri Beanie - Resembles a really tacky tablecloth, made in the Yukkuri theme. Lime green and has tons of fun yukkuri decals!

-Skills-

PK Thunder α, ß - Very random thunder attack that deals limited damage. Higher tiers increase number of bolts, and sometimes power.

PK Hydro α, β - Gets everyone wet. Usefulness with PK Thunder and PK Freeze depends on whether you hit yourself or not! Creates whirling water spirals at higher tiers.

PK Freeze α, β - Generates ice crystals at the target's location. Medium damage and effect; may freeze some targets, especially wet ones.

Fireball - Manipulate mana to make a shoddy fireball. Low damage and effect.

Static Hands - Not a real spell. Result of a very undercharged PK Thunder that can accidentally go off.

PSI Telepathy α - Speak to friends you haven't met yet! Unstable connection and only works if they have the skill or are asleep.

PSI Shield α - Halves damage from magical and psychic attacks. Thunder spells fry it instantly, and harder blows dispel it.

PSI Magnet α - Costs no mana to use, and steals a very tiny amount of mana from the enemy. Enemy has to have mana in the first place for it to work, though.

Offense Up α - Get pissed! Boosts strength and confidence depending on caster's power and receiver's power.

β-β-β-β

Inventor: Marigold Knowledge, the Tri-Magi Love Child

-Inventory-

Weapon: NF Burst Gun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Uses a Pop Gun as the base, but amplifies its power with an array of random batteries jammed into the base with the Pop Gun. The more batteries, the better, but the typical yield is about five bullets per trigger. Spamming the trigger doesn't make it go any faster, unfortunately. Has no foreseeable ammo limit, and the batteries are only there for mana circulation, meaning their power is really inconsequential.

Arms: Nothing

Body: Custom Dress - A custom dress made by Alice. Provided slight defense against magical and psychic attacks.

Misc: Swirly Glasses - Lets Marigold not be blind.

Backpack - Allows extended inventory. Aged relic from the Kourindou.

Unnamed Lock Opening Device - Opens locks very precariously. Made with steel, burnt cloth, packaging peanuts, thumbtacks, string, and wooden wheels. Don't even ask…

Ruler - Lets you measure the world around you!

Protractor - Lets you find the angles of anything ever. Totally overpowered.

Deck of Cards - Allows Marigold to play Strip Poker with the party. Just kidding… or am I?

Stun Gun - Electrical device used to subdue harassers. Has settings ranging from Tickle Torture to Arse Blaster. Able to stun and inflict paralysis on certain foes. Deals electrical damage, and on the highest setting can fry shields, at the cost of temporarily shorting itself out.

Air Gun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Uses air to propel moderately powered danmaku particles at high speeds. Bland, but efficient. Filled with foil chip bags to conduct the mana, and it is transmitted into a wind stone. Recently upgraded to draw mana from a simple wooden block filled with immense magic reserves, giving it virtually unlimited ammo.

Holmes Brand Designer Hat - Village swag! A retro village hat that ceased production ten years ago. Sells for a pretty penny nowadays, but it's pretty useless otherwise.

Slime Generator - A bulky box that shoots a small splat of slime. Doesn't seem good for much.

Counter-PSI Device - A weird device Marigold found from a flying saucer. Works in strange ways, and seems to disrupt everyone's concentration. Marigold is immune to its effects.

-Skills-

Big Game Hunter - Only needs four square feet of land to do it, too!

Arachnologist - If she knew who Yamame was, they'd probably be friends. Probably.

The Magi With A Machinegun For A Head - Doesn't have to explain shit.

In Possession of a Peculiar Personal Enhancement - ...Take what you will from that.

Run and Gun - Ability to run up to things and shoot them in the _face_ when pissed.

β-β-β-β

Author's Note:

let's get fluffy.

in other news, fun chapter to write overall; osamu finally got some reasons to learn his OTHER SPELL THINGS that aren't strictly fucking shit up, but they're still not overwhelmingly useful despite being utilitarian

LOTS OF FIGHTING i'd like someone to tell me how interesting the fighting segments really can be- multiple people, infact (but NO ONE WILL except maybe my proof reader) hnngh

...and if anyone even reads this BLOODY THING

there's still going to be a lot because daz how earthbound was- freakin' bashing everything's skulls in

as always, see you all next time!


	11. Super Hakurei Sunshine

After a group huddle and a selectively truthful retelling of the previous evening's events, the party had rationalized the situation to Keine. They all sat around a medium-sized, strategic table. It just wasn't strategic at the moment, all of its previous maps and folders of documentation sat aside to make room for the company in the form of Hikari's party.

"I can't believe that boy would do something so deranged…" Keine shook her head. "He was always a problem child. I should've kept a better eye on him…"

' _I don't think there's a lot you could've done…_ ' Hikari considered. ' _He seems pretty screwed up._ '

Osamu shook his head. "I don't know 'bout that. He's sick in the head, dude, sick in the head."

' _Or that._ '

Marisa snorts. "Sick in the head, ze?"

Osamu nods. "Sick in the freakin' head."

Keine furrows her brows. "I wouldn't go that far…"

Marigold grins. "You're right. That'd be an insult to people with actual mental problems."

"Ooo~h! Bu~rn!" Osamu slapped his knee. "Hahaha~!"

Marisa grinned. "Ooo~h!"

Sighing and shaking her head, Keine gave Hikari a questioning look.

Hikari shrugged towards her, grinning. ' _It was funny._ '

After the merriment at Porky's expense settled, Hikari decided to ask the fun questions again.

"Magical places." She began, "Where could we find some?"

Keine blinked. "...Another?"

Hikari nodded. "Yes. We've kinda been on a goose chase lately. Anything you know could help."

"...I've already told you all I know." She explains apologetically, "I'd tell you more, but I'm sure I've told you last time, the term 'magical place' is very, very broad in a land like Gensokyo…"

Hikari nodded acceptingly. "Mmm. It's okay."

Marigold turned to Hikari. "Do you think Akyuu would know anything?"

' _That's right! We should visit Akyuu. She might even know something, too._ '

"...Yeah, she might. We should get going." Hikari decided, standing from her chair.

"Already?" Keine's brow rose.

"We're kinda in a hurry." Hikari replied.

' _That, and considering what Akyuu told us, I wouldn't want her to keel over the moment we leave her alone…_ ' She was suddenly paranoid that Akyuu would die sooner than she expected.

"That's why you raided a snack shop last night, ze." Marisa noted with a grin.

' _Uh…!_ '

Keine looked at Hikari with surprise. "...You really _are_ hanging out with the wrong people, aren't you?"

She looks over at Osamu hastily. "He really is a criminal, isn't he?"

Hikari frowned. "N-no, it's not like that…"

Keine stood up… but quickly sat back down. "...Well, I suppose nothing much can be done about it, now. Besides, if Marigold is alright with him, then there must be something that I'm missing."

Marisa freezes. "Y-you know who she is…?"

Keine slowly turns to her. "Yes. I'm not only a history teacher, but also an archivist. As such, I tend to listen to the things people say, and I happened to learn of your proverbial love child."

' _...In other words, gossip._ ' Hikari simplified. ' _Somehow._ '

Marigold took note of this, too. "Other… people?"

Keine nodded. "Well… a few weeks ago, a team of fairy maids came by on errands."

Marigold snapped her fingers. "Ooh, right! They sent Komi and Hana down here, didn't they?"

"That's right," Keine smiled. "Hana seems to have taken a liking to you."

"Mmm…" Marigold looked pleased.

' _Who?_ '

…

"Well, don't let me keep you three waiting. Go find your… magical place." Keine paused at how strange the situation seemed when she said it like that, but shook it off.

"Oh, we will, don't worry." Marigold let amusement slip into her voice.

The party began rising, and moved to leave. Marigold spared Marisa another disappointed glance, before leaving the house, followed by her other party members.

…

"...I still can't believe I never heard of her until a few weeks ago, but I'm sure you had your reasons." Keine addressed Marisa.

"How d'you know she's mine?" Marisa argued.

"...I asked more questions than what the fairies told me, obviously. It'd be foolish of me to take what little they told me at face value. Alice was more than cooperative to discuss everything with me."

"...Oh." Marisa gulped.

Keine stood. "Oh, I forgot…!"

"Ah?" Marisa tilted her head.

"That child has some sort of mind control mechanism in place. That's why the guard is still violent. I should have told Hikari to look out for it…" She turns to Marisa. "...You could track it down, couldn't you?"

Marisa sighs. "...Yeah. Gimme a minute, ze…"

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

The three began walking towards Akyuu's manor, side by side as they marched down the village streets.

"I'm hearin' a lotta extra stuff about my two favorite ladies!" Osamu announced once they were out of earshot of the house.

Hikari and Marigold looked at him curiously.

"Define 'favorite ladies'." Marigold neutrally asked.

' _I might rather he didn't._ '

"The two chicks I gotta freakin' save the world with." Osamu nonchalantly added. "Who else?"

"Favorite in what way?" Marigold slowed behind Osamu, and slowly raised her Air Gun…

"..." Osamu smiled nervously, unsure how to continue. "...They kick ass?"

Osamu turns and notices the Air Gun pointed at his face, but only for a moment. In one swift motion, Marigold hid it behind her back. "...I suppose I like that description."

' _That was probably the only way out of that situation._ ' Hikari grinned to herself.

They rounded the corner to the gates of Akyuu's manor, which were still unguarded and unkempt. A few villagers stood outside, a few with swords.

"D'you think she's alright…?" A man with brown hair questioned one of his fellows.

"Probably. I mean, she's Akyuu." The grey-haired, aged man dropped his shoulders. "Besides, I feel as though we have bigger problems. What the hell's wrong with the town guard, for one thing, and-"

"Dude, she's like, the chronicle person." The brown-haired village fellow made his counter-argument.

A short, blonde man with a mace and actual armor walked up to them. "He has a point, dude… Like, what would we do… without the chronicle person?"

The grey-haired man sighed, bowing his head. "You dumb fucks… Count me in, then." He raises his broadsword. "I don't know what we'll find inside… but we'll be ready for it. And I know the only reason you dolts want to do this, is because the chronicler's hot as hell."

The other men stare at him dumbfounded, their ruse exposed.

"...I agree, though. That's why I'm coming with you."

The men sigh in relief.

' _...Actually, we should come back later._ ' Hikari realized.

She turned to her party members. "We have to do something first."

Marigold furrowed her brows. "...Like? Are we just going to let those men run into the land of kung-fu maids alone?"

Hikari nodded. "We have to."

"We _have_ to." Marigold repeated.

"Mmm."

"...What do we _have_ to do?"

Hikari turned to Osamu. "Remember the last time we had to deal with brainwashing?"

Osamu paused. "...Zo~mbie fairies?"

' _You idiot._ ' Hikari glared at him. "The temple?"

"Oh, shit, right!" He nodded hastily. "Yeah, that's right. There was all that paint goop making people all loopy."

Hikari nodded, guiding him along. "Remember what we did to fix it?"

"...We beat up that weird statue thing."

…

"...There's another weird statue here!" Osamu blurted upon realization.

Hikari snorted. ' _About time you got it. At least, I would think there's another statue thing. Or the same one. I forget if we even destroyed the last one..._ '

"Weird statue?" Marigold questioned.

"Yeah," Osamu began, "It floated around and did weird shit. Like, it hit people."

Marigold stared at him. "...I'm sorry?"

"You'll see…" Osamu shook his head. "Shit's crazy."

' _Mmm…_ '

Hikari turned, and began for the one place she knew the statue would be…

Her party followed behind her, having gotten used to her rather abrupt and whimsical way of just moving to where she thought things would be going down.

"Where're we going, now…?" Marigold inquired. "Do you even know?"

"Mmm." Hikari hummed. "What's the one place Porky would hide a trump card?"

Osamu put a hand to his chin. "...The woods? That's where I would…"

' _Too smart._ ' Hikari shook her head.

"...In a generic shed, behind a bunch of buildings?" Marigold tried. "No one would ever find it."

' _Even smarter, which means no._ ' Hikari grinned.

"...How about his house?" Hikari smugly added.

' _It better actually be his house, or I'm going to look like a huge idiot._ '

"No fuckin' way." Osamu shook his head. "I know the guy's retarded, but he's not _that_ retarded."

"I think I have to agree." Marigold subtly bobbed her head back and forth, conflicted. "It's a bit of a stretch, honestly…"

' _We'll see…_ ' Hikari continued towards Porky's house…

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

She knocked on the door.

"...Rather average house for the captain." Osamu reflected. "Guess those things about his budget were true."

' _Budgets, huh._ ' Hikari didn't care about budgets. She reeled her gohei back, and smashed it into the door.

Bam!

Marigold winced. "...Hikari, we're entering someone's house, not raiding a castle!"

The door slowly fell inward, with a soft thud and it hit the floor.

"Now look what you've done." Marigold sighed.

' _...It's Porky's house._ ' Hikari mentally justified her door-brutality.

Barging inside, it didn't seem like anyone was home in the Man household.

Osamu looked around. "...Seems like a normal place to me."

Hikari continued through the living room into the kitchen, where there was also nothing.

"You should turn that spare room of yours into a kitchen." Marigold told Osamu. "...What do you even live off of?"

...Osamu grinned sheepishly. "I find ways."

' _I'd rather not know._ '

Hikari opened the door to Porky's room…

' _...Huh._ '

There sat the large golden statue, immobile in the middle of the room. A bed was clumsily perched atop it, and some pillows were placed at its base.

Osamu stepped in. "...You've gotta be fuckin' _jokin'_ me."

Marigold snickered at the sight. "Oh. Well…"

...Hikari walked up to it cautiously. "Um…"

She reeled her gohei back, and smacked the side of it.

Bo~ng!

' _Woah. Put too much force into that one…_ ' She rubbed her arm a bit.

The statue itself glowed lightly, protected by some sort of magic.

"Hikari, please…" Marigold stepped up to the statue. "Let me demonstrate how you _really_ solve these sorts of problems…"

Klack!

The bullet bounced off and hit a segment of walling. The statue shimmered lightly again.

"...Darn." Marigold frowned.

Osamu rolled his sleeves up. "Alright, ladies, let me show you how a man does it…"

Osamu tried Offense Up α!

He felt strength build up in his muscles!

"Oh, _yea~h_. It's _go_ time."

He reels his fist back, and punches the statue.

…

"Yeeoo~wch!" He grabbed his hand. "Holy _shit!_ Du~de…" He curls up, cradling his hand.

Hikari snorted. ' _What did you expect? It's made entirely out of metal!_ '

Marigold kicked it. "Take that."

' _We might actually need to use something relevant on it, here. I don't think all the kicking and punching in the world's going to make it move._ '

Osamu stuck his middle finger at it. "Dude, statue. I did your _mom_ last night. How you like that?"

The statue didn't do anything… because it was a statue.

Marigold shook her head. "Maybe we should…" She moved next to Osamu. "Actually. Attack. It?" To punctuate her point, she elbowed him with each word.

"Alright, alright, geez!"

Osamu stepped back, wiggling his hands a bit. "Let's do this…"

Osamu tried PK Thunder ß!

Thwaa~sh!

The bed was struck on the top, bursting into flames.

' _O~h, no. That's a fire hazard._ ' Hikari stepped towards the door as the fire spread to the roof. ' _A bi~g fire hazard._ '

Thwaa~sh!

The next bolt came through the roof itself entirely, blowing a hole in it as it struck the statue.

Bam!

The magic shield on it flickered brightly, before going out. The fire began staining the metal, and the statue started floating.

"Uhm…" Hikari opened the door to the room. "I think…"

The statue spun around in the air, a wild airstorm throwing the party to the walls, and Hikari out the door.

"Aaa~h!"

Thud.

' _O-oof…_ ' Couches, Hikari found, were not _that_ soft.

"We made it fuckin' angry, dude!" Osamu wailed, rushing out of the room.

Marigold was hot on his trail, aiming her gun at the statue and shooting.

Klack! Klack! Klack!

The bullets actually struck the metal, leaving small, fading stains of mana on the golden form of the statue which quickly faded away.

The statue burst through the door frame entirely, entering the kitchen.

Osamu stopped to tear out a shelf of utensils, and toss it at it.

They clattered uselessly against the metal.

' _Please be serious._ ' Hikari stared dryly at Osamu as he ran for the door to the living room, along with Marigold. Hikari followed behind them, and before long they had all made their way outside of the house.

Bam!

The walls behind them fell to the statue's movement, as it floated through them effortlessly. The Man residence was reduced to a flaming husk, the smoke billowing into the village's sky.

Villagers took notice of the flames, and began racing for buckets.

The statue hovered in the air, waves of mysterious energy emanating from it…

' _We're going to have to unload on it, I feel._ ' Hikari gripped her gohei tightly.

The statue tried Paralysis α!

Osamu's body locked up and numbed, and he fell to the floor.

Thud.

' _Here we go…_ '

Marigold's eyes widened at how quick her party member dropped. She aimed at the statue…

Klack! Klack!

The bullets didn't seem to do much, though, once again staining the metal.

Hikari tried Healing α!

Osamu shook his head rapidly, working off the numb sensation. "T-there…" Slowly, he began sitting up again…

"...Doing all the damage right about now would be great." Hikari ordered. "We'll just unload, alright, guys? That means bottle rockets, Mari."

Marigold blinked, and reached into her backpack…

Hikari turned to Osamu. "Try the lightning bolt one. I don't think ice did much last time."

"No problem." He grinned, charging his hands again…

'Now…' Hikari closed her eyes, focusing on the statue.

Marigold drew her bottle rocket and kneeled, aiming it at the statue…

Osamu tried PK Thunder ß!

Hikari tried PK Fantasy ß!

Marigold's bottle rocket flew towards the statue!

All the noises essentially became a deafening, roaring mess over one another. Technicolor energy bombarded the statue, danmaku from the bottle rocket pinged off it, and finally, electricity ran through it from the lightning bolts.

After all was said and done, Hikari kneeled. ' _A-ah…_ '

She looked up to the statue, which was now heavily dented, but still floating in the air, even if barely due to how uneven it was.

"That thing's tough…" Osamu stated the obvious.

"No way…" Marigold frowned at the large dent the bottle rocket left, unsatisfied that the opponent was still floating.

The statue glowed purple for a moment…

It tried PSI Magnet α!

Rectangles shot towards Osamu, did their thing, and filed back to the statue.

"Hey- what!? No!" He glared at the statue. "Give me back my mana, you asshole!"

The statue shook softly in the air, and then emitted a glorious light…

It tried PK Flash Ω!

Marigold collapsed…

Osamu collapsed…

' _W-what…_ ' Hikari began crying uncontrollably!

' _U-ugh…_ '

Hikari tried Healing α!

"T-there…" She wiped her eyes, then looked to her party members. "...Wow."

Hikari tried Healing α!

Nothing happened.

' _They must really be out of it, then…_ ' Truth be told, Hikari didn't know how far that healing actually went.

' _I h-have to end this, and fast…!_ ' Hikari backed up as the statue slowly floated closer to her…

Hikari tried PK Fantasy α!

She prayed this technicolor bombardment would be enough.

Fizzle!

The statue hung loosely in the air as it was illuminated by the many bright particles.

Fizzle!

Hikari glared at the statue.

Bwaa~sh!

Twirling in the air, the statue floated around without aggression, slowly drifting into the half-extinguished rubble behind it and lightly rebounding off it, floating into the air.

' _Is… is it still not dead?_ ' Hikari winced, her legs beginning to shake from her lack of energy…

"Look out below, ze! Watch yer heads!"

Hikari lethargically turned in the direction of the yelling, seeing Marisa flying unevenly, buckets of water hanging from her broom.

"Who put that stupid statue there!?" Marisa tried to swerve her broom to avoid it. "W-why is it floating!? What the hell, ze!?"

She flew into it, and the statue was shot into the ground, nearly harmlessly getting smashed out of the witch's' trajectory.

Thunk.

Meanwhile, Marisa was having trouble regaining control after all the swerving she tried to do. "No! Not the left! Go back to the right! No~!"

Bam!

Water splashed all over the road.

…

' _Good job._ ' Hikari dropped to her knees. ' _N-now… I think… I'll sleep._ '

Hikari collapsed…

…

Marisa stumbled from a nearby alley adjacent to the building she crashed into. "E-ejected right into a fucking wall…"

She rubbed her back. "I'm gonna need a whole new broom after that one…"

A villager splashed the last water of bucket on the fire. After a few moments of examining the pile of ash and cinder that once was the Man residence, he raised his arm. "The fire's out!"

The few villagers nearby who participated cheered.

"Wha~t?" Marisa slouched. "I wanted to be the big hero…"

...She turned to the three unconscious teenagers, and grinned. "...Looks like it's nap time. I don't think the street's a good place to sleep, though."

...She lifted Marigold onto her shoulder, and furrowed her brows. "H-heavy… hmm…"

After a moment, she snapped her fingers. "Ah! I can test that telekinesis spell I saw once, I think!" It wasn't her usual style, but she was willing to try something new.

She stuck her hand out, slowly lifting Osamu up…

...only for him to get rocketed into a nearby wall.

Thud!

"...U~h…" Marisa giggled nervously.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: OSAMU'S VIEW ====

' _My aching head…_ '

Osamu sat up, lying on a pile of blankets.

' _What even…?_ '

Looking around the room, he saw a bed nearby.

' _There we go._ ' He nodded at it, but the idea slowly grew less appealing as he began to wake up further. Standing up, he noticed the contents of said bed.

' _Well, fuck me, then. Nevermind that idea!_ ' The bed had an unconscious Marigold and Hikari lying in it.

"...Hey."

"Aaa~h!" Osamu screeched, flailing his arms. ' _Who's there!? I have fists!_ '

...He looks over to the source of the noise, and sees Marisa sitting by a lit candle.

"You tryin'a wake up the whole neighborhood, ze?" Marisa smirked.

"Hnh…" Hikari rolled over-

Thud.

-and out of the bed, taking the entire blanket with her, leaving Marigold exposed. Thankfully, Marigold was in her day-to-day wear.

' _W-woah!_ '

Osamu covered his eyes preemptively anyway. "Oh, geez…"

' _Close one…_ '

Marisa chuckled. "You better not look at my daughter, ze…" She slowly got up and stepped towards Osamu, grinning the whole way.

' _Oh, great, she's pissed, too…_ '

"I'm not! I'm not!"

"You are!" Marisa exclaimed. "Love Sign…" She brought up her mini-hakkero.

' _Oh, shit! What the fuck!? Wh- no!_ '

"What!?" Osamu stuck his hands out, looking at her in dismay. "No! I'm sorry!"

"Master Spo~rk!"

…

Ting!

A bright yellow spork fell out of the mini-hakkero, which Marisa lifted.

...Osamu still had his arms locked in a 'don't hurt me I'm fragile' sort of position.

' _H-huh…?_ '

"Heheheh… What's wrong?" Marisa grinned, holding the spork. "It's a spoon, and a fork."

…

"Whaddaya mean, 'what's wrong'!?" Osamu roared. "That wasn't funny!"

"Hahahaha!" Marisa clutched her stomach. "I gotcha good, dude!"

' _Stupid… Just you wait until I learn some powerful magic, then you'll be sorry._ ' Osamu folded his arms, brooding.

"Hey, lighten up…" Marisa walked up to him. "I'll even let'cha grope her."

' _W-wait, what!?_ ' Osamu looked to Marisa, disbelieving.

Marisa handed him the spork. "Here."

He took it, staring at it curiously.

"H-how's she feel, ze...?" Marisa restrained herself from laughing further.

"Who the hell uses 'grope' when they talk about tools!?" Osamu blurts out.

"Hahahaha!"

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIKARI'S VIEW ====

' _S-so noisy…_ '

Hikari sat up, rubbing her eyes. "W-what's going on…?"

Before her, Osamu was seething in rage while Marisa was laughing hysterically.

"Hahahaha~!"

"Aa~h, shut up, already…" Osamu cringed.

' _What a morning._ '

…

' _Wait, is it even day?_ ' A look out the window revealed to Hikari that all was dark outside, barring the village lamps, of course.

Hikari moved to get out of bed, only to realize she was already on the floor.

' _...Whoops._ '

She stood up, readjusting her outfit slightly.

' _What were we doing again?_ ' She paused for a moment, as the two magic practitioners looked to her.

"H-heya…" Marisa began composing herself, "I-I saw you guys decided to nap in the middle of the road. Not good, not good, ze?"

Hikari snapped her fingers. ' _We were fighting that statue thing! And then…_ '

She walked up to Marisa. "What happened to that statue thing?"

Marisa blinked. "...Oh, that weird floating statue? After I hit it, it just kinda sank into the floor and left. Freakin' weirdest thing ever. Like, what even…" She began giggling at the absurdity of the statue.

' _...I think it got away._ ' Hikari sighed. "Oh, okay…"

Marisa took note of Hikari's crestfallen expression, which jogged her memory. "Oh, that reminds me! The guards aren't being stupid drones anymore!"

Osamu tilted his head. "You mean we actually got that reform we needed?"

Marisa shook her head. "No, I mean that the mind control stopped. That's the good news, actually…"

' _Oh, boy…_ '

"Bad news is that half the town guard quit." Marisa added.

…

"That's actually better news." Osamu smugly commented.

' _I have no problem with that._ ' Hikari never liked the town guard, anyway.

"Oh." Marisa looked at them, vaguely surprised. "...Well, I guess it's all good news, then."

Marigold sat up, hugging herself. "W-where…?"

...She saw the party before her. "Oh."

Osamu walked towards her. "Your mom's being fuckin' _weird_ , du~de!"

Marigold sighed. "When is she not?"

"Eheh…" Marisa scratched the back of her head. "All in good fun, ze."

He paused a moment. "Actually… how'd uh… how's that even work?" He turned towards Marigold questioningly.

Marisa whistled. "U~h… P-Patchy'd be better at explainin' it than, uhm…"

Marigold suddenly looked very uncomfortable.

' _No._ '

Walking up to Osamu, Hikari readied her gohei subtly…

"No. We're not doing this again." She readied her aim…

"But- I wanna know!" Osamu turned to her, then realized what she was doing. "...Oh-!"

Hikari swung, aimed for his crotch, but he turned and it struck his thigh instead.

Thwack!

"G-geez! Hikari, no!"

Thwack!

"Aaa~h!"

…

After giving the man a proper walloping, Hikari thought about their next course of action...

' _Well, it's night, apparently. We were supposed to visit Akyuu today, too._ '

She moved for the door, noting to herself that they were in Keine's house. "We should probably get going."

Marigold rose a brow. "I _just_ woke up."

Hikari nodded. "We were kinda supposed to visit Akyuu. Yesterday, I think."

"...Oh. Yeah, that's kinda bad, isn't it?"

' _Mmm._ '

…

"We should do that." Hikari moves for the door.

"Can I come with ya?" Marisa questions. "I mean, I've nothing better to do, so…"

' _Eeeh…_ '

Marigold folded her arms. "So you want to come _now?_ "

"Well, yeah…" Marisa scratched her cheek. "Am I not allowed to?"

Hikari shrugged. "I mean, we're visiting Akyuu's place. There's not much rea-"

"Oo~h! That gives me an idea…!" Marisa rubs her chin thoughtfully. "...I'll be coming with you guys, ze…!"

' _...Only because you insist._ '

The four moved into the main room of the house, where Hikari's hypothesis was proven correct, and Keine sat at the main table.

She looked up from a stack of papers. "O-oh… What're you all doing up at this hour…?" She froze. "I-it's not morning already, is it? Did I fall asleep?"

Marisa shook her head. "Nah, it's still, like, two."

"Ah…" Keine nodded slowly. "...What?"

Hikari saw the papers in the candlelight, and they seemed to be tests she was grading. ' _Huh. I didn't think the grading process would look this much like homework._ ' Hikari would know, having brief bouts with those formats of learning herself.

' _...Not fun._ '

Marigold cringed at the sight of the tests as well, but was curious at Keine's demeanor towards them.

"...W-well, alright…" Keine unsurely looks between the party and her paper.

Osamu scratched his head.

Marisa continued to the door, and the party followed behind her.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Hikari ended up leading the party as they continued through the shady village streets. Most of the villagers were now off at bed, but a few still browsed the roads with swords due to the half-presence of the town guard.

Osamu began the nightly discussion. "Y'know how bad street muggings here can be?"

' _I actually never stuck around here at night._ ' Hikari reflected. ' _It's actually fairly pretty, but my mother always said it was too dangerous. She wasn't wrong, I'm sure. I never really thought about coming here at night after that, anyway._ '

Marigold stared at him, appearing dry already. "How bad can street mugging here be…?"

"They're like fuckin' brawls, dude. Like, I lost a dagger in one, once." Osamu told everyone. "I knocked out a guy's freakin' tooth. And then more muggers joined in, and then the town guard had to come break it up. I'm pretty sure a guy got stabbed, too. By a sword. And then-"

Marigold interrupted. "I'm sorry, when was this again?"

"Last month." Osamu nodded. "Wait- actually… yeah, it was last month."

Hikari nodded slowly as she continued towards Akyuu's manor. ' _It's a terrible night to have a mugger brawl, I'm sure._ '

"It all started 'cause this other dude wanted my dagger, and then someone across the street saw a pretty lady, and uh- anyway, some dude saw it and was like…"

…

"Was li~ke…?" Marigold urged him to continue.

"...'Hey'." Osamu slowly shook his fist at the air. After a brief giggle, he continued. "A-and the molester was like 'oh shit' and then they started fist-fighting. Well, I was still struggling for my dagger, and we kinda bumped into each other."

Marigold nodded. "...What happened then?"

"We beat the shit out of each other." Osamu grinned.

' _Obviously._ '

Before long, they'd reached the dimly illuminated gate of the manor residence. The gates were still ajar from before, apparently.

' _Now I'm paranoid that we're gonna get jumped._ ' Not like it would matter, considering her party could probably nuke any unlucky thief or molester into next week.

"...Y'know," Marisa began. "That story reminded me of when I was a young'un, actually."

' _Oh, dear._ ' Hikari had heard her stories before. They were even more graceful than Osamu's, and usually were more centered around youkai hunting extravaganzas, but she did have tales from when she lived with her father.

They were similar to Osamu's in nature.

"When I lived with my Pa here in the village, I kinda did some sneaky stuff at night, too." Marisa began her tale.

Hikari slinked in through the ajar gate, the party following, though Osamu pushed it open aggressively and it clanged against the side of the wall.

' _Exactly what I was trying to_ not _do._ '

"Like, I cleaned out an entire candy shop once." Marisa nonchalantly added.

"Pfft. Bullshit." Osamu shook his head, grinning. "No way. Old man Teller's got eyes on the back of his eyes."

"Who do you think made him like that?" Marisa smirked.

…

"Yeah, no. Still not buying it." Osamu shook his head. "Not in a million years."

Marisa pouted. "Hey, my Pa made me give it all back anyway. Look- you know the corner of the counter?"

He turned to Marisa, realization dawning on his face. "The one under the outside-world gumball machine thing?"

Marisa beamed. "Where, if you slide the combination lock…"

"To 26-24-21…" Osamu continued for her…

"...You'll find Teller's 'secret stash'!" They both finished. "Hahaha~!"

' _I'm surrounded by scoundrels._ ' Hikari realized. ' _Mother would be proud._ '

As they walked inside, they saw numerous butlers and maids working feverishly to repair the many damaged walls, floors, ceilings, and furniture.

' _Looks like they're back to normal, too._ '

One of the maids turned to the party, and bowed deeply. "A-ah, I'm so sorry! So, so sorry!

Marigold blinked. "Hmm?"

She blushed brightly. "U-uhm… I-I was the maid… o-one of the maids that- who attacked you…"

Hikari blinked. ' _...She is, actually._ '

"You know…" She pressed her fingers together nervously. "You guys were actually really tough. If-if it's not too much trouble... I'd like to challenge you guys to a rematch. Th-this time, I'll actually know what I'm doing, too!" She pressed her arms to her sides. "That mind-thing threw me off my game, y-you know?"

' _Ahah…_ ' Hikari wasn't sure if she wanted to fight the kung-fu maids again, especially if last time was what they were like _instinctually_.

"Anytime, yeah?" Osamu grins. "I'll punch you so freakin' hard!"

The maid giggles. "Hehehe… please, don't, sir. You'll only hurt yourself."

Osamu looked wounded.

' _Right in the ego._ ' Hikari grinned. "...Say, would you happen to know where Akyuu is?"

The maid perked up, "Oh, yes! Right this way, Hikari…"

Hikari blinked. ' _I keep forgetting the maids know my name._ '

Marisa grinned. "Some special service, huh? You're movin' up in the world, Hikari! I remember when you were still learning how to throw ofuda!"

' _I happen to still only know how to throw ofuda, but I can also throw psychic maelstroms, so I guess it doesn't matter._ ' Hikari nods in spite of knowing her lack of shrine maiden skills.

...The maid turned to them. "If we h-have that rematch… I hope I'm not being rude… but could miss Kirisame not participate?"

Marisa shrugged. "Considering I wasn't even here earlier…"

"Y-yeah, that's what I was thinking…" The maid all-too quickly agreed with her.

' _I know what she's getting at. Having Marisa help us really wouldn't be fair._ ' The poor maid would be vaporized before any of Hikari's party could even think about engaging her.

They eventually got to Akyuu's garden, where she sat at a table and talked with the men that charged into her manor bravely earlier. Said men were in various states of disrepair.

The grey-haired man's clothes were all scorched, the blonde-armored midget's armor was completely gone and his mace was just a stick, and the brown-haired man was now bald and lacked clothes, holding a bow and arrow that happened to look like one of the decorative ones on the walls.

' _Wow. The staff was unkind to them, it seems.'_

The brown-haired fellow drank from a mug. "...And that's how I narrowly escaped the laundry room! Fucking washtubs, man!"

The other men at the table laughed while Akyuu giggled softly.

The blonde, armored man raised his stick. "I swung this mace into a whole crowd of them. They like, ate it!"

The brown-haired man chuckled. "What the hell even happened?"

"Maids, man. Holy shit…"

' _Very unkind._ '

The party approached the table, and the men all jumped at the sight of the maid.

"Oh, bloody hell- it's another one of the bastards!" The grey-haired man raised what looked like a cartoonishly large boomerang.

"Oh, woah!" The brown-haired one raised his bow, drawing a crystal arrow of some sort, likely antique.

The maid raised her hands. "N-no! Don't shoot!"

The men all relaxed.

"...That's uh, right. They're… okay now." The blonde man lowered his stick.

The brown-haired man pointed at Hikari. "Hey, it's a Hakurei!"

"We solved yer incident for ya! How'd you like that!?" The grey-haired man grinned, folding his arms. "That doin' anything for ya, huh? Hahaha~!"

Hikari stared at them dryly. "...We were the ones who shut down the mind control."

He froze. "W-what? I.. thought we just fought until it stopped."

"The guards are back to normal, too." Marisa adds. "Nothin' to see here, anymore."

…

"This is bullshit." The blonde man threw his stick away. "I'm going home."

He began walking out, only for a random maid to round the corner and follow him abruptly.

His friends chuckled. "Oh, it's that one, again." The aged man noted. "...Well, come along, George. We've done all we could, here."

George, apparently, frowned. "But, I- Akyuu…!"

"You can ask her out later. We gotta go make sure the village is alright."

George blushed. "Y-you didn't have to just _announce_ it, damn it!"

Akyuu blinked.

' _...Well, everything ended fine, it seems._ '

The two men left, and George waved to Akyuu as they departed.

…

"So…" Akyuu turned to them. "Hello again, Hikari."

"H-hi." Hikari began.

' _Voice, no. Stop._ '

"...I apologize for how blunt I was the other day." Akyuu sighed. "I was just… pressured. By everything that happened."

' _It's better than being fed a little at a time._ '

"It's okay."

' _...I'm too nice._ '

Akyuu smiled. "I should've figured. Who are your friends, by the way?"

Osamu grinned. "Name's Osamu. Ass kicker extraordinaire."

"I've seen you in the village, before." Akyuu comments. "...My butlers dispatched you on one occasion, yes?"

Hikari turns to him, surprised.

"Pfft. Yeah."

…

"...What was your reason, then?" Akyuu gave a neutral smile.

He rolled his eyes. "Dude. Tons of butler guard dudes in the square for no reason? Why wouldn't I have infiltrated your doohickey operation? I didn't even know you were there!"

Akyuu blinked. "...Come again?"

"I thought there was like, a bank vault or treasure or some shit. The big stuff!"

…

"I mean, I found you, instead. Not like you're not treasure, but I mean…"

Hikari whacked him.

"Auh! Geez, stop doing that…" He rubbed the back of his head warily.

Akyuu smiled. "I see. I see. That's good, because… nevermind." Akyuu shakes her head. "Who might you be?" She turned to Marigold.

' _Because what?_ ' Hikari never really called out on the times her friend was mysterious about things.

"...My name is Marigold. I'm a magician." She introduced herself.

Akyuu nodded. "Marigold Knowledge, yes?"

She slammed her hands on the table. "Wha- how!?"

Akyuu giggled. "Little escapes my eye in the village, you see. Those fairy maids who talked with Keine the other day were no exception.

' _Oh. Keine talked with her about it, then._ ' Hikari nods. ' _Mmm._ '

"...O-oh." Marigold nodded. "That makes sense."

Akyuu turned to Marisa.

Marisa waved. "Hi. My name's Lesley, and I sell seashells."

Akyuu shook her head, grinning. "I see you're with your daughter, Marisa."

Marisa slammed her own hands down on the table. "When did this become public, ze!?"

"...Was it not supposed to be?" Akyuu tilted her head.

"W-well…" Marisa looked unsure.

Marigold glared at her a moment. "Apparently it was." She huffed.

…

"...Oh." Akyuu now looked incredibly awkward. "...I see."

' _Yeah._ ' Hikari cringed at the animosity displayed.

"...I-I didn't mean it like, uh…" Marisa stuttered.

"Stuff it, Lesley." Marigold folded her arms. "You know what? I like that name for you. You're Lesley, now."

Marisa sat her head on the table. "Seriously…?"

"You fit a Lesley." Marigold jabs.

"Who the hell's named Lesley…" Marisa asks herself.

' _Pfft._ '

"...Anyway, is there anything you want, Hikari?" Akyuu turned to her friend. "Tea? Cupcakes?"

' _...Cupcakes sound pretty good right about- wait wait wait!_ ' Hikari shook herself out of it. "...Do you know of any magical places nearby?"

Akyuu raised her brow. "...Magical places?"

Hikari nodded. "Yeah. They have this sort of feel to them, you see…"

…

Akyuu looks around. "I might happen to know what you're talking about."

' _There we go. About time someone knows something._ '

Marigold nodded numbly. "...I-I'd like some cupcakes."

Akyuu smiled. "...Lesley, could you go get the cupcakes?"

Marisa blinked. "...A-are you-"

The maid stood up. "Yes, Akyuu-sama! Please be patient!"

Marigold and Marisa turned to the maid, surprised.

' _Wow._ ' Hikari stifled a giggle. ' _Okay._ '

…

After the maid left, Marisa slammed her arms on the table again. "Who the hell's named Lesley!?"

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

The party settled in and drank their tea peacefully, Lesley smiling at the gathering.

"So…" Akyuu sipped her tea. "You were looking for a magical place?"

Hikari nodded. "Yes."

"Magical natural fixture enclosed by nature?" Akyuu hazarded.

Hikari blinked. "...I guess?"

Akyuu sipped her tea, again. "...I discovered something akin to that earlier, and I know not its purpose. It's within the human village."

' _Really?_ ' Hikari double-took. ' _A sanctuary right here, and I couldn't find it?_ '

"The section of village was entirely walled in by erroneous constructors. Despite best efforts, nobody would acknowledge the error, and nobody would dare to travel to the other side of the wall." Akyuu explained, "Upon traversing there, we found nothing but grass, and a strange stone. It was very, very curious. Further research determined it was a large magnet. It was such a strange structure, that we decided to just leave it be. The walling really was for the best… but how, may I ask, did the human constructors know this?"

' _...Weird._ ' Hikari absorbs the small monologue. ' _...Wait, if it's all walled in…_ '

"So, how many ladders in're there?" Osamu asks.

Akyuu shakes her head. "None. Without flight, there's no way in."

...The party turned to Marisa, who was downing her entire teacup. Once she finished, she noticed the staring. "...No. My broom can hardly hold me and two others, ze. Four total is like, no."

' _Darn._ '

Akyuu leaned closer to the table. "...There is one way in. It's nowhere near the walls, though."

The party, Marisa, and Lesley all lean in.

...Akyuu turns to Lesley. "Sorry, but…"

Lesley smiles. "A-ah, okay. Sorry, Akyuu-sama. I'll go."

Lesley begins leaving.

...Akyuu turns to Marisa.

"...What?" Marisa scoffed. "Really~... C'mon, I can just fly in there…"

"Have you?" Akyuu asked her.

"Well…" Marisa brought a finger to her chin. "...N-no. Somehow. Whenever I got close to it, I got bored and just went elsewhere. I thought it weird, but it never occurred to me to investigate…" She stomped the floor. "What the hell's with that!?"

Akyuu nodded. "It took Keine's history manipulation to access, and even then, I feel as if we missed something. Still, nothing seems like it can be done there. We've just dismissed it as a magical anomaly."

' _...How come Keine didn't know to tell me about it, then?_ ' Surely such a place would have qualified as a 'magical place'.

Marigold furrowed her brows. "It repels whoever tries to approach it, does it?"

"Mmm. Precisely." Akyuu confirms. "If you go through an underground tunnel, however, you'll have no problems. It seems the tunnel always remains clear. Earth spirits are uncommon beneath the village, but even still, none have occupied the tunnel in the many years it stood."

Picking at his ear, Osamu looked bored. "So there's some underground tunnel or somethin', right? All we gotta do is walk through it?"

Akyuu nodded. "Well, yeah."

"Why didn'cha just say so!?" Osamu got up. "I'm bored of sittin' here drinking freakin' tea!"

Hikari sighed. ' _...I half agree. It's interesting, but I've never really been interested in village anything._ '

Marisa got up, eyes beaming. "Underground tunnel?"

Akyuu shook her head. "No ancient treasure. It's just a hall reinforced with wood beams."

Marisa sat back down. "Whelp. Count me out, then. Screw that."

Marigold snorted.

Akyuu stood. "Here, let me show you the entrance…"

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

As they passed Akyuu's obliterated room, Marigold spoke up. "Hold on. I wanna do something here."

Akyuu turned to her. "Hmm?"

' _There's not a lot to see here, anymore._ ' Hikari gazed at her friend questioningly.

Marigold moved into the room, noticing the pile of metal and flesh once more. The blood had all turned a dark, dark brown, and the flesh had quickly begun decaying.

Hikari tore her head from the sight. "Wo-woah, wow, uhm…"

Osamu blinked. "Yuck."

Marigold winced at it. "...Osamu, I want you to use that water move on it."

Osamu snorted. "What? You kiddin' me?"

"No. To clean the metal."

Akyuu turned to her. "Th-there's no need to stain the wood, you know. I can just have my butlers clean it…"

' _I feel bad for the butlers. This is just gruesome._ '

Osamu turned to her. "...Well, when you put it like that, I kinda wanna just wash it now. I mean, _I_ just cast a spell to do it. The butlers, though… those guys are fucked. Seriously. This is nasty."

Akyuu looked hesitant. "But… the floor-"

"Can be cleaned… or replaced." Osamu stressed. "That pile of rotting freakin' Man chunks? Nope. Nadda. Not happenin'."

' _That description..._ ' Hikari slowly retreated from the room.

"...Fine." Akyuu sighed. "You're right, I suppose."

Osamu tried PK Hydro ß!

A spiral of water formed in the pile of gore, spinning around.

Fwii~shshsh!

Bloody metal slid apart from the force of the water, while other more unmentionably biological bits, of which had become an array of browns and blues, simply slid and tumbled away. No more did anything truly bleed, as most of the blood was solidified, anyway. The small clicks of metal against the hardwood floor, and the shimmering of the semi-stained metal was the only relief from the muddy sight that slowly expanded.

Marigold uneasily stared down at some of the metal as it spread out…

"U-um… Y-you know what…" She began retreating from the room. "When the butlers… clean the metal, let me know. I-I wanna see it, but- yeah…"

Osamu grinned sheepishly. "...Holy shit."

Akyuu sighed. "This was a bad idea…"

With that, the party made their way out of the volatile room.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

The party followed behind her. As they were lead, Akyuu had to dismiss numerous maids and butlers who attempted to escort and follow her.

"I see you're still popular around here." Hikari smugly commented.

"Quiet, you." Akyuu smiled. "Anyway…"

They stopped before a door, and Akyuu opened it. Inside the room was a hole in the floor, with a shaft leading down. The room was featureless otherwise aside from curiously tan walls, a high ceiling, and a green tiled floor.

' _Wow. This room is rea~lly old. I don't think it's ever really been touched since it was installed…_ ' Judging by the cracks on the floor and walls, Hikari might be right.

"...Nice room." Osamu looked around at the disrepair.

"Mmm. It's kind of a secret, so~..." Akyuu cupped her hands together.

"Not like she could get anyone to refurbish it." Marigold filled in the blanks.

...Hikari went up to the ladder, and started going down.

"H-Hikari, wait, it's not-! ...Well, I guess you can handle yourself- but still, be careful down there." Akyuu stammered, surprised by Hikari's caution-to-the-wind manner of marching forward to face her problem.

"I'll be alright."

' _There's really not a lot of reason to be careful._ ' Healing spells help alleviate worries of serious injury, even if the pain is still a good deterrent.

Hikari reached the bottom. Osamu contemplated leaping down, but after his previous experience with breaking his legs, he decided to just do it the safe way.

Marigold stared at the ladder, and sighed. "I hate ladders…"

…

"...I can throw your gun in after you, if you want." Akyuu suggested.

"Thank you."

She moves down the ladder slowly, taking care not to get torn off by gravity, as her backpack made the process require precision.

After getting down, she called up. "I-I'm ready~!"

...She clumsily caught her gun from above, then called back up. "Thanks!"

' _The ladder didn't cripple anyone._ ' Hikari grinned to herself. ' _We're off to a great start._ '

The tunnel wasn't dark, and was illuminated with various torches lining the walls. The width was sizable, too, and as Akyuu said, multiple support beams and frameworks of wood ran along the ceiling and walls.

It was, admittedly, a little musty. Puddles, damp earth, and the fact the tunnel wasn't that far underground to begin with contributed to that factor.

"A-achoo!"

Hikari sneezed.

' _I-I hope I don't catch a cold. This place doesn't feel healthy…_ '

…

Hikari remembered that toughing out colds were a thing of the past, thanks to her PSI abilities.. ' _Oh, yeah. I don't think I have to worry about colds anymore. I almost forgot about that._ '

"Not hospitable, is it?" Marigold reflected, scrunching her face at the stuffy, damp atmosphere.

Osamu groaned. "Why are some caves cool and others like a fuckin' oven…?"

Sluggish progress through the tunnel lead the party to dreary corners and long stretches of hall.

"Speaking of weird stuff, who designed this tunnel?" He continued complaining, "Did it have to be fuckin' loop-de-loops and, like…" He trailed off, unsure of where to take his sentence.

"Hey," Hikari spoke up, "At least we haven't come across a splitting path."

Osamu chuckled. "I didn't even think about that. Good point…"

Before them, a shape flickered in the dreary light…

"...Look." Hikari pointed at it, feeling animosity leaking from it.

Osamu suddenly stopped walking, and began walking back towards the party. "W-woah! What the hell?"

Marigold glanced at him. "I noticed that, like, five seconds ago. I was wondering if we were just going to walk into it and brutalize it."

' _...I mean, that's probably what's going to happen._ '

The shape solidified, a dark brown form gazing at them with orange lights emanating from it.

"...I think it's angry." Hikari comments.

" _I'm_ angry." Osamu remarks, rolling up his sleeves.

"Don't even think of punching it." Hikari scoffed. "It's a _ghost._ "

' _Seriously._ '

Osamu folded his arms. "Fi~ne."

Earth Spirit tried PK Ground α!

The tunnel began shaking, and rocks shot up from under Osamu, launching him into the air.

Bam!

"Aaugh!"

Marigold slid onto her bottom due to the vibrations. "Oof…"

Hikari tried to use a wind summoning to regain her balance, but, unfortunately for her, sealed caves lack any wind to speak of.

"Oof!" Hikari landed on her bum, too.

' _...Well, that was annoying._ '

Marigold pointed her gun at the Earth Spirit.

Klack! Klack!

The bullets forced it to swirl about angrily, rocks floating up around it.

Osamu got back up. "St-stupid dead people!"

Osamu tried PK Freeze ß!

KaKa-KaKaKling!

Freezing and thawing made the ethereal mass congeal and loosen with each cycle.

Kra~ck!

The surge of cold air made it jitter violently, and also provided Hikari with the wind she needed to prop herself back up easily.

' _Huh. That works, I guess._ '

Marigold shot it twice more, the loud klacks of the Air Gun echoing through the tunnel.

"Uooohh…" The Earth Spirit began writhing, and it eventually became just the two orange lights that embodied it. It then retreated back into the Earth.

' _...That was mostly just annoying._ '

Dusting himself off, Osamu complained more. "I thought she said this place was free of stupid ghosts!"

Hikari blinked. ' _...She did, didn't she? I don't think she checked recently, then._ '

"Spirit-sa~n… Spirit-saa~n!"

A brown-haired, brown-clothed fairy walked out from around a corner further ahead.

She looked to the party. "...Have any of you humans seen spirit-san?"

They just stared at her.

She stared back. "...Hold on, why are there humans down here!?"

Scrambling back, she put her arms out infront of herself. "Th-they're moving underground! Noo~!"

Floating into the air, she raised her fists. "I won't let you destroy my home!"

' _That escalated quickly._ '

Spinning her two arms, she rushed at Osamu. "Take thi~s!"

He shielded himself promptly. "...No."

…

After an awkward moment of arm-flailing from the fairy, she floated back. "I-I know…!"

She pressed a hand against an invisible pad in the air. A magical circle lit up, and flickered out. A similar circle formed under Osamu, slowly glowing brighter…

"Get off of that!" Marigold yelled out. "It's an earth spell!"

Osamu walked off of it. "...Geez, no need to shout."

…

Marigold fidgeted awkwardly. "...S-sorry. I thought… it would spring a lot faster."

Everyone stared at the magical circle expectantly.

…

Suddenly, a pillar of rock shot from it and smashed into the ceiling.

Ba~m!

' _W-woah!_ ' Hikari stumbled a little, keeping her balance.

"Holy crap!" Osamu jumped back. "Why even!?"

Marigold, having expected the event in full, braced herself for the vibrations appropriately.

"Yeah! I did it!" The earth fairy cheered. "How'd ya like that!?"

"It missed." Osamu summarized.

"But-but it was powerful!" The fairy reassured. "Don't you just wanna give up now!?"

"It missed." He re-emphasized.

"...You missed!" She pointed at Osamu.

Osamu tried PK Thunder ß!

Thwaa~sh!

The bolt struck a rock, doing little.

Thwaa~sh!

The bolt struck the earth fairy. She blinked as the electricity ran through her, and eventually fizzled out.

"...You missed!" She pointed at Osamu. "Hahaha~!"

Osamu double-took. "What… what happened!? I hit her, what gives!?"

Marigold shook her head. "Elemental resistance."

He turned to her. "...What's that supposed to mean?"

She scoffed. "Seriously…? You want to be a mage, but you-"

"No, no- but how is this fairy resistant to thunder? She's fleshy!"

"...She's earth elemental." Marigold explains. "Likely high electrical resistance, if not outright immune."

Another magical circle was formed, this time under Marigold. She stepped out of it.

"Look," Marigold fired at the fairy, the bullets taking her by surprise. "Just don't use thunder on them. It'd probably do you well."

"A-ah! Stop!" The fairy shielded herself with her arms, uselessly.

Klack! Klack!

Osamu rolled his eyes. "Alright, whatever…"

Osamu tried PK Freeze ß!

KaKa-KaKaKli~ng!

The rapid freezing and thawing being inflicted on the fairy's body makes her eyes widen in shock.

Kra~ck!

She gets flung back against the wall by the icy blast.

"Augh!"

Thud.

…

She got up, glaring. "I-I hate you…"

Hikari casually walked past her party members, and towards the fairy.

"I-I'm not going to lose… to m-mean humans…"

Hikari stared at her as she got up.

' _Good night._ '

Bringing her gohei back, she smacked the fairy in the face.

SMAAAA~SH!

Pi~chun!

' _That takes care of that._ '

"Thanks a freakin' lot, Akyuu." Osamu grumbles. "This place is infested!"

Marigold was slightly annoyed by the generalization. "Come, now. I'm sure she couldn't have predicted that a few pests would hole up in this abandoned tunnel."

The party continued through the dreary dark tunnel…

Hikari looked at the walls curiously. "...How are those torches still going?"

Marigold shrugged. "Probably an enchantment. Everlasting torches aren't a particularly advanced science from what I know. They go out easy if you manhandle them, you see."

Osamu turned to her. "How d'you know so much about magic if you can't cast?"

She grinned. "I had an education."

"They don't teach _shit_ about magic in schools. That's why I dropped out!" Osamu glared at her.

"I didn't learn from a school. I learned from a mage."

...

"Oh. Damn." Osamu sighed. "Lucky."

"Yeah. Lucky." Marigold snorted.

Eventually, the party reached the end of the tunnel, where the lit tunnel cut off to black abruptly. Hikari took a step into the shade, her leg vanishing into it. She pulled it back out.

' _Weird._ '

Marigold shot into the darkness, and the bullets just vanished entirely.

"...We find the edge of the world or somethin'?" Osamu waves his hand into the darkness, observing it disappear and reappear.

' _It feels off._ ' Hikari backed up from it. ' _I have an idea, though…_ '

Hikari tried PK Flash α!

Fwaaa~sh!

The darkness was erased, revealing a scene before them.

"Hmm…?"

A man in a long purple robe turned around, his face obscured by the hood.

"Aah, the Hakurei has arrived… sooner than I anticipated." The man stroked his chin. "...I wished to see her die with my own eyes, but it seems that it will have to wait."

' _I'm right here._ ' Hikari stared at him dryly. ' _The least you could do is be subtle about it._ '

Before the man was a large rat, with an aura of green gas emanating from its back and tail. It itself was not only large, but it was the size of a person. Its head was the size of a person, as was its torso, meaning the animal looked pretty much stationary.

"Scram, old wisenheimer!" The rat grinned widely. "You wouldn't wanna see yourself get hurt, now! Henh, henh, henh!"

"What the fuck is that." Osamu slouched when he saw the rat.

"...You get to live another day, rat." The robed man spoke. "Do try and slay these children. My life would be far easier."

The rat just grinned at him.

With that, the robed man vanished into particles of magic, which proceeded to phase into the ceiling.

' _Another person seriously out to ruin my day. Go figure._ '

The rat waddled forward slowly.

"O~h, it can move." Osamu deadpanned. "The thing can _move._ "

"Hehehe~y, kids!" The rat's grin got bigger, if it was possible.

' _What even._ '

The rat noticed Hikari. "...Oo~h, it's the big hero! We~ll, I'm the guardian of Magnet Hill!"

Marigold aimed at it preemptively.

"Ahaha~nd I'm gonna kill you!"

"...Okay." Hikari agreed to those terms.

The rat blinked. "...Okay?"

"Only on one condition, though." Hikari proposed.

"...Sure!" The rat grinned widely.

Hikari used this moment to launch herself forward and smack the rat with her gohei.

SMAAAA~SH!

She then jumped and kicked off the rat's head, distancing herself again.

"Only if _we_ don't kill you, first." She grinned back.

Osamu chuckled. "Yo…"

The rat's grin didn't break, though it did flinch from the previous strike. "...Henh, henh, henh! What's that I smell? Is it me, or your defeat?"

Klack! Klack!

The rat hissed as the bullets struck its eyes. "Hhh…!"

Osamu tried PK Thunder ß!

Thwaa~sh!

The lightning stuck the mist on the rat's back, catching it ablaze.

Fwoom!

"A-aah… N-no biggie…" The rat stammered, taken completely by surprise.

Thwaa~sh!

The lightning bolt struck the ground nearby.

Waddling forward slowly, the rat glared at the party. "You… screwed-up human scum! Y-you'll feed me well!"

He lunged forward in a highly telegraphed biting motion, from which Hikari just ran away from quickly.

It leapt in place, a gust of sickly air extinguishing the flames on its back.

"I've lived for two hundred years!" The rat boasted.

"Good for you." Marigold snarked. "Two hundred years too long, I suppose."

"Hhhh~!"

The rat turned to Marigold, who kept pelting it with bullets.

"I think you need a bath, dude!"

Osamu tried PK Hydro ß!

The spinning torrent of water doused the sickly mist on the rat's back, wetting both the rat and the floor around it.

The rat began turning to Osamu, and Hikari took the moment to slip in another melee attack.

SMAAAA~SH!

"Hhh…" The rat began turning towards her slowly, while Marigold moved behind it and fired again.

The three easily manipulated the simpleminded nature of the burly rat, kiting its attention by attacking it from different directions.

Before long, it showed signs of wear. "The… the sanctuary's power… it wasn't enough?"

Klack! Klack!

' _All the thing has tried to do is hit us the entire fight, physically._ ' Hikari was unimpressed. ' _That mist on its back could have been a problem if we didn't have anything to deal with it, but it wasn't hard to take care of._ '

SMAAAA~SH!

With the final blow, the rat rolled over onto its side, unconscious.

…

"That was stupid-easy." Osamu evaluated. "And I know stupid."

' _That you do._ '

"...Who was that robed fellow?" Marigold questioned. "He seemed particularly homicidal. Towards you." She pointed at Hikari.

Hikari shrugged. "No clue."

' _Probably one of Porky's cronies, or something. How does he even get people to listen to him?_ '

Ahead of them was a slow incline upward, faintly illuminated by the night sky's light.

"...Finally!" Osamu beamed. "We're almost out of this stupid cave!"

' _I have to agree._ ' The humid and stuffiness of the mostly sealed cave began dissipating as the party neared the exit…

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

' _...Not really a hill._ '

Magnet Hill itself, as Hikari commented, was not really much of a hill at all. Surrounded on every side by village walls, the house-sized lot of grass was rather bare. Pale blue light shined in from the sky above the walls, cold air creating a stark contrast to the cave's must.

' _The stars look nice tonight. Too bad we're surrounded by giant wood walls._ '

A large, shimmering yet grey stone of sorts sat in the middle of the field.

Hikari walked up to it.

' _Four down._ '

She pressed the Sound Stone to her forehead, sighing in the moonlight.

...

She heard a melody play.

 _A gentle breeze rolled through Giant Step, caressing the indent in the hill…_

 _It then rolled through the crevice leading to Subconscious Steps, before whirling around and escaping into the sky above..._

 _Fluttering through the valley, it weaved through bamboo trees before circling around the Milky Well. It circled back around, and flowed right back out through the trees..._

…

 _Becoming entrapped within the walls around Magnet Hill, the wind anxiously rebounded off the walls before escaping, flowing back over the Human Village..._

...

…

A beat continued to play after the numerous notes, but no more actual music continued to be produced by the stone.

' _There was an awkward pause in there. I felt it._ ' She furrowed her brows at the Sound Stone. ' _This thing better not need to be sent back for repairs or something._ '

Looking away from it, she thought she saw her room.

She blinked, and refocused her eyes, now once again seeing the village walls.

' _...Those walls are actually really well built._ ' Her new intimacy with the sanctuary gave her new insight on the wall's structuring.

Osamu stretched. "That still feels aw~esome…!"

Marigold smiles. "That wind really is quite curious…"

They all stared at the large magnet in the center, watching it shimmer unnaturally in the moonlight.

...Marigold takes out a piece of metal and nears it-

Clink!

Eyes widening, she backs up.

"...I never found out how magnets worked, though." Marigold was mystified.

Hikari went to retrieve the metal stick for her, but found it difficult. ' _C-c'mon…_ '

Osamu tried Offense Up α!

"Please, Hikari. Let _me_ handle this…"

Walking up to the metal stick bit, he began pulling, to little avail. Hikari moved to help him, and only then, with much effort, did they pry the metal stick from the magnet.

...Hikari gingerly gave it to Marigold.

"Thanks." Marigold pocketed it.

"Freaking magnets…" Osamu examined his sore hands. "Now just how do _they_ work?"

"We should leave before we impale ourselves on it by accident." Hikari suggests.

The others chuckle.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Hikari climbs from the ladder, re-entering the Akyuu manor proper.

"Would it've killed someone to build a ladder out of the sanctuary itself? The cave sucks!" Osamu protested the backward trek through the featureless, empty cave.

"Hey, someone catch my gun!" Marigold called up once Osamu was up. She tossed the gun up, and Hikari caught it.

"...That took awhile."

Akyuu stared at them over a book she was reading.

Osamu snorted. "Yeah, 'cause the tunnel had a buncha stupid shit running around in it."

Akyuu blinked. "...Pardon?"

Hikari whacked him- "Ow! What'd I do!?"

-and elaborated herself. "There were some fairies and spirits down there. They didn't like company."

"Oh." Akyuu nodded. "Not a problem, I take it, then?"

"Not at all."

' _I should probably mention the robed maniac. And the giant rat. Maybe._ '

Marigold reached the top, and looked at Akyuu. "...Were you sitting there the whole time?"

She shook her head. "Only some. I got a book to read, you see." She gestured to the novel. "...I've read it a hundred times before, though, so it was a rather dull read."

' _Especially considering your photographic memory. You could probably read it without having it._ '

...Hikari then realized, that if Akyuu ever thumbed through a book in a library, she'd technically be pirating it. Not that anyone would dare call her out on it, since she'd likely have a plethora of butlers there suffocating both her and the store.

"...What was there at Magnet Hill you needed so badly, anyway?" Akyuu inquired. "It's literally just a big magnet."

"...It's a long story." Hikari sighed.

"You can tell me, Hikari." Akyuu smiled. "I've heard many long stories in my time."

' _...The issue is that it'd take forever to explain, not that you wouldn't listen._ '

"I wouldn't've believed it myself, if I didn't happen to develop amazing magical powers." Osamu grinned.

"Honestly, I don't think the pedantics of the adventure matter." Marigold states her indifference. "I'm just happy to be here."

"Well, if it's that big of a secret…" Akyuu folds her arms and pouts.

…

"...Not working?" She asked.

Hikari snorted. "Nope."

Osamu nodded. "Yes."

Everyone turned to him.

"...I mean no?" He grinned sheepishly. "...Maybe?"

' _Please don't weird her out by being a pervert._ '

Akyuu rolled her eyes.

"...There was also a robed man in the tunnel." Hikari informed her friend. "He said pretty blatantly he wanted me dead."

Akyuu tilted her head. "Hmm. Considering you're here now, I take it he failed?"

"He ran away." Hikari told her.

"Oh." Akyuu blinked. "...That's probably bad."

"Mmm."

"There was also this giant rat!" Osamu exclaimed. "It was fuckin' huge!"

"And now it's dead." Marigold stated. "We just outright murdered it. We're good people."

' _...We actually knocked it out, but if that's the story you want to go with, sure._ '

Akyuu stared at the two curiously, before turning back to Hikari. "Well, I'll keep my eyes out for this robed figure. Mysterious people are bad for my health, I'll have you know. Both figuratively and literally."

' _...I kinda wish she didn't joke about things like that, but I suppose it's better that way._ '

"...Stay safe, Hikari. The Hakurei lineage isn't necessarily respected in the town these days." Akyuu grimaced. "I wouldn't be surprised if people are sent to… to harm you, to word things tactfully."

' _Been there, done that. I don't think it gets worse than a megalomaniac turning his dad into a cyborg with a giant gun arm._ '

"Dude, we kick ass." Osamu states outright. "We'll probably be fine. If last night was all they had, then we're like, gods or something."

...Akyuu smiled. "...Alright, then. Do you three wish to stay for the evening?"

' _I don't think we're tired at all. Not after visiting the sanctuary, at least._ '

"We'll be fine heading out." Hikari decided.

"Farewell, Hikari." Akyuu stood up from her seated position in the room's corner. "Would you like me to escort you three out?"

"Sure."

' _Might as well._ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: MARIGOLD'S VIEW ====

As the four passed the ruined room once more, Marigold paused. "...Did this room get cleaned, yet?"

Akyuu paused, too. "...Yes. It should have been. You two were down there long enough."

Marigold entered the trashed room, and to her delight, a few parts were left behind and vaguely clean.

"I told them to clean what could be cleaned, and to throw out anything that was uncleanable or not worth looking at." Akyuu explained.

"Thank you…" Marigold eagerly approached the pile of metal parts.

' _It might rust because of the water, unless it's the finest quality stuff. I highly doubt that kid used the finest quality stuff._ '

Examining the glistening steel, she nodded acceptingly.

' _Okay, maybe he did._ '

The other party members walked in.

"Here we go again…" Osamu stared at the scene before him. "S'all clean, right?"

Akyuu nodded. "I just said that…"

"Okay, okay. Good." Osamu turned back to Hikari. "...Got any more goldfish?"

"Fresh out." Hikari looked crestfallen.

Meanwhile, Marigold dug through the metal bits.

' _...There's just a whole lot of garbage here, really…_ '

She lifted up a cylinder, which had a red crystal held up by metal prongs in the center.

' _What is this?_ ' Instantly intrigued, she examined it closely… ' _A catalyst, maybe? Or an amplifier? Ammo for something? I have no clue…_ '

She shoved it into her backpack, and looked through the metal pile once more.

' _...All that's left is parts from that big gun. They're completely broken, but I could take a few barrels_.'

She pockets a few barrels.

' _They might be useful… plus, I wanna make something with barrels._ '

Satisfied, she stood up. "That's about all I'm going to get from this."

Turning back to the other three, she saw them playing rock-paper-scissors.

Hikari draws paper, Akyuu draws paper, and Osamu draws rock.

"...Awwh." Osamu frowns.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIKARI'S VIEW ====

The gates closed behind them.

"Have a good one." Akyuu began walking off.

' _...Now I have completely no idea of where to go._ ' With no leads, ideas, or even hints from anything except maybe to pursue the robed weirdo she saw earlier, Hikari was stuck.

' _I suppose I'll just go home for now, then, and see if something pops up._ '

Hikari began moving for the village exit.

"...Okay, now I _know_ you have no idea where to go." Marigold snarked. "...Because I don't, either."

"Wandering aimlessly." Hikari reiterated.

' _Actually going home, but I'll pretend we're wandering aimlessly._ '

They reached the main road, where Hikari guided the party straight towards the village gates.

"We actually goin' somewhere, or, uh…" Osamu awkwardly asked, curious.

Casually, Hikari glanced at him. "Home."

" _Your_ home." Marigold corrected. "Not that I'm complaining."

"A home." Hikari reiterated.

They reached the village gate.

"...Hey." The guard began. "It's not safe out at night, you know?"

"It wasn't safe here a day ago, period." Hikari gave him the business, "Do we look like normal villagers to you, either? No, we're not youkai."

…

' _Maybe I assumed too much._ '

"...That means you _are_ youkai!" The guard pointed his spear at her. "I-I could get promoted 'cause of this!"

"Actually, I'm a youkai." Marigold spoke up. "...But those two aren't. I'm also a magician. You know, one of the numerous types that don't brutalize people?"

The guard stared at her carefully. "...How do I know you're telling the truth?"

Marigold pointed her Air Gun at his face. "Because if you don't let us through, I'm blowing your brains out."

Osamu chuckled.

' _Essentially what we've had to do to the guards time and time again, anyway._ '

The guard froze. "I-Is that… a musket?"

"...Sure." Marigold rose a brow. "Just open the door, please?"

"Al-alright, just don't shoot…"

The guard reluctantly opened the gates, allowing the party to leave.

"Thank you." Marigold thanked the guard, and proceeded to leave, her friends following.

Outside the gate, Hikari turned to her. "Wasn't that just a little excessive?"

Marigold agreed. "Well, yes. I'm kind of tired of that village, though. The guards aren't very hospitable, so I thought, why should I be hospitable to them?"

' _Fair enough._ '

"That was so~ cool!" Osamu cheered. "You shoulda seen the look on his face! When you pointed it at him, and he was all like 'what the fuck is that'!"

Marigold turned to him tiredly. "...I happened to be there."

' _Actually…_ '

Hikari turned to Marigold. "What's your home like? If you don't mind me asking, that is."

Marigold paused. "Uhm… Well, there's two, you see."

Osamu blinked. "Two? You got freakin' two houses?"

Marigold furrowed her brows. "Well, I don't _own_ any of them, of course. The other is less than a house, in my opinion."

"What's that supposed to mean?" The description confuses him.

"...Have any of you heard of the Scarlet Devil Mansion?"

Hikari nodded. "Yeah, Mom won't shut up about it."

Marigold blinked.

"...I mean, they're technically our neighbors. Between the mistress being eccentric and that maid, we see them a little often." Hikari explains.

' _Our lake-divided neighbors, anyway. They don't stop by that often, but when they do, the mistress likes to make a spectacle of things._ '

"...Ah." Marigold absorbs this information. "...Well, I live there. Sometimes."

"Oh."

' _...That must be an experience._ '

Osamu turned to her. "You lived in a mansion!? How come I never heard of this?"

"...Because you didn't need to know?" Marigold hazarded.

"Dude, we gotta go there! They can feed us cakes until we get fat and die!"

' _Pffft._ '

Marigold giggled. "A-anyway, the other home I live in is rather quaint. It's a simple, single-story house. I like it the best, though."

"That's Alice's house, isn't it?" Hikari guessed.

"Yeah…"

Hikari paused. "...How have we not seen each other before?"

"Very carefully." Marigold sassed. "...That, and I'm moved between abodes on a bi-weekly basis."

"Ah." Hikari nodded.

' _That probably plays a big role in things._ '

They were about halfway to the Hakurei Shrine on that cold evening.

KraKoo~m!

Hikari jumped at the sudden noise. "H-huh!?"

From a bright flash before them, a figure raced out from the center, shoes skidding against the dirt, leaving a small trail of fire that quickly died down.

The figure appeared to be a fairy, clad in some white, shimmering clothing of some sort.

KraKoo~m! KraKoo~m!

Two more fairies emerged from nowhere in the same way, firing danmaku at the first fairy.

"A-ah!" The fairy squealed in delight, rolling out of the way of the danmaku. She fired some back, which her friends dodged. Hikari stepped out of the way of it, as well.

Suddenly, the fairies noticed the three.

"Oo~h! Humans!"

"Silly, stupid humans!"

"Hehehe!"

' _They literally just appeared out of nothing at all and began insulting us. Gensokyo is a silly place._ '

"Where the hell'd you come from!?" Osamu stepped back, surprised.

The fairies paused. "Uuh… What was that last place?"

"...It had a lot of fire." Her friend scratched her cheek idly.

"I didn't even go to that one. I kinda got stuck in the foggy one for awhile." Her other friend added. "I actually just guessed you'd be here."

The other two stared at her doubtingly.

"...It's true!"

' _...None of that makes sense._ '

"In Japanese, you freaks!" Osamu demanded.

The first fairy nodded. "O~h, right. Humans. They don't get the whole thing we do."

"Yeah, they don't get the thing."

Osamu groaned in frustration.

"...Explain this 'thing' to us." Marigold folded her arms.

The third fairy laughed. "...Hahaha! Humans want to learn our thing again!"

"That's rich, Sta-chan!"

' _Sta-chan._ '

...The first fairy floated up to them. "Okay. Here's whatcha guys gotta do. Ya think of a place you've been before, like, uhm…"

"...The sun?" Her friend suggests.

She glares at her. "No, you- no, we haven't been to the sun."

Hikari had an idea. "How about a place a friend has been before?"

...The fairy nodded. "Uh, I think. Actually, yeah. That worked with that other whats-her-face, didn't it?"

"Yeah, we took her back to the-the… huh." The second fairy stared off into space, unable to recollect.

' _They're a forgetful bunch._ '

"Okay, so, let's say-"

"Scarlet Devil Mansion." Hikari states aloud. Marigold turns to her, curious.

"Scarlet Devil Mansion-" The fairy pauses. "...What the heck is that?"

"It's a big mansion with lots of fairies." Hikari explains. "I think, anyway."

' _I've never been there, myself._ '

"Ooh, yeah! That place! Lucky Seven's there, ain't she?"

"Yeah! The one we pelted with boxes!" The second fairy seems to remember. "Awh, that was great. How long ago was that?"

The third fairy grinned. "Like, uh… wow. I dunno!"

"Ah, whatever-" The first fairy continued, "Look, you think of the place… then ya just kinda start runnin'."

' _...That helps._ ' Hikari blinks at the fairy, deadpan. ' _Think of the place and start running. You'll be there in no time._ '

"You gotta go real fast, though. No human could go that fast, I'm sure." The fairy tells her.

Her friend pipes up, again. "Not unless they had really long legs."

"Yeah, not unless they-"

The first fairy turned to her friend, glaring. "Will you just _shut up?_ "

"Eat me."

She fires a single danmaku bullet at her, pegging her in the forehead.

"Aaugh!"

"You think of a place, then you run real fast." The fairy reviews, "Then, you're like… you're there. Krakoom, bam, wazapa-pow. Presto. In like Flinn, all that. You go from over here to over there. You get me?"

' _Not at all._ '

"Sure." Hikari was interested where this could go.

"That's farther than most humans." The fairy grins. "Alright, guys, meet me at the big fancy mansion place, yeah?"

"Yeah!"

"Uurgh…" Her friend groaned from the floor.

The fairy began running in place. "Here I go…!"

She began sprinting at full speed. Quickly, she accelerated until she was nearly out of sight, and then-

KraKoo~m!

With a bright flash, the fairy was gone, leaving behind a small, flaming trail.

…'Sta-chan' pulled the second fairy from the floor, slung her around her shoulder, and began running as well. Similarly, she picked up the pace until she was far, far away, and then-

KraKoo~m!

She, too, was gone, along with the second fairy.

' _...Weird things._ '

Hikari turned to her party members. "Alright, everyone, remember that formation we did back at that waterfall?"

Marigold snorted. "Are you seriously thinking of doing that? We're obviously not as magical as those fairies are. For all we know, they're probably time fairies, or something."

Hikari shrugged. "I think we can go that fast with wind helping us."

"I wanna try." Osamu threw his arms up. "I mean, if anything, it'll help us go faster."

' _That's true._ '

Hikari held her arms out, and her two friends joined her at her sides.

"Alright… on the count of three." Hikari glanced at each of them. "One."

Wind began swirling around the three of them.

"...Should we all think of the place?" Marigold asked.

"Probably." Hikari guessed.

"Oh, shit, that's right…" Osamu almost forgot that part, himself.

…

"Two." They all began thinking of the manor, though Osamu didn't really know what to expect.

…

"Three."

They all began running, and though they were a little janky at first, they managed to find a common speed to run at to not trip over one another. Quickly, they began accelerating…

' _My legs are starting to hurt…_ ' The thundering stomps they made on the dirt path as they charged ahead with the wind's guidance took its toll.

Hikari heard a strange noise in her ears as the pace picked up. Flames began appearing where they stomped…

' _T-too fast!_ '

KraKoo~m!

With a flash of light, the three disappeared, a trail of flames left in their wake at the steps of the Hakurei Shrine.

Hikari learned Teleport α!

…

Reimu floated down. "What's with all the noise!?"

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

END OF CHAPTER 11

Protagonist: Hikari Hakurei, Disciple of Paradise

-Inventory-

Weapon: Magical Gohei - Ability to whack stuff really hard. Amplifies whacking power, too! Able to deal magical damage. Critical hits enabled.

Arms: Iconic Hakurei Arm Sleeves - Keeps arms warm. A Hakurei tradition. How they stay on is a Hakurei family secret.

Body: Combat Miko Outfit - A black leotard and hakama combination worn by the previous-previous Hakurei miko. Designed to be suitable for excessive physical activity and close combat, it slightly improves physical combat prowess.

Misc: Yukkuri Ribbon - Looks like a bad Christmas ornament. Lime green, with yukkuri decals!

-Skills-

Attack: Quickly! Swing your gohei at them for massive damage!

PK Fantasy α, β - Bombards the enemy with pain in the form of flashing colors. Deals magical damage. Heavy mental strain that increases with each tier.

PK Flash α - A bright flash that distributes very random status effects to enemies. Usually makes people cry.

Hypnosis α, Ω - Puts weak enemies to sleep for a short time. Works better on tired or exhausted foes. Can also be used in a far more costly form that works on multiple opponents.

Shield α - Halves damage the target takes. Only works against physical attacks, and enough strikes, or powerful strikes, will dispel it.

Lifeup α, ß - Heals target a little. Higher tiers heal more grievous wounds, like bone fractures.

Healing α, ß - Heals basic status ailments. Higher tiers can cure more dire effects, like burning alive.

Teleport α - Teleports caster and those in contact with caster to a different location. Location must be somewhere at least one of them previously visited and remember, however. Requires going at high speeds, focus, and a long stretch of ground.

Ofuda Toss - Throw a holy ofuda that does massive holy elemental damage to youkai and dark elemental foes. Effect lessens the more holy the thing you're attacking is, to the point of healing holy things. Only works if you actually have ofuda, though.

β-β-β-β

Mage: Osamu Katsumi, the Wannabe Mage

-Inventory-

Weapon: Fisticuffs!

Arms: Nothing

Body: Worn Magician Robes - An old robe from the days when the village respected the medium of magic. Well past its due date, but still comfy!

Misc: Yukkuri Beanie - Resembles a really tacky tablecloth, made in the Yukkuri theme. Lime green and has tons of fun yukkuri decals!

-Skills-

PK Thunder α, ß - Very random thunder attack that deals limited damage. Higher tiers increase number of bolts, and sometimes power.

PK Hydro α, β - Gets everyone wet. Usefulness with PK Thunder and PK Freeze depends on whether you hit yourself or not! Creates whirling water spirals at higher tiers.

PK Freeze α, β - Generates ice crystals at the target's location. Medium damage and effect; may freeze some targets, especially wet ones.

Fireball - Manipulate mana to make a shoddy fireball. Low damage and effect.

Static Hands - Not a real spell. Result of a very undercharged PK Thunder that can accidentally go off.

PSI Telepathy α - Speak to friends you haven't met yet! Unstable connection and only works if they have the skill or are asleep.

PSI Shield α - Halves damage from magical and psychic attacks. Thunder spells fry it instantly, and harder blows dispel it.

PSI Magnet α - Costs no mana to use, and steals a very tiny amount of mana from the enemy. Enemy has to have mana in the first place for it to work, though.

Offense Up α - Get pissed! Boosts strength and confidence depending on caster's power and receiver's power.

β-β-β-β

Inventor: Marigold Knowledge, the Tri-Magi Love Child

-Inventory-

Weapon: NF Burst Gun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Uses a Pop Gun as the base, but amplifies its power with an array of random batteries jammed into the base with the Pop Gun. The more batteries, the better, but the typical yield is about five bullets per trigger. Spamming the trigger doesn't make it go any faster, unfortunately. Has no foreseeable ammo limit, and the batteries are only there for mana circulation, meaning their power is really inconsequential.

Arms: Nothing

Body: Custom Dress - A custom dress made by Alice. Provided slight defense against magical and psychic attacks.

Misc: Swirly Glasses - Lets Marigold not be blind.

Backpack - Allows extended inventory. Aged relic from the Kourindou.

Unnamed Lock Opening Device - Opens locks very precariously. Made with steel, burnt cloth, packaging peanuts, thumbtacks, string, and wooden wheels. Don't even ask…

Ruler - Lets you measure the world around you!

Protractor - Lets you find the angles of anything ever. Totally overpowered.

Deck of Cards - Allows Marigold to play Strip Poker with the party. Just kidding… or am I?

Stun Gun - Electrical device used to subdue harassers. Has settings ranging from Tickle Torture to Arse Blaster. Able to stun and inflict paralysis on certain foes. Deals electrical damage, and on the highest setting can fry shields, at the cost of temporarily shorting itself out.

Air Gun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Uses air to propel moderately powered danmaku particles at high speeds. Bland, but efficient. Filled with foil chip bags to conduct the mana, and it is transmitted into a wind stone. Recently upgraded to draw mana from a simple wooden block filled with immense magic reserves, giving it virtually unlimited ammo.

Holmes Brand Designer Hat - Village swag! A retro village hat that ceased production ten years ago. Sells for a pretty penny nowadays, but it's pretty useless otherwise.

Slime Generator - A bulky box that shoots a small splat of slime. Doesn't seem good for much.

Counter-PSI Device - A weird device Marigold found from a flying saucer. Works in strange ways, and seems to disrupt everyone's concentration. Marigold is immune to its effects.

Broken Cylinder - Has a red crystal in the center, encased by clear plastic and steel. The purpose of it, however, is unknown.

Broken Barrels - Gun barrels, ready to go! Of variable broken sizes and made for minigun bullets, but probably fine otherwise. Made from steel.

-Skills-

Is Running Out of Suitably Useless Skills - Waaaugh!

Heavy Weapons Magi - "And _this_ is my weapon." States Marigold as she draws her Air Gun.

DeadpanHooligan - One fine day, with a snark and a shout, a magi was born, and it caused a little stir!

Huggable - Your mileage may vary.

Gentle Enough for Everyday Use - Use only as intended by manufacturers.

β-β-β-β

Author's Note:

hello again world, im tiny

anyway, this chapter was full of stuff and things that took place! the statue got whacked, people were knocked out, good times were had

also, we finally get out of the human village; it's about time.

this chapter was written, like, over the better part of a week, mostly because i only did a few thousand words a day for the most part because i was living life and gaming and doing things i didnt do previously

i also spent all of last wedsday setting up a new computer so there's that

anyway, get hype for teleport α!

as always, see you all next time…!


	12. Hakureivania: Symphony Of the Afternoon

KraKoo~m!

Meiling jumped at the sudden explosion of noise. "Wha-huh!?"

A grey-clad fairy skidded to a stop in front of her, a trail of small flames left by her boots. She turned around, and faced the direction she came in from.

KraKoo~m!

Two similar grey-clad fairies appeared, one being held by the other as she was seemingly unconscious.

"Seven? Seven-chan!?" The fairy yelled out. "We're here to box you in, see?"

The first fairy glared at her. "It's the gate, einstein. Everyone's not gonna be right out here, you stupid."

"You're stupid." Her friend counters. "Those humans're never gonna catch up anyway. Why'd ya even bother?"

"'Cause I was humorin' them!" The first fairy countered "Look, look… look. We wait a minute-"

"A minute!?" Her friend barks. "Y-you really think they… Pffft, wahahaha~! Y-you stupid, idiot!"

"S-shut up! Shut up!" The first fairy shouts back.

Meiling slowly yawned and simply began dozing off again…

KraKoo~m!

"Ngh…" Meiling grunts in annoyance.

Three teenagers clumsily begin trying to skid to a halt.

"Use the heels!" Osamu barks. "Use yer hee~ls!"

' _I-I'm wearing sandals!_ '

"Th-these are custom!" Marigold shakily argues.

Meiling snaps awake at the peculiarly similar voice coming from the three teens that rushed by her.

Osamu began skidding, causing Hikari and Marigold to get thrown in front of him, and quickly everyone crashed into one another.

Bam!

Thud, thud, thud.

"...Ouch." Marigold summarized.

' _M-my arm…_ ' Hikari had landed on her arm awkwardly against the dirt of the path, a large portion of her skin red and raw, some of it bleeding.

Hikari tried Lifeup α!

' _...There we go._ ' Hikari nodded in satisfaction. ' _Never gets old._ '

Osamu stood up, having suffered the least damage. "...We gotta, like, do that better. With less crashing."

Marigold snorted. "Maybe we should try tumbling into water next time."

Osamu jerked his head back. "...Well, uh, maybe, yeah…"

' _Too bad there's only one lake in Gensokyo, and it's cold as ice._ '

Marigold tried standing, only to hiss and sit back down. "A-agh… My ankle's hurt."

Hikari tried Lifeup α!

"...Or not. Thanks, Hikari."

' _This is the easy way of getting around the common ailments, I'm sure._ ' Hikari nodded in satisfaction.

Meiling walked up to the three of them. "M-Marigold? What're you doing here? Shouldn't you be with Alice?"

Marigold shrugged. "I took a wrong turn in the Forest of Magic."

"Wha- how?" Meiling grinned. "We're not even near the forest."

The fairies walked up. The first one grinned at the party. "See? Toldja they'd do it. That's why I'm the leader."

The third fairy's mouth was agape. "W-what!? How… But- they-..."

"'Cause you're stupid." The first fairy counters, grinning.

She nods slowly as a response. "...I guess I freakin' am. Dang. Wow."

Meiling nodded slowly. "...So you three… did what those fairies did?"

Marigold nodded. "Just about, yeah."

Meiling beamed. "Does this mean you can cast magic now!?"

"Uh… No." Marigold admittedly hesitantly. "That… actually, who of us actually fueled that?"

Osamu shrugged.

"I-I think it was me." Hikari spoke up, voice tripping.

Meiling examined her properly… "...Well… You're not Reimu." She tried.

"Yes. I'm not Reimu." Hikari told her. "Good job."

Meiling pouted. "I'm sorry, alright? I don't think I've ever met you before…"

"Hikari Hakurei." Hikari introduced herself.

Meiling smiled. "It's nice to meet you. Hikari."

' _Likewise, what's-your-face._ ' Hikari smiled at her. ' _...She never told me_ her _name._ '

"...Why don't we go inside and have some tea? It's rather chilly out here, and I'm sure mistress won't mind if we spend a few moments getting acquainted!" Meiling excitedly drew her arms around Hikari and Marigold. "Besides, Marigold… you actually made friends outside of the manor! I didn't think I'd see it happen until you got older!"

Marigold looked visibly embarrassed about Meiling's directness. "W-well, yeah…"

"Hey, hey, hey, we can't forget about me!" Osamu rushed ahead of the three and leaned on the gate. "What's cookin', good lookin'?" He attempted to compliment Meiling.

Meiling smiled, then looked to the two girls next to her. "He… came with you two, right?"

Hikari nodded. "He means well. He's just stupid."

Osamu frowned. "Hey!"

Marigold nodded, too. "Don't brutalize him, if you can. He's harmless."

"Ah…" Meiling gave a half-smile. "I see, I see."

He grinned. "Here, let me open the gate!"

Osamu tried Offense Up α!

He rolled up his sleeves, and began pushing. "See this!?"

…

Still pushing, he gritted his teeth. "C-c'mon…"

…

The metal creaked a little bit. "Y-yeah! See!?"

…

He stopped, out of breath. "That's… a-a big gate, dude…"

Meiling stepped beside him, and pushed.

Crea~k!

The gate swung open effortlessly.

' _Well. She definitely looks strong._ ' Hikari was glad this place seemed hospitable.

"...Yeah, okay." Osamu grinned brightly. "Sure. Why not? Totally."

Marigold giggled. "...You were never gonna open it, you know."

"Nah, it's cool! It's totally fine! Yeah!" His rage was palpable as he stormed inside.

…

"Friendly person." Meiling observed.

Hikari sighed. "Give him food and drinks, and he'll love you forever."

"So he's that sort of person, is he?" Meiling grinned. "Sakuya'll make him feel right at home, then."

' _Quite the opposite, actually, and that's a good thing._ ' His home was known for hardly qualifying as livable space.

The three moved to follow Osamu inside the manor. The main door creaked as Meiling brushed past it.

Crea~k!

' _That's pretty loud._ ' Hikari glanced at the door. ' _How old is this place, anyway?_ '

"I see the doors are still rubbish." Marigold comments.

Meiling shrugs. "You know exactly why. I've told you before."

"Mmm. Remilia's preferences are weird." Marigold looks thoughtful for a moment.

"Just don't let her hear you say that." Meiling gave a smug smile. "...Like last time."

' _Remilia Scarlet._ ' Hikari remembered her face from the party at the shrine, many nights earlier. ' _A somewhat common face at the shrine, sometimes. I never really talked with her much, though. She really wanted to talk with me, if I remember correctly..._ '

Marigold snorted. "Yeah, that lecture of hers was really... something." After a moment, she turned to Meiling again. "Was she ever really interested in me?"

Meiling tilted her head. "Definitely."

"For how long?"

To that, Meiling thought about it… "I dunno. I've heard her gush about you, but that was years ago."

Marigold was silent.

Osamu grinned at the big foyer. "This place has class, dude. You see all that red? Freakin' royal!"

' _More like jarring, but I don't really mind it._ '

...Meiling's head twitched in realization. "Oh, shoot! I almost forgot… Sakuya is actually taking a vacation right now."

Marigold double-took. "Wha~t? She _has_ those? Since when?"

Meiling chuckled. "She doesn't tell any of her staff. She only tells me and the mistresses… you know, competent people who won't go insane just because she's gone. Wouldn't want anyone to ruin her bi-yearly one day vacation."

' _Sounds like responsible staff._ '

"Pfffft. Bi-yearly one day vacation..." Marigold was amused by the comment. "I suppose we'll just raid the kitchen ourselves, then. We're fine with snacks."

Hikari turned to her. "Snacks?"

Osamu stopped wandering aimlessly, and turned to her. "Snacks!? Here!? Dude!"

Meiling scratched the back of her head awkwardly. "You know, I could make you guys something _real_ to eat… I can cook, too."

Marigold began dashing for the kitchen. "Guys, follow me!"

Hikari and Osamu complied without question. The three of them dashed down a hallway to the left of the main foyer, quickly disappearing in the many turns and twists of the manor's enigmatic halls.

…

Meiling sighed.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: MARIGOLD'S VIEW ====

The eerily quiet halls of the manor were accented by the mysteriously compliant hallways.

' _Navigating in this place has always been a gamble, but it was tolerable because I knew all the fairy maids._ ' Marigold nostalgically reflected, even if such was just a few weeks ago…

…

' _So where are the maids, and why is the hallway cooperative!?_ '

"So, how many members of the staff are there?" Hikari looks around the quiet halls. "Five or so? Or something?"

"...There should be at least a few hundred fairy maids at any given time." Marigold informed her. "The hallways should be alive right now."

Hikari blinked. "... _Fairy_ maids?"

Osamu beamed. "Dude. Duu~de. Dude!"

Both ladies turned to him.

"... _Fairy maids_." He grinned widely.

Hikari scoffed.

' _...Yeah, that figures._ ' Marigold sighed. "Furthermore, the hallways are supposed to be maze-like to navigate."

They push open the door to the dining room, and see a large table overturned, silverware and plates strewn about the room, chairs placed in only the most mystifying of places.

Marigold took in the scene, and looked up at the chandelier.

' _Yep. Chairs in the chandelier._ ' Marigold nodded. ' _...Okay, what happened this time?_ '

Hikari whistled.

"...Nice." Osamu snorted.

They continued past the unchecked wreckage of the dining room.

"What was that about mazes?" Hikari asked. "We were kinda distracted by the disaster zone, there."

Osamu's attention was caught. "Dude, fuck that. Can we just be happy we- well, Marigold- knows where we're goin' for once?"

They enter the kitchen, to find it in a similar state of disrepair.

' _What._ ' Marigold's jaw dropped at the stove, which seemed to have exploded or something. The top was gone, and the sides were blown outward, metal fragments torn from the upper edges.

Hikari stepped through the layer of flour on the floor, wincing as she stepped into the wet portion that was supplied by a sink left running.

' _What even happened, here?_ ' Marigold vainly stared at the disaster. ' _Well, now I_ know _the chief's on vacation._ '

She quickly dashed to the sink and turned it off. ' _That doesn't need to continue, though._ '

Hikari opened the snack cabinet on her first guess, and casually plucked some out. "...I see this place, too, has future chips."

' _She must mean those Doritos. I still don't know why we accepted a wagonload last month, but the fairy maids burned through them so fast it didn't matter. I'll never understand that vampire._ '

What surprised Marigold more was that there was even a bag left.

Osamu smiled, and sat at the kitchen table. His chair promptly tipped over, as it was missing a leg, and he fell into the flour.

"Okay, what the fuck!?" He stood up, dusting himself off and kicking up flour. "Who the hell did this shit? Wasn't this supposed to be a fancy manor?"

Meiling ran into the room. "Are you three alright!?"

...Hikari slowly chewed a chip in response.

"...I guess so. Then, did you three…?"

Marigold sighed. "Yes, we flooded half the kitchen with flour and water in the ten minutes you ditched us. Which, might I add, is not physically possible. The faucet doesn't go that fast."

' _She doesn't need to know Osamu can cast water spells._ '

"Stupid question, I guess. Heheh…" Meiling looks around. "...I haven't seen any fairy maids today, either. It's weird. Maybe Sakuya took them all on vacation with her?"

' _If she did, wherever she went wouldn't ever be the same._ '

"...I'm gonna go look around. This is just too weird to let go." Meiling began to leave the room. "...Also, whatever you three do, stay here. It's probably not safe to be wandering around, and I'm sure the three of you aren't really ready for combat yet…"

' _Pffft._ '

Hikari and Osamu gave similar, subtle expressions of disdain at Meiling's underestimation of them.

"...I'll be back soon." Meiling took the discontent in stride, and left the room.

The three opted to stand around the kitchen table and take a moment to eat some Doritos, or 'future chips' as Hikari dubbed them.

' _Ugh, it's all over my hand…_ ' Marigold stared at her hand in annoyance. She looked to the other party members to judge how they coped with it, but they both just seemed to wipe it off on their clothing.

' _No way am I doing that._ ' Her outfit may have been quite worn from adventuring, to her increasing disdain, but she wasn't yet about to willingly sully it with chip dust.

Instead, she wiped her hand on the table.

' _Less effective, but it works. Kinda. Sorta._ '

…

' _Don't judge me._ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Despite Meiling's wishes, the three departed from the kitchen, and into the halls once more.

' _I wonder why the halls are well kept in comparison to the rooms…_ ' Provided, some halls were featureless while others were plentiful, they'd traversed the well-decorated entry halls and saw no signs of chaos. ' _You'd think the damage would be proportionate._ '

"Alright, so, where're we goin'?" Osamu poses the question of questions.

' _We could head to mother's library, bu~t I'd like to check up on the fairy rabble first. They're fun._ '

"Let us randomly swing open doors and hope for the best." Marigold proposes.

Osamu turns to her, surprised. "Don't you live here!?"

Marigold had a good excuse, however. "It's big. Also, I wanted to say hello to the fairies."

Hikari nodded in acceptance, and went up to the first door she found, swinging it open.

' _She didn't sentence the door to death. Ya~y._ '

On the inside, similar chaos was seen. Beds were strewn about the entire corridor-sized bedroom, various shelves and ornamental portraits were cast aside, destroyed, or both.

The only difference between this room and the previous rooms, however, was that the perpetrators were actually there, this time.

"Yeaa~h!" An orange-haired fairy maid hopped on a bed vigorously. As she did so, the bed posts slowly gave way until the bed outright broke.

Bam!

"Suck it!" She grinned wickedly, while other fairy maids nearby cheered.

' _...Okay, they're pretty rambunctious, but they weren't ever maliciously destructive._ ' Marigold stared at them with slight confusion. "...Either they're boozed up, or something has gone terribly wrong."

Osamu turned to her. "Really? What, you mean they're not always like this?"

"No. They don't usually destroy their own stuff."

...He nods. "That's true, I guess."

Marigold walked forward. "Koi. What are you doing?"

Koi, the orange-haired fairy maid, turned to her. "What's it look like I'm doin', honey?"

Suddenly, she paused, turning to the party. "...Hehe~y, Mari-chan!"

' _Ahaha…_ ' Marigold twitched at the nickname.

"I see you brought friends!" She exclaimed. Then, when her eyes ran over Hikari, she froze. "Aa-aah… eegh…"

She clutched her head. "M-miko…"

...Then, she stopped. "...I see you brought _that_ miko, too!"

Hikari stared at her, curious.

Marigold jerked her head back. "What? How do you know Hikari?"

"Hikari, huh…?" Koi dizzily looked between her and Marigold. "...You kids're all real cute, you know."

' _Uh…_ '

"...I don't like being called cute." Osamu folded his arms.

" _Especially_ that miko." Koi licks her lips.

...The other fairies were gathering blunt objects and debris, such as furniture pieces, seemingly getting ready for combat. Others stared at Hikari, unblinking, while others gave Koi a few funny glances.

"...Hikari. Why don't you say you ditch the whole quest thing, and come have some fun with me?" Koi grins. "We can lick candies from-"

"I'm sorry," Hikari begins, "but… I-I don't swing that way."

"You don't have to!" Koi begins walking towards her. "C'mo~n!"

"No." Hikari backs up.

"No means yes." Koi smiles warmly, walking up to her.

Whack!

"No means no." Hikari corrected her. As she reeled from the gohei strike, Hikari kicked her to the floor.

Thud.

"Aaagh!" Koi wailed. "H-hard to get… h-huh?"

The fairy maids began mobilizing, slowly nearing the party with bedposts, lamp shafts, and painting borders.

"...Are you guys really doing this?" Marigold frowns at them. "Why?"

A small, unintelligible murmur comes from the crowd of fairies as they falter for a moment, only for them to continue marching towards them.

...Marigold draws her Air Gun. "If this is a prank, I'm not laughing."

The fairies seemed transfixed on Hikari, but a few forced their eyes to look at Marigold.

Yet, still, they continued.

"...You asked for it."

Klack!

Pi~chun!

Marigold began firing, executing fairies one at a time. Hikari took the front line and guarded her with precise gohei strikes, acting as a barrier between her and the horde.

Osamu tried Offense Up α!

"Go get 'em, slugger!" Osamu cheered on Hikari, whose swings became even more vigorous-

Pi~chun!

-and, apparently, deadly.

Marigold found themselves getting pushed back, even if it was only a little bit. Her fire rate wasn't good enough.

' _It's a good thing I've got more where that came from!_ '

She dropped her Air Gun to the floor, and pulled out the NF Burst Gun.

"Who wants some!?"

PoPoPoPoPop!

Pi-Pi-Pi~chun!

The fairy maids found themselves quickly depleting, the crowd now reduced to a mere wall of fairies.

' _They're not acting right. Not at all._ ' Koi at least acted like herself, Marigold noted. The rest of these fairies? Eerily quiet, though others mumbled things unintelligible.

' _Something's wrong._ '

Marigold stopped firing, leaving Hikari to eagerly charge at the remaining few fairies who hadn't a shot in heaven at actually threatening her. She was, however, decked out in an array of new bruises and cuts from the various instruments the fairies had.

Clunk!

Hikari's knee twitched that the impact from the lamp shaft, and she returned the blow-

Pi~chun!

-in excess.

' _How does a hit to the knee even…_ '

Thwack!

Hikari stumbled back for the first time the entire fight, a powerful strike to her head from the broadside of a portrait's edge.

"O-oww…" Hikari voiced her displeasure.

Hikari tried Lifeup α!

Her bruises quickly vanished, her cuts closed, and a variety of other aches and pains associated with getting beaten over the head with blunt instruments had also left her.

Pi~chun!

The final fairy died. The room was now empty except for the three teenagers.

"U-uugh…"

And Koi.

Marigold looked to her, frowning. "...So, what _exactly_ was all of this about?"

The orange-haired fairy looked around the room. "...H-holy shit. What… did you do with the guys?"

"I shot them all." Marigold informed her, moving to retrieve her Air Gun from the floor. "Repeatedly."

"W-what?" Koi's eyes widened. "Bullshit. You c-can't cast…"

Marigold smiled. "I can defend myself now, and I have some new friends along. I would've liked to introduce you to them properly, but it seems inflicting violence is your modus operandi for today."

"..." Koi silently stared up at her.

"...Still, thanks for everything, Koi. If the other two are around, tell them that, too." Marigold sighed.

"...Shoot me." Koi requested.

Marigold blinked. "I'm sorry?"

"S-shoot me. Weird shit's happening to us, here. You saw what I tried to do with that foxy honey over there." Koi gestured to Hikari.

' _Foxy honey._ ' Marigold mentally facepalmed.

"If I get back up, I'm just gonna try to have sex with her again." Koi argues. "Kill me now so that when you guys fix everything, I'll get to try and molest her in smarter ways."

…

"You know what?" Marigold grins. "No."

"Fuck you." Koi sticks up her middle finger. "When I get up and get to mindlessly charge you again, I'm gonna be happy about it!"

"Good." Marigold began walking towards the door. "Hikari'll get to end you, then."

"Well, good!" Koi yelled back. "Great!"

The party navigated out of the room, and closed the door.

' _Koi's pretty much the same as she always was. The only weird bit is that her self control is even more abysmal than it normally is._ '

…

"...So they're not always like this." Osamu reposes his question.

"No." Marigold confirms. "At least, not the others. She's always a hopeless pervert, though."

"And a lesbian." Osamu folded his arms. "Fuckin'... The one pervert in this whole stinkin' place and she's a _lesbian._ "

' _...We're gonna have to make sure Koakuma doesn't annihilate him._ ' Marigold very quickly realized. ' _That'd be bad. Maybe._ '

"She used to be into men." Marigold provided, "I never found out what happened, though."

"Dude, you're killin' me here…" Osamu slouches.

Hikari glances at the other two with casual amusement. "...Are we back to aimless wandering?"

Marigold shakes her head. "Not yet. We should visit my mother and see if she knows anything about the situation. If anything, she should know something."

"Lead the way." Hikari steps aside.

Marigold smiles.

' _This is actually pretty exciting…!_ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Marigold walked up the library's door, and went to open it.

Pi~ng!

"Ah…" She hissed. "Stubbed my finger. Darn it."

Hikari snorted. "I take it that's new?"

"...Shut up." Marigold countered. "Yes, actually. The ward is supposed to exempt me."

Osamu scratched his head. "Maybe, uh… maybe it forgot? 'Cause you were away for awhile?"

…

"That's not how wards work." Marigold frowns. "Not at all."

"Whatever. Who needs 'em, anyway?" Osamu rolls his eyes.

Marigold actively chuckled from that. "Y-yeah. Who needs defenses, right?"

Hikari, having had enough of Osamu's debatable competence, decided to attempt opening the door in the only way she knew how.

Thwack!

Pi~ng!

"...I tried." Hikari defended herself.

Osamu cracked his knuckles. "Alright, guys… Did somebody ring the Dinkster!?"

Osamu tried PK Thunder ß!

Thwaa~sh!

Bam!

A section of carpet is stricken, leaving a small scorch mark.

Ba-Bang-Boom!

The door is stricken, the barrier getting short-circuited by the electricity. The explosion of magic breaks down the door.

' _I suppose that was inevitable. But…_ '

She stared at Osamu. "...What in the _world_ is a Dinkster?"

He shrugged. "I dunno! Dude, I was thinking of like, a superhero name for myself or somethin'."

Hikari nodded. "So you decided 'Dinkster' is definitely a hero name, and not at all completely stupid."

…

"Well, when ya put it that way…" He rubbed the back of his head, sheepish.

' _Yes. We had to put it that way, apparently._ '

Marigold proceeded into the library. No disorder was present.

"...That's good." Hikari observes the actual order.

"One might suppose." Marigold adds.

' _It may be organized, but there's still_ way _too many books. I like learning as much as the next magi, but you know… there's more books here than I could read in my extended lifespan, I'm sure._ '

They walked towards the first row of book shelves.

"Ho~ly crap, that's a lot of books." Osamu's jaw drops as he looks up, around, and turns around completely. "Dude."

' _If you saw this library from a top-down view, you'd be surprised how it even fit in the manor at all._ '

Books floated from the shelves.

' _...Um?_ '

Dark brown tomes with pentagrams on the covers, whirling in the air.

"...Mother's defense system." Marigold notes. "Be on guard."

Hikari readies her gohei, and Osamu rolls up his sleeves, as if he'd get to punch magical spell-slinging tomes.

The tomes paused in the air, and open. Pentagrams form in the air, and suddenly small bursts of fireballs are shot at the party.

"Get back!" Marigold shouts, backpedalling rapidly. Hikari and Osamu do so, too, and the sizable storm of fireballs slows at it nears them.

Osamu tried PK Hydro ß!

"Let's _not_ do that!" He yells.

A shuriken of water whirls in the air in front of them, soaking the party but extinguishing the flames that threatened them.

Marigold aimed at one of the books.

Klack!

The book spun in the air, pages ripping from it. The magical circle flickered out, and the book hung in the air only a few moments more before it fell.

' _Apparently they're not very durable._ '

Klack! Klack!

Soon, the water shuriken died down, leaving only a soggy, carpeted floor, and a wet party. Fireballs neared them again, more scarce in numbers after Marigold shot down numerous of the tome's ranks.

The fewer projectiles allowed Hikari and Osamu to simply move out of the way. When the fireballs struck the floor, the blaze they left behind didn't spread.

' _Likely to prevent the defense system from being self-destructive. No point in defending the books if you just burn them._ '

Before long, Marigold shot down all the tomes.

"...We may want to tread carefully." Marigold cautioned the party. "Very carefully. I'm pretty sure that was just the entry-level guff."

Hikari furrowed her brows. "...Do you think we could get on top of the book shelves? Would that help?"

Marigold considered it. "If her anti-Marisa defenses are active, no. We'd probably be blasted to kingdom come, lasers and exploding mana bombs galore."

Hikari made an 'o' shape with her mouth.

"What I want to know is why basic defenses are even on. She's never had them on otherwise aside from demonstration purposes." Marigold pondered. "Considering we couldn't even get in without magic, the defenses obviously weren't for the fairy maids."

Hikari tilted her head. "You think she knows we're coming?"

Marigold shook her head. "I don't think so. How would she even know?"

With nothing better to do, the three continued to the next series of shelves, slightly deeper on the library.

A large tome flew out from somewhere above the shelves. It reached about one half of an average human's height, with a cyan, featureless, cover.

"That's a big freakin' tome!" Osamu pointed at it. "It's comin' for us!"

Marigold aimed at it.

Klack! Klack!

The bullets she fired dug into the cover and the portions of pages it struck, but the book didn't waver.

Hikari cautiously neared the bookshelf to the left of her and began trying to creep up closer to the tome as it lowered into the aisle.

It opened, pages whirling. It stopped on a dime, and the two displayed pages lit up.

"...What book was that…?" Marigold mumbled to herself, unable to recall what this book did.

' _Darn it all, I forgot…_ '

Streams of blue danmaku shot from the book, twirling around in a spiral pattern.

' _...Oh. That's actually… fairly underwhelming._ '

As the tome neared the floor, Hikari ran up behind it and gave it a good whack.

Clunk!

It dipped slightly from the blow, but floated into its proper position quite promptly.

Hikari glared at it, trying again.

Clunk!

Marigold and Osamu simply walked out of the way of the basic danmaku spiral, and Marigold unloaded into the tome, the sound of many shots filling the library.

After enough abuse, the tome tried another strategy.

Large Water Tome tried PK Hydro ß!

A shuriken of water formed over Osamu's head, raining down a constant spritz onto him.

"...Thanks." He deadpanned. "I needed that. I _clearly_ wasn't soaked enough, already. Good thing this place is freakin' warm."

' _...No, that's just your stuffy robes. It's actually pretty cold, being winter and all._ '

Marigold and Hikari wailed on the tome just a bit more-

Thud.

It fell to the floor, its power leaving it.

"...That took about ten shots." Marigold nodded slowly. "Wow."

Hikari shook her head. "I don't think my attacks did anything to it."

"I never even got to attack the stupid thing." Osamu folded his arms.

' _Perhaps for the better. An electrically charged water-elemental book would either destroy the book, or destroy us. I'd rather not chance it._ '

"Because you were too busy being awed by how big it was." Hikari jeered. "...Anyway, I don't think we can just keep going into the library like this. We're going to run out of resources, depending on how big this place is."

Marigold nodded. "It's immense. We'd definitely be shot down by them, eventually. There has to be a better way."

The group gathered closer, the threat of the tome gone.

Osamu snapped his fingers. "Idea."

"Sure." Marigold stared at him dryly.

"...We just run past all of 'em."

…

"That'd never work." Marigold shoots down the idea. "We'd get chased, surely."

"But could they be fast enough?" Osamu grins.

Marigold pauses.

' _...I don't think anyone's ever tried to just dash through these defenses. Not like they've seen much use. The anti-Marisa ones are the only ones put in real use, and those are for above the shelves. Those ones I know you can't really outrun well, because of being quite strictly catered to chasing down Marisa._ '

"Exactly." Osamu nods in satisfaction. "We just book it. Go."

Hikari shrugs. "We could try it. If that doesn't work, we can just flee the library, right?"

' _...I don't know whether the books follow you out or not, either._ ' "Probably."

Hikari turns around, and holds her arms out. "Get into formation. We're running again."

Marigold winced. "Uhh…"

"...Not as fast, I promise." Hikari assured her.

' _Thank goodness._ '

The two got into position around Hikari.

"Alright… On three." Hikari announced.

Hikari tried buffing them with wind, but there was very little wind to be found this deep in the library. She found _some_.

"...Okay, we might go pretty slow, but we'll still be going fast." Hikari corrected.

' _That does not fill me with confidence. Especially because it's an oxymoron._ '

"How does that even work?" Osamu asked.

"Two…" Hikari continued anyway.

Osamu snorted. "Yeah, okay…"

"One…"

The party braced themselves.

"Go!"

They dashed forward, running through the aisles of bookshelves ahead. Dust was kicked up by the slight wind they had, and Marigold could hear books sliding from the shelves to engage them behind her.

' _They better not follow us at this speed…!_ '

It was then Marigold realized that she should probably give them directions to one of her mother's regular studies she tends to, least they run from one end to the other and trigger an entire line of shelves needlessly.

"Take a right, three shelves ahead!" Marigold shouted.

"How!?" Hikari shouted back.

' _Oh, boy._ '

"Try!" Marigold barked back.

So they did, except a few shelves too early. Hikari and Osamu both directed themselves to the right, catching Marigold off guard, making all three of them almost trip. After a few moments of skidding along the floor, Marigold got up and resumed running, the group regaining speed.

"A little early!" Marigold shouted her comment.

"Too bad!" Hikari countered.

' _Good thing we only need one more turn, then…_ '

"The left, five ahead! Five!" Marigold yelled. She made sure to stress the 'five' part.

They continued until the fifth aisle came up, and dashed into it. Their formation shook and became uneven for a moment as they turned, but it was far more seamless and graceful compared to the calamity that was their earlier turn.

Ahead was a clearing, nothing clearly visible from between the shelves.

"St… Stop ahead! We're almost there...!"

' _My voice is getting tired from all this yelling…_ '

Once they reached the clearing, Hikari and Marigold stopped.

Osamu continued running, breaking away from Hikari, only to realize moments later that he should've stopped.

"Wooa~h!"

He skidded to a halt.

"...Jeez! Gimme a warning next time, will ya?" He walked shakily back to the group. "That was a workout…"

' _...I did._ '

...Marigold looked to the desk that sat to the left.

"Mother." Marigold began.

Hikari and Osamu looked to the desk, too.

Osamu grinned. "He~y, it's her!"

Patchouli looked up from her desk.

"...Hello, Marigold." She greeted her daughter. "How goes your day?"

"...It could be better, I guess." Marigold shrugged. "The mansion's in a state of chaos, at the moment."

Patchouli nodded. "...I see."

She looked back down to the book she was reading. "Yes, this chaos began rather recently, from what I know."

' _Ah, so she does know…_ ' "What happened?" Marigold asked of her.

"That, I wish to find out." Patchouli frowned. "My studies seem to have come to an impasse, however."

Marigold rose a brow. ' _Her? At an impasse?_ ' "How so?"

"My mind has been clouded since this chaos began." Patchouli stated. "I've… done strange, strange things." She then smirks. "What a coincidence, for it to happen the moment the chief maid takes a vacation. This was surely planned in advance."

' _Spooky._ '

After a brief moment of silence, Marigold spoke up. "You're fine, now, right? You don't seem to be doing anything weird."

Patchouli chuckled. "Yes, yes. I am completely fine. Infact, I may have discovered what lead to my sudden drought of progress."

' _That's promising._ '

"...It is hard to explain." Patchouli raises a hand, and a small azure orb is generated. It flickers at a regular interval, almost invisible in the library's dim light.

She lets go of it, and points at Hikari. The orb moves after a delayed moment.

' _...That doesn't look good._ ' Marigold realized.

It slowly hovered towards Hikari, and the three stared at it. It slowly grew brighter as it did so.

' _That's not good at all!_ '

"Hikari, move!" Marigold shouted, raising her Air Gun.

Klack!

The bullet struck the orb, as Hikari leaped away sloppily, surprised.

Kaboo~m!

The orb let out a surprisingly large explosion, vibrating the nearby shelves and causing the lamp on Patchouli's desk to shake.

"Holy shit!" Osamu double-takes. "What the hell was that!?"

Marigold looked back to her mother. "...I don't think you're fine at all, Mom."

Patchouli grinned, floating into the air. "You see, I've developed… homicidal thoughts about the newest Hakurei Shrine maiden as of late. Suddenly, it occurred to me…"

A large pentagram was suddenly drawn on the floor. Hikari, Osamu, and Marigold step off of it.

"She is the reason I cannot think clearly, anymore. It also occurred to me that the only way to remedy this situation… is with her death. Unfortunate, it may be, but necessary."

Marigold aims at her with her Air Gun. "I'm sorry, Mom."

Klack!

Pi~ng!

An invisible magical barrier eats the danmaku bullet.

"...It's a good thing I liked you less." Marigold glared at the barrier.

Patchouli's grin held. "I am a competent mage, daughter. And, if I am to continue being a competent mage, I am afraid I will have to take your friend. Delaying it will only make it worse."

Her tome floats up from her desk, joining her in her barrier. The pages flipped for her. "Let's see… Ah. This one stuck out to me."

The pentagram rotates, glowing brighter.

"Everyone, get ready…" Marigold held her Air Gun close.

Streams of electricity flowed from Patchouli's hands and into the magic circle, for one brief moment.

Fwash!

In the middle of the magic circle stood a large, grey, humanoid ant.

' _...About as humanoid as an ant can get, anyway._ '

"...I'm alive?" It looked to its hand-esque appendages. "...I live!"

...It looked around, and saw Hikari. "Ready for round two, Hakurei?"

...Hikari walked up to it, and gave it a good smack with her gohei.

Whack!

"Aaugh!" The ant was thrown aside from the force of the attack. "W-why, you-!"

Whack!

"Aargh!" The ant was knocked over. "W-what, how could you-!"

Thwack!

"S-stop! I surrender!" The ant flailed its limbs wildly, trying to crawl away from Hikari. "Get away from me, Hakurei!"

' _...Well._ ' Marigold had a half-grin on her face. ' _Good summon, mother. We clearly couldn't have dealt with that._ '

The large grey ant began to flee, moving to charge through one of the open aisles.

Thwaa~sh!

A streak of lightning casted by Patchouli fried it the moment it escaped the study clearing.

Patchouli sighed. "Violated the familiar contract. How unfortunate. In any case, that performance was to be expected of you, Hakurei."

She then flipped through her spell tome more. "Let's see…"

A few moments of flipping yielded moments of silence.

"Hmph. I can't seem to find that one. Nevertheless… Koakuma!"

Koakuma floated down from the air, landing in the middle of the summoning circle. "Hey, hey, Patchouli-sama!"

"You remember the strategy, yes?" Patchouli asked her.

Koakuma rolled her eyes. "How could I forget? You've done nothing but obsess over it for the past two days."

Osamu's jaw dropped. "Hubba, _bubba!_ Look at _her!_ "

' _...Now is_ not _the time for that._ '

Hikari scoffed at him.

Koakuma turned to face Hikari, and licked her lips. "...You know, I'm starting to see why Patchouli-sama wants to be rid of you… But I'm not as _cruel_ as her. I'll make sure to show you a _good time_."

' _Perverts everywhere._ '

Koakuma tried Offense Up α!

"Hehehe…" Koakuma ran her hands across her chest. "Don't worry… I'll be _gentle_."

Hikari frowned. "I don't swing that way."

"You will when I'm done with you." Koakuma cracked her knuckles.

Marigold aimed at her. "I've wanted to do this for a _long_ time…"

Klack! Klack!

Both bullets struck Koakuma in the head, forcing her to flinch and turn to her.

"Y-you little twerp!" She rubbed her hair, glaring at her. "Where'd you even come from!?"

"Not one, but, infact, multiple magicians." Marigold elaborated.

Koakuma's nails extended. "At least this finally gives me a good excuse to go all out on you."

Hikari took the moment to assault her shins while she was unaware.

Thwack!

"O-ou~ch!" Koakuma grabbed her shin and floated into the air. "Do all of you runts fight dirty!?"

' _Says the succubus._ '

After a moment, she landed on the ground again.

Koakuma tried PSI Shield α!

She was protected by the pale blue psychic shield!

"There we go. No more of those annoying little pellets of yours." Koakuma grinned. "I'd like to see you get another cheap shot on me, Hakurei." She held up her claws to accent her point.

Osamu grinned. "You wanna talk cheap shots? I'll show ya some cheap shots!"

Osamu tried PK Thunder ß!

Thwaa~sh!

One of the bolts struck Patchouli's barrier, and was absorbed completely.

Thwaa~sh!

The bolt struck Koakuma's barrier, creating a blast.

Bam!

"Kyaa~h!" Koakuma hugged herself, letting out a surprised yelp. "...W-what the hell? Magic? Who the-... Who even cast that!?"

She looks over to Osamu, remembering his comment. "You!"

He gave a half-grin. "...So I guess that means no date, then?"

Koakuma gritted her teeth, kneeling. "Ouch…"

Koakuma tried Lifeup α!

She slowly stood again, grinning wickedly. "...You'll have to try harder than that, cuties!"

Klack!

"Egh…!" Koakuma immediately regretted her taunt, recoiling from the bullet that struck her in the head.

She didn't even realize it, but Hikari closed the distance between them and managed to whack her knee again.

Thwack!

"A-ah, hey!" Koakuma swiped at her, scratching her shoulder. Hikari reflexively swung back at her with her gohei.

Thunk!

"Gra~h!" Koakuma clutched her head. "W-what a arm…"

Klack! Klack!

"N-no…!" Koakuma tripped, overwhelmed by the amount of damage she was suddenly taking. "H-how? You're just a bunch of stupid kids!"

Hikari stood over her. "We hit you repeatedly."

SMAAAA~SH!

"Ugh…" Koakuma's eyes flickered shut, the strike stripping her of her consciousness.

Patchouli grimaced. "Tch. I had figured she'd weaken you more than she had… which, might I add, seems to have been not at all. Foolish familiar."

She grinned again, however. "I suppose this will do."

The magic circle began spinning again, and everyone made sure to step clear of it. Aside from Koakuma, who was unconscious.

Streams of lightning came from Patchouli's hands once more, traveling along the edge of the magic circle.

Fwash!

In the middle of the circle rested a large mound of dirt. It spread out slightly, revealing a small sprout at the top and a face along the broad dirt mound.

"I… hou~hh… seem to have gotten the better… hou~hh… of even death itself." It spoke.

"Not for long." Marigold verbally fired back.

"Heh, heh, heh… hou~hh… I shall not make the same mistakes I did before. I have… but one more chance… to best the Hakurei. I plan to spend it wisely."

Osamu tried PK Hydro ß!

A shuriken of water spiraled over the mound of dirt, beginning to turn it into mud. It slowly began flowing downward and outward, turning the dirt pile into something more resembling a field of mud. The sprout's root system was exposed, some clumps of dirt still attached to it.

"...Most… unfortunate…" The sprout reflected its rage in a very passive manner.

' _...That's right. There's no cave wall holding it in, and it only has limited soil this time…_ ' Marigold grinned.

Hikari ran right up, repeatedly leaping to get around the clumps of mud in the way, and swung at the sprout.

SMAAAA~SH!

"Uoogh!" The plant moaned, before sending a blast of dust to push Hikari back.

Osamu tried PK Thunder ß!

Thwaa~sh!

Another bolt struck Patchouli's shield, getting absorbed.

"M-mukyuu~!"

' _...What?_ ' Marigold sworn she could've heard something that sounded like her mother…

Thwaa~sh!

The other bolt struck the top of a bookshelf.

Bam!

Patchouli frowned.

"Damn it." Osamu folded his arms. "Two entire bolts, and _none_ of them hit."

Marigold opened fire on the sprout's tiny leaves, her Air Gun proving its power in comparison to the NF Burst Gun when it came to assaulting a single foe.

"A-auh… hou~hh…" The root system took its last breath, before it began wilting rapidly.

Patchouli shook her head. "This tome is proving to be unsatisfactory."

Marigold snorted. "Maybe you shouldn't summon things that don't belong here."

"I shall give it another chance." Patchouli announced. "Perhaps it will surprise me. Surely something that's occupied my time such cannot be this abysmal…"

The magic circle shined through the thin layer of mud that had spread across it. It began rotating as usual, and then stopped.

The thin layer of electricity shot out again, but was cut off by the mud.

"..." Patchouli scoffed. "What a mess you've made."

' _Hey. You're the one who summoned a dirt monster._ '

With a wave of her hands, the mud all gathered into a clump in the middle, and was then pushed to the edge of the clearing.

She tried to cast the thin layer of electricity again, this time succeeding.

Fwash!

' _...This thing. We literally just fought this._ '

"Henh, henh, henh!" The rat grinned widely. "Am I gettin' a do-over or something?"

"Dude, we can kill this already." Osamu informed Patchouli. "It was literally just a day ago. Not even."

"No~t this time!" The large rat boasted. "I know exactly what yer all gonna do this time! I'm readier than ready! Henh, henh, henh!"

Marigold opened fire on it, causing it to hiss. "Hhh…! Lemme enjoy myself 'fore I gut you!"

Hikari moved around the side of it, and went to attack from its flank.

Whack!

The rat grinned. "My body's made've sterner stuff than that, girlie!"

...Hikari moved to the face, and whacked that instead.

SMAAAA~SH!

"Hhh!" The rat lunged forward, but Hikari dashed out of the way to avoid serious damage, only her leg getting scraped.

"Alright, c'mon…" Osamu rubbed his hands together. "Better work this time…!"

Osamu tried PK Thunder ß!

Thwaa~sh!

The lightning struck the gaseous mist on the rat's back, lighting it ablaze.

Fwoom!

"T-that happened the first time!" The rat gritted its large teeth. "It won't work again!"

...

The other lightning bolt struck somewhere in the distance of the library.

Hikari snorted. "Where'd _that_ one even go?"

"I wish I knew." Osamu slouched.

The rat did a small leap in place, extinguishing the flames on its back. "Henh, henh! You see? Your tricks won't work on-"

Klack!

The rat flinched as the danmaku bullets collided with its face. "Would you cut that out!?"

Hikari tried Hypnosis α!

Energy rippled around the giant rat…

"Wha-whuh… S… S'all goin' dark…"

The rat's lazy eyes drifted closed.

…

Patchouli facepalmed. "How… irritating."

The party looked up at her.

"How very… underwhelming." She glared at her tome, before she tossed it aside. "Absolutely infuriating!"

She hovered down, and extended her hand towards the rat.

Thwaa~sh!

Fwoom!

In a flash, the rat was vaporized, apparently.

' _...I don't actually know. Something about familiar contracts…?_ ' Marigold was never very interested in familiars.

"If you want something done right, it seems you have to do it yourself." Patchouli stared down at the party vainly. "I had thought that book my ace card, but it seems to have been foolishly miscalibrated. It is fortunate, however, that I had anticipated backlash from the elder Hakurei and had these created…"

From above the bookshelves, two emerald orbs floated up to meet Patchouli, and began orbiting around her.

"Recognize these, Hakurei? It is most unfortunate you don't seem to wield the Hakurei yin-yang orbs… because these are my alchemy orbs. I very much wish to see how they compare."

Hikari tensed up upon seeing them, unsure of what to expect.

' _When did she make these?_ ' Marigold, too, was tense about how her mother hyped them up.

Osamu folded his arms. "What's the big deal? They're just some stupid balls."

...Hikari and Marigold scoffed at him.

' _Ignorance is bliss._ '

Patchouli grinned. "The big deal, human magician, is that the Hakurei stands no chance. Anyone who stands in my way shall perish. This includes you, my daughter."

' _I kinda figured. What, with the summoning monsters thing, and all._ '

Patchouli hovered overhead, and the two orbs floated over the party.

Zazazap!

Two streams of electricity extended from the orbs to the floor, and they orbited around Hikari unevenly.

Marigold aimed up at the orbs and fired, unable to get a good shot from their speed.

' _C'mon, hi~t…_ '

Hikari frantically leaped around between the two lines of electricity, the orbiting spheres sometimes going far enough away from her center to nearly force a collision.

After a moment, the attack ended, the orbs returning to Patchouli.

She then pointed at Hikari again, and the orbs spread out to the far ends of the clearing this time.

' _There we go. A clear shot._ '

Klack! Klack! Klack!

The orb was unaffected by the gunfire.

"N-no way…" Marigold didn't see any visible damage.

Fireballs began shooting from the two orbs, directed at Hikari.

"There's other people to hit, you know!" Hikari shouts as she repeatedly leaps around the battlefield.

"But my target is you." Patchouli calmly reiterates. "While I am not hesitant to kill those who stand in the way, I do not wish death upon them."

' _How kind of you._ '

Bam!

"Aaa~h!" Hikari screams as she accidentally leapt straight into a fireball.

Osamu paused, ceasing his conscientious aversion of the stray fireballs. "H-hey!"

Osamu tried PK Hydro ß!

The familiar shuriken of water formed over Hikari, dousing the flames that had engulfed her.

"A-ah, ah, ahh…" Hikari's voice squeaked out from the pain of her burns getting stricken by water.

Hikari tried Lifeup α!

She sighed in relief.

' _That didn't look fun._ ' Marigold watched the fireballs a little more closely, now.

The orbs stopped firing with the water shuriken in play, and hovered back to Patchouli.

"Did you enjoy the heat, Hakurei? Nothing better for a cold winter's day." Patchouli grinned. "Now, you die."

The orbs flashed a variety of colors, and began slowly hovering towards Hikari.

She got up from the puddle she was resting in, and drew her gohei.

Marigold fired at the orbs, causing only minor delays in their building speed.

' _On the upside, they slowed a little._ ' Marigold stared at them vainly. ' _Go us._ '

Hikari swung at the orbs as they neared her.

SMAAAA~SH!

The orb slowed to a stop, but began speeding up again. Hikari was forced to leap out of the way of the other one, which barreled straight past her and into a shelf, its velocity stopping and starting again.

Hikari retreated from the two incoming orbs, which began their slow speedup again.

Osamu grinned. "Y'know, purple-mage-whatever, I think you should _chill_."

Osamu tried PK Freeze ß!

KaKa-KaKaKling!

Rapid freezing and thawing of an icy pattern forced the orbs to stop dead in their tracks, their momentum completely lost.

' _That pun was bad, and you should feel bad._ '

Kra~ck!

The orbs were frozen in place, their color locked to a pastel blue from the ice.

Patchouli frowned. "Troublesome. If it's a duel you wish for, I will grant it readily."

The orbs turned emerald again, and returned to Patchouli. With a wave of her hand, they began orbiting overhead of Osamu.

Zazazap!

Once again, the lightning spell was cast, the orbs moving in a meticulous orbit in the air over Osamu in an attempt to electrocute him.

He grins. "Dude, I like, _invented_ thunder!"

Osamu tried PK Thunder ß!

Thwaa~sh!

The cloudy anti-magic barrier around Patchouli was stricken, resulting in a blast.

Boom!

"Guh…" Patchouli winced, shielding herself with her arms, her barrier down. "Annoying…!"

Osamu pumped his fist. "Yeah! How'd ya like that!?"

In this moment of distraction, however, one of the lines of lightning passed over him.

Zap!

"Eegehegehuh!" Osamu convulsed violently, before falling to the floor.

Thud.

Osamu was also paralyzed by the shock.

Hikari blinked, and promptly acted.

Hikari tried Lifeup ß!

Osamu's skin turned a healthy color again, but he still didn't move.

' _...Is he dead?_ ' Marigold considered.

Hikari tried Healing α!

He lifted his head from the floor. "God… damn! That shit stings!"

Patchouli glared down at him. "You had no right to survive that."

The orbs moved to the far ends of the clearing.

"It's the fire spell again." Marigold observed.

' _After this, she's going to try to bash someone with the orbs again, and repeat._ '

"Your spell has no right to be so fuckin' strong!" Osamu shouts back.

Marigold fires up at her mother, whose shield was down at the moment.

Klack! Klack!

"Gfuh! M-Mukyuu~!" Patchouli flinched violently at each pellet that pelted her.

Patchouli tried PSI Shield ß!

Patchouli was protected by the bright blue psychic power shield!

"Let me see you attempt to shatter this one." She stared down the party.

The fireballs began firing from the two far orbs.

Osamu snapped his fingers. "Oh, I almost forgot I had that!"

Osamu tried PSI Shield Σ!

Hikari was protected by the psychic shield!

Osamu was protected by the psychic shield!

Marigold was protected by the psychic shield!

...He looked around, and noticed Hikari had it. "Hey! I was tryin' to cast that on myself!"

Marigold sighed. "We _all_ have it. That includes you."

' _...I'm also pretty sure it didn't do that before, but I'm fine with this._ '

The fireballs neared the party, but Hikari was able to dodge at a far more relaxed pace, her shield intercepting the broader portions of the fireball's flames.

Marigold shot at her mother's shield, to gauge its power.

' _I haven't seen a shield like that before…_ '

The bullet struck the shield… and came back.

"W-woah!" Marigold tried to avoid it-

"Augh!"

The danmaku bullet hit her in the thigh, forcing her to clutch it.

"Th-that stings, apparently. Good to know."

The orbs returned to Patchouli. "Your wards are disturbing. Thankfully, this attack is purely physical."

Once again, the orbs began flashing, homing in on Hikari.

Hikari was ready, this time. "Just cast thunder spells to break her shield. I can dodge them."

Osamu nodded. "Roger dodger."

Osamu tried PK Thunder ß!

Thwaa~sh!

One of them struck one of the homing orbs, accomplishing nothing.

Thwaa~sh!

Patchouli's shield was struck.

Kaboom!

"M-mukyuu~!" She twirled away from the explosion, and stopped herself in the air.

The lightning bolt shot off the remnants of the barrier, returning to Osamu.

Bam!

His barrier exploded.

"Woaa~h!" He looked around, surprised. "...Is this how this's gonna go? We just gonna break eachother's barriers until we run outta mana, or somethin'?"

Marigold fired at her mother, again.

"Ugh…" Patchouli vainly shielded herself with her arms. "I-ingrate…"

She floated to the floor, and the emerald orbs returned to her side, much to Hikari's relief, as she was nearly pegged by one. "This is going nowhere…"

The orbs shielded her from Marigold's shots.

' _Cheap._ '

The tome Patchouli casted aside earlier floated in from parts unknown, returning to her hands. She physically flipped through the tome. "There has to be something I missed- something important. This battle cannot end in failure…"

She froze after one final page flip.

"...Yes. Yeee~s!"

She floated into the air once again. "This is perfect! I've found it! Surely, with this one cast…!"

The magic circle, which had grown dim in the combat, was now back at full brightness. It began spinning around, and came to a stop once more.

"Say your prayers!" Patchouli sent a thin stream of lightning to the pentagram once again.

Fwash!

…

Byakuren was seated on her knees, calmly smiling.

Hikari froze.

Osamu froze. "Oh. Fuck."

Marigold tilted her head. "...Who's that, again? Should… should I be worried?"

"Yes." Osamu told her. "Very."

"...And that, is the basics to meditation." Byakuren suddenly speaks, then opens her eyes.

…

"Oh?"

…

She stands slowly. "Either I have unlocked the secrets to teleportation, or I have missed something important."

…

"...Hello?" Byakuren looks around at the party. "...Hello, Hikari."

"Hey." Hikari greets her casually.

' _...I'm not sure if I should be worried anymore._ '

"We seem to be…" Byakuren takes a good look around. "In the Scarlet Devil Mansion, I take it? Both because it seems Patchouli is here, and it happens to be a rather immense library."

Marigold nods. "You'd be correct. You're…?"

"Byakuren. Byakuren Hijiri." She smiles at Marigold. "...You know, I've never actually been here before. This place really _is_ bigger on the inside…"

"Tell me about it…" Osamu mumbles.

Patchouli frowns. "...This is, infact, the opposite of what I had hoped a summoning of this sort to do."

Byakuren tilted her head. "What did you hope for, then?"

"A creature capable of combat. I may have received that, but I would have never expected it was a fellow magi. A… peaceful one, at that."

Byakuren continued smiling. "My apologies, then. On that note, hello to you as well, Patchouli. I hear you are a rather competent magician."

Patchouli nodded. "Indeed, indeed. I have… a favor, to ask of you. It is imperative to the criteria of your summoning here."

"Oh? What might that criteria be?" Byakuren inquired.

"The death of the Hakurei miko."

…

"I'm sorry? I don't think I caught that." Byakuren's smile held. "Could you repeat that, for me?"

"You have been called here to kill the Hakurei miko. Failure to do so is punishable by death." Patchouli attempted to stare her down. "My sincerest apologies if you do not agree to these terms."

Byakuren nods. "...Give me a moment."

She draws her rainbow scroll, numerous glyphs cycling through it. As she cycles through it and stares into the rainbow of colors, rainbow light shimmers across her body.

...After a moment, she closes the scroll, a rainbow of colors running up and down her body, like an aura.

"...I'm afraid I do not agree with those terms." Byakuren announces.

"Regrettable." Patchouli frowns. "Farewell, Byakuren."

Thwaa~sh!

The white lightning shoots from Patchouli's hand, and strikes Byakuren, engulfing her entire body.

...Once it's over, Byakuren is still standing there, the rainbow light only slightly dimmer.

Patchouli blinked. "...Unexpected error, I'm sure."

She shot her hand forward again, but no lightning came forth.

"...Oh. That… was it, apparently. The contract…" Patchouli nods slowly.

Byakuren's smile never faltered. "Are you done?"

...The orbs moved to defend Patchouli. "You'll have to deal with my alchemy orbs if you wish to even have a chance against me."

The orbs floated down towards Byakuren…

She leaped into the air and grabbed one, hurling it straight into the floor.

Bam!

Cra~ck!

The orb shattered into numerous emerald shards.

"W-what!?" Patchouli's eyes went wide.

Zazazap!

The other orb sent a line of electricity down, but without its partner in crime, it wasn't very threatening.

Byakuren leaped into the air again, and kicked the orb.

Cra~ck!

The orb broke from the very impact of the kick, a small storm of electricity left in the air where it was.

"...H-how…" Patchouli paled, despite her already pale complexion. "Such power…"

Byakuren stepped towards her slowly. "...I hope you are joking, Patchouli. Even if it's a rather tasteless joke."

"...Hmph." Patchouli floated higher into the air. "I will simply bide my time, and strike again. You will likely not be around to protect the Hakurei when that happens."

"..."

Byakuren's expression fell neutral.

"Superhuman, Byakuren Hijiri." Byakuren announced her spell card.

Patchouli began making her retreat.

Suddenly, and without warning, Byakuren rocketed into the air. In under three seconds, she closed the distance between herself and Patchouli, reaching her. Behind her, lines of light were left behind, which all broke into danmaku pellets that were aimed at Patchouli.

Patchouli only had time to look down before Byakuren left from her side, shooting around in the air and generating a zig-zag of light lines, all of which broke to make a curtain of bullets.

In under a minute, Patchouli was pelted by the literal curtain of bullets.

"M-mukyuu~..."

...Patchouli began falling out of the storm of danmaku, twirling towards the floor. Byakuren dove from her spell card to grab her.

Calmly, she floated back down to the party.

"...She won't be bothering you anymore." She told Hikari.

Hikari nodded slowly. "...Well. That happened."

' _Danmaku always amazes me._ '

"I'm _so_ fucking glad you didn't do that to us when we fought you." Osamu reflected.

Byakuren set the unconscious mage down on the floor. "Is there... any context to what happened here?"

"Everyone in the manor seems to be affected, for some reason." Marigold explained. "They've developed a penchant for homicide, specifically towards Hikari, here."

Hikari waves. "I'm popular."

Byakuren nods. "Oh. That's actually quite familiar to what happened, previously, isn't it? With the paint."

Hikari nods. "It is. Except there's no paint, this time, and the people are all vaguely themselves. Just homicidal."

"That's inconvenient." Byakuren considers.

"Just a little." Marigold agrees.

"Nnnh…" Patchouli groaned from the floor.

Marigold stared down at her. "Should we heal her?"

"Not yet." Hikari decided. "She's still affected, I'm sure. We need a way to make her only half-okay if we really want to reason with her."

"...We either heal her all the way or not at all, huh?" Marigold sighed. "Well, I guess beggars can't be choosers. We'll just let her recover, then."

Osamu shrugged. "Well. At least we got books."

"That only I can read. Somewhat." Marigold adds.

"Hey, hey, I can at least _read_." Osamu glares at her. "I'm not _that_ dumb."

"No, as in, most of these books aren't even in French, or in Japanese, for that matter." Marigold elaborates.

"Oh. What the fuck." He raises a brow. "How do you read _any_ of them, then? And what the hell's French?"

Hikari sighs. "Maybe we'll just get a move on. There's a mistress, isn't there?"

Marigold nods. "I'm not sure if we should bother with her. She's… strong, to be certain."

Byakuren spoke up. "Would you like my assistance? I worry for my temple, with these recent events occurring, but I'll gladly lend a hand to assist you three."

Hikari shakes her head. "Nah, we'll be fine, I think."

' _Uhm- about that…_ '

Byakuren looked unsure, herself. "Are… you certain? The Scarlet Devil, from what I've heard, is not a being to be underestimated…"

"Yes, because my mother had a very hard time, didn't she?" Hikari folded her arms. "I'm confident that three of us should be able to handle her. Plus… everyone affected seems to be far weaker, for some reason."

...Byakuren agrees. "Yes, that seems to be the case. You have my thanks again, Hikari."

With that, Byakuren began walking out of the library, strolling through the aisles leisurely.

' _The books seem to be inactive, now._ '

…

"I should lead, shouldn't I?" Marigold begins moving towards the library's exit as well. "Let's get going."

Hikari agrees. "No time like the present… and your mother's not getting better for awhile, probably."

"Probably."

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

The first few halls Marigold turned through lead straight to Remilia's throne room.

' _It really doesn't matter who leads, because it seems like the halls are doing everything for us._ '

"Onward, for glory." Hikari monotoned.

Osamu snorted. "I know, right? What're we, vampire hunters, now?"

Marigold stared at the large door ahead of them, personal tension rising.

' _To think that only a few weeks later, I'd be challenging such a powerful authority figure. I hardly even know her myself._ ' Marigold glared at the door with determination. ' _Maybe I'll finally get an actual room here. I'd like my bed and my work bench to not be across the entire mansion, thank you very much._ '

They stood before the door, which creaked open on its own, an invisible force pushing it.

Creaa~k…

Inside sat Remilia Scarlet, lazily holding a wine glass in her right hand.

She stared right into Marigold's eyes.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

END OF CHAPTER 12

Protagonist: Hikari Hakurei, Disciple of Paradise

-Inventory-

Weapon: Magical Gohei - Ability to whack stuff really hard. Amplifies whacking power, too! Able to deal magical damage. Critical hits enabled.

Arms: Iconic Hakurei Arm Sleeves - Keeps arms warm. A Hakurei tradition. How they stay on is a Hakurei family secret.

Body: Combat Miko Outfit - A black leotard and hakama combination worn by the previous-previous Hakurei miko. Designed to be suitable for excessive physical activity and close combat, it slightly improves physical combat prowess.

Misc: Yukkuri Ribbon - Looks like a bad Christmas ornament. Lime green, with yukkuri decals!

-Skills-

Attack: Quickly! Swing your gohei at them for massive damage!

PK Fantasy α, β - Bombards the enemy with pain in the form of flashing colors. Deals magical damage. Heavy mental strain that increases with each tier.

PK Flash α - A bright flash that distributes very random status effects to enemies. Usually makes people cry.

Hypnosis α, Ω - Puts weak enemies to sleep for a short time. Works better on tired or exhausted foes. Can also be used in a far more costly form that works on multiple opponents.

Shield α - Halves damage the target takes. Only works against physical attacks, and enough strikes, or powerful strikes, will dispel it.

Lifeup α, ß - Heals target a little. Higher tiers heal more grievous wounds, like bone fractures.

Healing α, ß - Heals basic status ailments. Higher tiers can cure more dire effects, like burning alive.

Ofuda Toss - Throw a holy ofuda that does massive holy elemental damage to youkai and dark elemental foes. Effect lessens the more holy the thing you're attacking is, to the point of healing holy things. Only works if you actually have ofuda, though.

β-β-β-β

Mage: Osamu Katsumi, the Wannabe Mage

-Inventory-

Weapon: Fisticuffs!

Arms: Nothing

Body: Worn Magician Robes - An old robe from the days when the village respected the medium of magic. Well past its due date, but still comfy!

Misc: Yukkuri Beanie - Resembles a really tacky tablecloth, made in the Yukkuri theme. Lime green and has tons of fun yukkuri decals!

-Skills-

PK Thunder α, ß - Very random thunder attack that deals limited damage. Higher tiers increase number of bolts, and sometimes power.

PK Hydro α, β - Gets everyone wet. Usefulness with PK Thunder and PK Freeze depends on whether you hit yourself or not! Creates whirling water spirals at higher tiers.

PK Freeze α, β - Generates ice crystals at the target's location. Medium damage and effect; may freeze some targets, especially wet ones.

Fireball - Manipulate mana to make a shoddy fireball. Low damage and effect.

Static Hands - Not a real spell. Result of a very undercharged PK Thunder that can accidentally go off.

PSI Telepathy α - Speak to friends you haven't met yet! Unstable connection and only works if they have the skill or are asleep.

PSI Shield α, Σ - Halves damage from magical and psychic attacks. Thunder spells fry it instantly, and harder blows dispel it. Second tier applies basic shield to entire party at higher mana expense.

PSI Magnet α - Costs no mana to use, and steals a very tiny amount of mana from the enemy. Enemy has to have mana in the first place for it to work, though.

Offense Up α - Get pissed! Boosts strength and confidence depending on caster's power and receiver's power.

β-β-β-β

Inventor: Marigold Knowledge, the Tri-Magi Love Child

-Inventory-

Weapon: NF Burst Gun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Uses a Pop Gun as the base, but amplifies its power with an array of random batteries jammed into the base with the Pop Gun. The more batteries, the better, but the typical yield is about five bullets per trigger. Spamming the trigger doesn't make it go any faster, unfortunately. Has no foreseeable ammo limit, and the batteries are only there for mana circulation, meaning their power is really inconsequential.

Arms: Nothing

Body: Custom Dress - A custom dress made by Alice. Provided slight defense against magical and psychic attacks.

Misc: Swirly Glasses - Lets Marigold not be blind.

Backpack - Allows extended inventory. Aged relic from the Kourindou.

Unnamed Lock Opening Device - Opens locks very precariously. Made with steel, burnt cloth, packaging peanuts, thumbtacks, string, and wooden wheels. Don't even ask…

Ruler - Lets you measure the world around you!

Protractor - Lets you find the angles of anything ever. Totally overpowered.

Deck of Cards - Allows Marigold to play Strip Poker with the party. Just kidding… or am I?

Stun Gun - Electrical device used to subdue harassers. Has settings ranging from Tickle Torture to Arse Blaster. Able to stun and inflict paralysis on certain foes. Deals electrical damage, and on the highest setting can fry shields, at the cost of temporarily shorting itself out.

Air Gun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Uses air to propel moderately powered danmaku particles at high speeds. Bland, but efficient. Filled with foil chip bags to conduct the mana, and it is transmitted into a wind stone. Recently upgraded to draw mana from a simple wooden block filled with immense magic reserves, giving it virtually unlimited ammo.

Holmes Brand Designer Hat - Village swag! A retro village hat that ceased production ten years ago. Sells for a pretty penny nowadays, but it's pretty useless otherwise.

Slime Generator - A bulky box that shoots a small splat of slime. Doesn't seem good for much.

Counter-PSI Device - A weird device Marigold found from a flying saucer. Works in strange ways, and seems to disrupt everyone's concentration. Marigold is immune to its effects.

Broken Cylinder - Has a red crystal in the center, encased by clear plastic and steel. The purpose of it, however, is unknown.

Broken Barrels - Gun barrels, ready to go! Of variable broken sizes and made for minigun bullets, but probably fine otherwise. Made from steel.

-Skills-

Witness to the Great Joke Drought of Two-Thousand Sixteen - It was a nightmare, she assures you.

Consumer of Pancakes - Feared by many.

Not Quite an Expert in Tome Warfare - Considering she couldn't make any herself, it'd be all theoretical, anyway.

Harbinger of Fluffy Waffles - Without syrup, thank you very much.

Soft and Warm to the Touch - Happens to be a living being.

β-β-β-β

Author's Note:

lots of combat, and stuff! s'it good? s'it mediocre? s'it dreadful? pls tell me people feedback's somethin' i really like but don't get a whole lot of

in any case, i was kinda hype for this whole series of events and battles, though i feel a little cheap using giygas to nerf everyone

summer's here, so once i get bored of my plethora of steam games / if i don't get forced to work then these updates may or may not come at freakin' warp drive speed

as always, see you all next time!


	13. Hakureivania: Dance of Illusions

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: MARIGOLD'S VIEW ====

' _...!_ ' Marigold's muscles tensed. ' _That aura she has about her… If there was anything I both saw as amusing and fear-inducing as a child, it'd be her._ '

Inside the throne room sat Remilia Scarlet, lazily twirling a wine glass around with her right hand, leaning back in her throne.

Her eyes met Marigold's.

Hikari and Osamu walked into the room, slowly advancing forward. The latter grinned. "...Who's this?"

' _Uh?_ ' Marigold wasn't sure what Osamu was getting at. Hikari turned to him, unsure herself.

Remilia glances at him.

"I was expecting this Scarlet Devil lady. Who're you, her daughter?" Osamu chuckles. "Hey, hey Hikari, I think we found someone even more unfitting of their role than you."

Hikari furrowed her brows, and drew her gohei back.

Whack!

"S-sorry, sorry! I was kidding! Da~ng!" Osamu rubbed his head. "So~rry…"

Remilia looked back at Marigold. "...Well met, Marigold."

' _...Hi._ ' Marigold waves at her awkwardly.

"I see you've brought me the Hakurei disciple…" Remilia glanced at Hikari. "...And an idiot." She then glanced at Osamu. "I won't ask about the latter, but I will reward you for saving me the trouble."

' _What does she mean?_ ' "M-mistress…" Marigold begins, "I was wondering if you noticed… anything strange recently."

' _I still feel super weird calling her mistress. It's not a word I can picture coming out of my own mouth…_ '

Remilia grinned. "Well… I guess you could say that. A few days ago… I started hungering again. Not for blood; you would know as well as anyone that I'm quite a light drinker, and I get more than enough from my food and beverage. I began hungering for _human_ blood. Fresher blood."

Slowly nodding, Marigold processes the information. ' _I'm not sure whether or not she's actually affected…_ '

"...Considering Reimu would never let me harm the human village without anything short of a public hanging… I believe I'll just send her a message." Remilia's eyes switched to Hikari. "I believe leaving an impact on the beloved daughter is more than enough of a statement to reassert my power in the eyes of the Hakurei."

Hikari readied her gohei. "I think you're threatening me."

' _Just maybe. She's affected, I think. She isn't normally so… downright sinister, even if she tries to be._ '

"Oh, no, no…" Remilia waves her hand. "I'm simply making a proposition."

"A _stupid_ one." Osamu elaborates.

Remilia shoots him a brief glance, before turning back to Hikari. "Seeing as you have no chance of eluding me, this deep in my own manor, little Hikari, I have an offer for you. Allow me to feast on your blood… or I will be forced to spill it."

Hikari stares at her. "...I'd like a third option."

Remilia raises a brow. "It is not a matter of negotiation, Hakurei."

"What if I happen to spill _your_ blood?" Hikari grins. "Do we just call the whole thing off, or…?"

…

"Ever the confident one. Such is to be expected of the daughter of Reimu Hakurei." Remilia smirks. "I'd like to see you try. Marigold, to my side."

Marigold pauses. "U-uhm…"

' _I'd really rather not._ '

Remilia glares at her. "...Now is _not_ the time for petty teenage disobedience. You are to serve me, without question. Such is the contract of living under my roof. You are to engage in battle on my behalf."

"...I-I'm fighting for Hikari." Marigold takes a stance. "She's my friend!"

…

Remilia simply holds her glare, letting silence set in.

' _...Yeah, she's pissed._ '

"...Hahahaha…" Remilia lets out a laugh. "Hohohoho! Hahahahaha~!"

' _Very pissed._ '

"Y-you defy me? For _friendship!?_ " Remilia mirthfully exclaims. "You've lived for a mere seventeen years, and you honestly think you can talk to _me_ about _friendship!?_ " Her mirth dissolves into rage on a dime.

"...Y-ye-...yeah." Marigold decides. "Yeah, I do."

...Remilia twirls her wine glass around, and takes a moment to sip from it.

…

"Aa~h…" She takes a breath afterward. "...So you shall fight for the Hakurei, I presume?"

Marigold nods.

"...So it shall be. Fight for them, then… and die for their arrogance."

The vampire twirls the glass around once more, before tossing it aside.

...Crack!

"Fufufu!" Remilia haughtily laughs, as a pillar of light envelopes her. It fades moments later, and she's no longer seen on the chair.

"Oh, crap!" Osamu jumped. "That laugh came from everywhere!"

' _...And?_ ' Marigold was used to it. ' _Mis- I mean, Remilia did similar sound tricks when I was younger. Kinda makes it all the more jarring that I'm_ fighting _her now._ '

The pillar of light reforms, and Remilia is ten feet away from Hikari.

She holds out a wing away from Hikari, and fires three fireballs towards her.

"W-woah…!"

Hikari attempts to crouch, only to get hit in the face by one.

Marigold's eyes widen. "H-Hikari!"

' _A-already!? No!_ '

Hikari stumbles back, clutching her face.

Hikari tried Healing α!

Her head's flames was extinguished, revealing charred hair and smoke.

Hikari tried Lifeup α!

"O-oh- hhnnh…" Hikari moaned and hissed in pain. "...S-sometimes I w-wished one of you guys could heal…"

"Trust me, I wish I could." Osamu agreed. "I mean, badass magic, but still."

"You haven't had the best relationship with fire recently, have you?" Marigold commented.

Hikari grinned.

' _There we go._ '

Remilia disinterestedly stared from her position, a pillar of light enveloping her again.

Osamu grimaced. "What now…?"

"She's just moving." Marigold noted. "That pillar of light thing's a teleportation spell or something."

"Oh." Osamu nodded. "...Wait, she can fuckin' _teleport!?_ Holy shit!"

' _...Well, she's a vampire. What did you expect?_ '

"Fufufu…" Remilia's laugh echoed throughout the room, as her pillar of light reformed right behind Marigold.

' _W-woah! Personal space, Remilia!_ ' 

Remilia glared down at Marigold, extending her wing back once more, firing three fireballs towards Marigold.

' _T-this better work…!_ ' Marigold crouched and shot at the lowest fireball.

Klack!

The danmaku bullet met it, and the two canceled one another out in a small burst of fire and mana.

The two remaining ones passed over Marigold's head.

"A-ah…" Marigold gaped at the sensation of heat.

Hikari leaped towards Remilia from behind.

Whack! Whack!

Before she could get any additional hits, a pillar of light enveloped Remilia and whisked her away.

"...Cheap." Hikari complained.

"Fufufu…"

Remilia appeared right next to her throne. She extended her wing behind her, and shot three more fireballs.

The distance allowed all three party members to navigate out of harm's way.

Osamu grinned. "Where the hell was _that_ one goin'?"

Remilia didn't respond to his jeer.

...To which, he glared at her. "...Say somethin', you stupid bat brat!"

Osamu tried PK Thunder ß!

Thwaa~sh!

The bolt struck Remilia, lightning coursing up and down her body, but she didn't even so much as react to the sensation of the electricity.

Thwaa~sh!

The bolt struck one of the nearby candles, extinguishing it and sending parts clattering across the floor.

"Holy _shit._ " Osamu's eyes went wide. "Did… did she just _eat it_? Did she just _eat_ an entire lightning bolt like it was _nothing?_ "

"People weren't kidding about her power…" Marigold thought back to all of the mentions of the vampire's power, throughout her life, and throughout this adventure she was on.

' _Even so, I think she'd do more than shoot three little fireballs, if she has that much stamina…_ '

Remilia teleported once again, a pillar of light protecting her. "Fufufu…"

"Is teleporting really that fun?" Hikari questions aloud.

"Pfft. I know, right? She's havin' a fuckin' field day, just hoppin' all over the place. There's something called _walking_ , ears for eyes!" Osamu mocks the vampire.

Remilia appears again on the far side of the room.

"Here's real _power!_ " Remilia roars, extending both her wings. "Dark Inferno!"

Two large balls of molten rock generate from her wings, and shoot towards the party.

"A-ah…!" Hikari ducks under one as it nears her, and as the second one nears, she shoots into the air like a cat. "Woah!"

' _Uhm…_ ' "Hikari, your ribbon!"

' _It's on fire!_ '

Hikari felt her head, and retracted her hand.

Hikari tried Healing α!

…

However, _she_ wasn't on fire, her ribbon was.

"I got it!" Osamu calls out.

Osamu tried PK Hydro α!

A bubble of water floats towards Hikari, and she jumps into it.

Spla~sh!

...Hikari parts her hair from her eyes.

Bam! Boom!

The lava balls struck the other end of the room, exploding against the wall. Strangely, there were only char marks.

"Fufufu…" Remilia laughed as she, once again, teleported away in a pillar of light.

"...That's really starting to piss me off!" Osamu glared, looking around the room wildly for the person he's trying to glare at.

The vampire appeared again, in between all three teenagers. She paused, then turned towards Hikari, opening her wings again.

Klack! Klack!

Marigold's bullets thunked against her head, but didn't seem to do anything.

Osamu tried Offense Up α!

"C'mere…!" Osamu stomped towards her.

Hikari readied herself, and Remilia shot three more smaller fireballs towards her. "Hup!"

With dexterity, Hikari barely grazed the top fireball, avoiding getting stricken or lit on fire. She counter-attacked by bringing her gohei down on Remilia's head.

Bam!

Gravity power accented her strike well, but it still didn't make Remilia flinch.

Hikari grimaced at this fact.

As Hikari leapt away from Remilia, the water that soaked her earlier splashed off of her, and came in contact with Remilia, who subtly scrunched her face.

' _...O~h! I'm an idiot!_ ' Marigold felt like hitting herself. "Osamu…"

He punches Remilia in the back of the head, achieving nothing.

"Fufufu…" Once again, she disappears in a pillar of light, leaving Osamu to rub his eyes.

"Lousy, good for nothing, bat-faced…" He mumbles as he rubs his eyes.

' _...I'm starting to feel like he's developing a thing against vampires._ '

"Use water on her, Osamu." Marigold emphasizes.

...Osamu turns to her, furrowing his brows. "You ain't helpin', you know!"

"Seriously, vampires are weak to water." Marigold instructs him. "Trust me on this."

He rolled his eyes. "How the hell'd you know?"

Marigold grinned. "I don't know, I may have happened to live here for many years?"

...Remilia appears again near her throne.

"Oh. Right." Osamu nods slowly. "...Well, I hope this works, then…"

Remilia spreads a wing, readying to shoot more fireballs…

Osamu tried PK Hydro ß!

A shuriken of water spirals in front of Remilia. She shoots her fireballs into it, which get extinguished immediately, as the water spritzes out toward her.

"Egh…!" Remilia winces. "F-foolish… a-and futile!"

Hastily, she teleports away, and not a moment later re-appears about ten feet away from the whirling water shuriken, backpedaling away from it.

"How'd'you like that, bat bitch!?" Osamu grins widely. "How's my super soaker nine-thousand treatin' you!?"

"Insolent little…!" Remilia openly shows her anger, now, glaring at him. "You are but an annoyance!"

Osamu tried PK Hydro ß!

"Hydro storm!" Osamu posed dramatically, pointing his finger straight up in the air.

The shuriken formed right over Remilia, who gritted her teeth under the spray of water.

"G-guh…"

She dropped to her knees, soaked.

' _...Note to self: vampire's aren't just weak against water. They're_ really _weak against water._ '

Osamu pumped his fist. "Yeah! I fuckin' did it! I beat up a stupid vampire brat!"

The water shurikens ended, leaving a soggy Remilia in their wake. Osamu marched up to her with his head high, smiling down at her. "Who's the annoyance now!? Show the big man some respect, here!"

...Remilia looks up at him, glaring.

Red mist begins swirling around her, and she shakily stands up again.

Osamu steps back. "Hey, hey, hey, don't make me break out the big bad water spells again!"

...Remilia throws her arms outwards, and the water quickly leaves her body, becoming a thinner, scarlet mist, which promptly traveled to the ceiling and vanished. The red mist that circulated around her body guided it.

"Playtime's over! Giygas, grant… me… _**power!**_ "

The mist violently writhes around her body, and Remilia floats into the air. "Hahahah! The weaknesses of vampires no longer binds me, mortals!"

"Thanks for the tip." Marigold comments, holding her rifle up. "Now we know to change strategies."

Osamu flails his limbs, rapidly backpedaling away from the vampire. "Ooo~h, fuck that! Fuck that! So~ fuck that!"

Osamu tried PK Hydro ß!

A shuriken of water formed over Remilia again, but this time, the water didn't even reach her, the fog-like mist acting as a repellant, converting it into lighter mist. Quickly, the red snuffed out the water shuriken.

...Marigold scoffed at Osamu.

He turned to her, and grinned sheepishly. "...She coulda been bluffin'!"

Remilia looked down at Marigold as she ascended. "Die, Knowledge!"

' _Well, now that's just rude._ '

Remilia vanished from the air, no pillar of light to indicate her teleportation.

' _What…_ '

Remilia appeared right in front of her. Marigold's eyes widened, and she leaped to the side. The vampire shot an arm forward, extending her claws and managing to slash Marigold's arm.

"How dare you…"

Before Marigold had time to properly look at Remilia, she vanished again. Marigold began running in a random direction, feeling wind rip by her as the mistress missed her fully this time.

"Keep on forgetting…!"

' _Please stop please stop please stop…!_ '

Wind ripped across her from the opposite direction, the clawed jab missing.

"Who you serve!"

"Oh, shit!" Osamu uselessly yelled, jaw dropping at the scene. "She's gonna get her… and then she's gonna get _me!_ Oh my _go~d!_ "

"Marigold!" Hikari gritted her teeth. "Just hang on!"

Marigold winced, her legs beginning to ache "Help me, you idio-! Ah…!"

Marigold froze as Remilia's claw just barely punctured her back's flesh.

"You useless…"

Remilia vanished, and then was right in front of Marigold.

"Failure of a mage!"

Remilia jabbed forward, puncturing Marigold's stomach.

' _Aaaa~h!_ '

She opened her mouth to scream, but couldn't find the air.

...Remilia slowly retracted her bloody arm. "...Damn you, for troubling me."

She pushed Marigold away, who fell to the floor, a hole in her chest.

' _M-mom…_ ' Marigold's eyes blinked, slowly beginning to close. ' _A-all of you… I-I'm sorry..._ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIKARI'S VIEW ====

Hikari's eyes were wide, adrenaline pumping through her veins as she stared at the scene.

' _Attack or heal? Attack or heal? Attack or heal…!?_ '

She saw the hole in Marigold's chest as she fell.

' _Heal!_ '

Hikari tried Lifeup ß!

...The wound in Marigold's chest began healing.

Hikari tried Lifeup α!

Whether or not that actually added to anything is yet to be seen, because the wound is still healing.

Hikari tried Lifeup α!

She could stop now.

Hikari tried Lifeup α!

Seriously.

"Th-thank God…" Hikari breathed deeply. "She'll be alright…"

' _Please be okay…_ '

Osamu looked at her. "Dude, chill the heck out. You're like, shaking. Dude…"

Remilia walked towards Hikari, not bothering to look at the fallen magician. "She's dead, Hakurei. Just as dead as you will soon be. I advise you to reconsider your previous decline of my generous offer."

…

Hikari glares at her, tears streaming down the corner of her eyes. "N-no…"

' _Screw my voice._ '

Remilia's expression didn't change. "...Hmm? I didn't hear-"

"No~!" Hikari yelled. "...I'm a shrine maiden… to exterminate youkai like you!"

"Oh?" Remilia grins. "Then show me what you've got, Hakurei. This time, I shall _not_ hold back. I expect you to do the same."

Hikari focuses on herself.

' _I need to get stronger… One hit from her, and I'm going to die. I-I know…_ '

Hikari tried Shield ß!

Hikari was protected by the power shield of light!

"...Defensive spells. Hmm. Well, it was nice knowing you." Remilia dismissively addressed her. "Divine Spear, Spear the Gungnir!"

The air began rippling, as an immense spear of scarlet energy formed in Remilia's hand, growing ever larger.

"Du~de…" Osamu gaped. "That's going straight up our _ass_ , you know that, right?"

...Hikari snorted. ' _I shouldn't laugh at that right now, but seriously… do you not truly fear anything, Osamu?_ '

"Behold, Hakurei! Now is the time of your demise!" Remilia gloated, holding her spear menacingly. "And I'll have you know… that I _never miss_."

' _There has to be something I can do…_ '

Hikari tried Hypnosis α!

Remilia never even noticed the ripples of energy.

Osamu tried PSI Shield Σ!

Marigold was protected by the psychic shield!

Osamu was protected by the psychic shield!

Hikari, already having a shield, did not receive protection.

"Brace your bumholes!" Osamu shouted, running to a far corner of the room.

' _This better work…!_ '

Hikari tried PK Flash α!

Remilia started crying!

"What is this…?" Remilia scrunched her face a few times. "Tears? Pfft… hahaha~!"

She paused, taking in the sound of her own laughter. "Y-you make a better comedian than an exterminator! What even is this!?"

' _...I tried._ ' Hikari braced herself for impact…

Hikari tried Shield ß!

Her shield of light got stronger!

Remilia sighed. "...Well, I've had my fun."

With that, she tossed the spear of energy at Hikari.

Hikari watched with wide eyes as the shot that, she thought she could dodge and graze, readjusted itself to hit her dead-center.

Boom!

"Aaaaa~h!"

Hikari was sent flying by the impact, a matter the shield had a part in. The spear continued into the floor, piercing it and leaving a hole. Hikari landed ten feet away, on her back.

' _E-everything hurts…_ ' She began having flashbacks to the start of her adventure, where she received grievous injuries on a routine basis.

Light traveled from her power shield, and flew back at Remilia, bombarding her.

...Remilia only flinched slightly from each hit. "...If you wish to trade blows with someone of my caliber, Hakurei, I advise you to hit far harder. Those strikes are only but a fraction of my own… so unless you start _dodging_ , you might start _dying_."

Osamu tried PK Thunder ß!

"Leave them alone, you bat-hole… asshole… yeah…!" Osamu botched his attempt at a pun.

Thwaa~sh!

Remilia took the lightning bolt like a boss. Probably because she _was_ a boss.

Thwaa~sh!

The throne fell victim to the bolt, getting singed black.

"Pesky vermin." Remilia gazed down at him.

"...Hi." Osamu sheepishly waved to her.

"Well met." Remilia scoffed. "Begone."

Osamu tried PK Freeze ß!

KaKa-KaKaKling!

The pattern of ice rapidly froze and thawed around Remilia's figure.

Kra~ck!

The final blast of ice revealed her, after which she indicated no signs of being affected.

"...Thank you. I was in need of a refreshment." Remilia grinned.

"Fuck yo~u." Osamu stuck up his middle finger.

Hikari stood after a few moments of recooperation… "A-alright…"

Remilia blinked. "Oh, you're still fit, Hakurei? Then, let us continue."

' _All I've got is this… It-it better do something, anything…_ '

Hikari tried PK Fantasy ß!

The technicolor barrage of pain began once again.

Fizzle!

Remilia smirked as the particles neared her, but winced once they struck her and echoed through her body.

Fizzle!

She used her arms to futily guard against the next wave of colored projectiles.

Hikari shot her left arm forward,

FwOwOwOw!

A polygon of technicolor, psychic energy flew into Remilia, launching her into the wall.

Bam!

Hikari shot her right arm forward.

FwOwOwOw!

Remilia grimaced, and moved out of the way of the polygon, which continued into the wall and beyond.

Hikari focused on Remilia…

' _Now!_ '

Bwaa~sh!

A point-blank blast of psychic energy struck Remilia.

"Aaaaaa~h!" Remilia screamed in agony.

' _Y-yes!_ '

…

Hikari dropped to her knees, her eyes growing heavier.

' _N-no…!_ '

...Remilia floated down in front of Hikari, and grinned. "...That was a rather fitting attack, Hikari. Unfortunately, it means nothing, to me."

Osamu shook his head. "I don't believe it!"

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: MARIGOLD'S VIEW ====

' _So-so much… pain…_ '

"-unately, it means nothing, to me."

"I don't believe it!"

' _...W-what…?_ '

...Marigold moved her head to get a look at the back of Remilia approaching Hikari.

Remilia moved to grapple Hikari, only for the power shield to push Hikari back.

"A-ah, ooh…" Hikari intelligently commented on that turn of events.

A small light bullet shot from the shield and hit Remilia in the face, like a slap.

"...Petty." Remilia rubbed her cheek.

Marigold slowly rolled over, and pulled off her backpack.

' _S-sorry, you two, but this is probably for the best…_ '

From her backpack, she drew the Counter-PSI Device.

Remilia tried to grapple Hikari again, only for the same turn of events to transpire.

"Hakurei, there is nothing you can do right. You can't even surrender and let me drink your blood properly!" Remilia voiced her frustration.

Marigold played with the settings on the Counter-PSI Device box…

Phhsshhh-zz',;.';,';.';',;.';,.,'.;...

Hikari fainted, her shield flickering out.

Osamu groaned. "D-dude, I think I'm gettin' a tumor… or-or some… thing…"

Remilia froze immediately, before a look of horror spread across her face. "M-my ears…"

...She dropped to her knees. "Ouch ouch ouch ouch…!"

The red mist around her dissipated, becoming scrambled as if diced by invisible lines, before fading out as they spread out from Remilia.

...Marigold stood, and raised her Air Gun, and aimed it at Remilia.

' _This is for my friends._ '

Klack!

' _This is for me._ '

Klack!

' _This is for making me call you 'mistress'._ '

Klack!

' _...And this is just because._ '

Klack!

...Remilia didn't acknowledge any of the bullets anyway, more caught up in the butchering of her sense of hearing.

She began scratching at her own ears. "Stop, stop, stop! What the _hell!?_ "

"Ugh…" Marigold groaned. She got up, neared one of the puddles of water on the carpeted floor, and began trying to find a way to get the water from the carpet to her…

Osamu sat down, struggling to concentrate.

' _Oh, I know._ '

Marigold moved to the unconscious Hikari, and took off her ribbon. Then, she went up to Remilia, who was flailing her head around.

'This… incessant… racket…" She gritted her teeth. "Whom have I pissed off to deserve this…!?"

Marigold pressed the wet ribbon to Remilia's forehead, only to be launched back when Remilia flailed her limbs at her.

Thud.

"Ouch." Marigold summarized.

' _...Not my brightest idea…_ '

...Marigold moved back to the Counter-PSI Device.

' _I guess I have no choice but to turn this off._ '

So she does.

';,.';,.';.';zz-phhsshhh…

...Osamu stands up. "Wow. Like, ouch. Why…?"

...He notices Hikari unconscious. "Oh, damn…!"

Remilia shakes her head. "...That sucked. Also, what the hell am I even doing?"

She looks down at the unconscious Hikari. "...What happened to her? Stupid question, I suppose, but I kinda blacked out after that whole water thing."

...She turned to the other two. "Oh, good, you're still here. Thought I was talking to myself for a moment. How did you go about freeing me of that infliction, anyway…?"

Marigold's eyes shot to Osamu. "Osamu! Water shuriken, now!"

He nods. "R-right!"

Remilia's eyes widened. "W-wait, what…!?"

Osamu tried PK Hydro ß!

A shuriken of water formed over Remilia. She flew up to dodge anything incoming, but only ended up flying into it as she tried to evade it.

"Aaaauu~gh!" Remilia wails, getting flung back by the water.

Thud.

…

"Did… did we do it?" Osamu questioned. "...I-I'm fuckin' tired, man…"

"...We… we did it…" Marigold smiled. She then dropped to her knees. "We… did it…"

Thud.

Osamu blinked. "Oh… that's not good. I-I gotta get them-"

He tripped upon trying to move, falling on his stomach.

Thud.

"...On second thought, I'll just lie here… it's soft…" Osamu decides, letting exhaustion take him.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Sakuya returned from her short vacation. She only left a few days ago, but after a brief trip around Gensokyo, with time-stops galore, she found that she literally had nowhere to really go that interested her.

That, and she didn't really know what to do with a week off.

Upon arrival to the mansion, she had noticed Meiling gone, along with the fairy maids who persisted the halls.

Further investigation lead her to her mistress' throne room, where she saw an unconscious, soggy vampire lying on the carpeted floor, a look of horror frozen on her face.

She saw the form of Hikari Hakurei wedged in a small dent in the floor, for whatever reason.

The resident descendant of the Knowledge family, among others, was lying _next_ to a blood puddle, with blood caking her entire back but no visible wounds.

There was also just some dude in filthy robes sleeping on the carpet.

…

Sakuya sighed. "Two days… This is two days."

Then, the manor shook.

Boom!

...Explosions echoed from below.

"Two. Days."

…

Sakuya walked up to Remilia's charred throne, and sat down in it, relaxing.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

"Mmm… hnnh…"

Marigold slowly opened her eyes…

' _...I don't wanna get up. Maybe I can just dream a little more..._ '

She turns over, and catches a face full of Hikari hair.

' _Oh._ '

…

' _I guess I should get up, now. That completely blew away my lingering phase…_ '

Slowly, Marigold scooted away, and clambered out of the bed.

' _Back in the barracks, again, it seems. I didn't think I'd be seeing it again so soon..._ '

She once again found herself in the 'fairy barracks', although there was a distinct lack of fairies. Light shone in through the one window near Marigold's bed.

' _There's usually at least a few maids sleeping here..._ '

Restlessly, she walked down the length of the room, noting that Osamu was placed in an adjacent bed. Various other beds were shifted to angles, flipped over, or broken, reflecting the previous chaos. The side of the room Marigold and her friends were placed on was completely spotless by comparison.

' _The difference is like night and day…_ '

She turned back to the window, only to see a figure standing before her.

"W-woah!" Marigold reaches for her gun, only to realize her backpack and rifle weren't on her at the moment.

...The maid before her sighed. "...I seem to have startled you. My apologies."

' _Oh. It's just the chief maid…_ '

Then, Marigold froze.

"...H-how do I know you're okay?" Her voice shook, still tired.

Sakuya blinked. "...However do you mean?"

' _Hmm. Uhh…_ '

"Desire to kill shrine maidens?" Marigold bluntly stated.

"...Not anymore than usual, no." Sakuya tilted her head. "Should that be any different?"

' _...I think she's okay._ ' Marigold knew the various occasions where Marisa would 'visit', more so for books than anything else. Sometimes Reimu would be with her, though she'd always try to do things in a more negotiative matter.

It didn't stop her from ending up going on a danmaku-slinging rampage when negotiations broke down, though.

' _Good times. It taught me a lot of really neat hide-and-seek places, that's for sure._ '

Sakuya looked at the two sleeping teenagers. "Speaking of violence, would you mind filling me in on what exactly happened yesterday?"

' _...Yesterday?_ '

Marigold blinked. "Why do you want to know?"

"Considering the mistress was lying in a cold, wet puddle, and your mother was unconscious on the library floor with numerous signs of struggle, I think it's within my place to be curious." Sakuya argued. "...Not to mention the destruction among the bedrooms. The fairies are still unkempt, as well."

…

"Well, then." Marigold nodded. "I guess I'll tell you what I know."

Sakuya stared at her, expectantly.

"It seems like everyone has this… thing, against Hikari." Marigold began. "They also don't seem to act quite like they should. Aside from the penchant for brutal murder, that is. My mother didn't use any spell cards when we fought, and mis- Remilia… was pretty convincing, but still seemed pretty weird."

' _Nope, not calling her 'mistress'. Not anymore._ '

...Sakuya processed this information. "I see. Is there any sort of red mist involved?"

"Y-yes, actually." Marigold was surprised. "How do you know?"

"...The little mistress." Sakuya let the implication speak for itself.

Speak, it did. "...Oh." Marigold blanched.

' _O~n the bright side, she's weaker, ri~ght…?_ '

The mansion shook. A crooked lamp tipped over nearby.

Sakuya grimaced. "...I would speak more, but it seems my presence is needed again. Your mother and the mistress reside in the throne room, and they fare well."

With that, she abruptly vanished.

' _...Always the warm one._ '

Marigold looked at her friends, again, debating whether or not to wake them.

' _In a place this big, I might as well._ '

She considered flipping the bed over…

' _I wouldn't be any different from the fairies, then, would I?_ '

…

She then flipped the bed over. Or, at least, tried.

"Hnnnh…!" She shakily lifted Osamu's mattress, only successfully rolling him to the edge and off it, by tilting it at a forty five degree angle.

Thud.

She put the mattress back down, and exhaled.

' _Team muscle, I am not._ '

To her disappointment, however, Osamu was still sound asleep.

' _Alright, where's my rifle?_ '

She looked to the dresser, and saw her backpack and Air Gun rested atop it and against it, respectively.

Clutching the Air Gun, she marched back up to Osamu.

"Wake up. This is your last chance." Marigold futilely announced to the sleeping man.

He snored in defiance.

She took aim.

Klack!

With the sudden flailing of limbs, Osamu was awake, clutching the sides of both beds as he scrambled to his feet, eyes wide and mouth agape.

"A-aah, hey! I'm too beautiful to die!" He guarded his face.

Marigold sighed. "...Good morning, you."

...Hesitantly, Osamu dropped his guard. "...Geez. What's the big idea, huh? You coulda just like, nudged me, y'know."

' _You lie._ '

...They both turned to look at the sleeping Hikari.

Osamu and Marigold turned to look at each other.

"You thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?" Osamu grinned.

Marigold grinned back. "Maybe."

They both gathered around the side of Hikari's bed, and began lifting. Half-hearted efforts rendered a sixty degree angle, but Hikari impossibly retained attachment to the mattress.

One final push was all that was needed for gravity to do the rest. The bed moved forward on its own, Hikari both rolling onto the floor, then getting smooshed by the bed.

"A-ah!" Hikari awoke with a jolt, squirming immediately.

"Pffft… hahaha~!" Osamu laughed merrily. "Wakey wakey, eggs 'n' bakey!"

Marigold both giggled at Hikari's predicament, and scoffed at Osamu's own expression of amusement.

' _Eggs 'n' bakey._ '

"W-what…?" Hikari eventually fought the angry mattress off her back, and used the bed frame to support herself as she climbed to her feet, visibly thrown off-balance by her retained drowsiness.

Osamu attempted to contain his laughter, but failed. "Fwahahaha~!"

Marigold grinned, then noticed that Hikari had recovered something from the floor…

Her gohei smacked against her other, open hand, resting in it.

...Marigold slowly backed away from the mirthful Osamu, smiling sheepishly.

"-Hahahaha~!"

Hikari walked around the bed frame, reaching Osamu.

Whack!

"Haha-aaa~h!" Osamu shielded himself. "D-dude, no! Haha-ouch!"

Thwack!

As he rubbed his new bruises, Hikari looked at Marigold.

' _...Oh no._ '

She closed the distance between herself and Marigold with a brisk powerwalk.

"...Hi-Hikari, I know it looked- how it looked like, but-"

Whack!

"I-I'm innocent, I tell you! Hikari~!"

Thwack!

' _Waaa~h!_ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

After the momentary morning ruckus, Marigold directed her party members back to the throne room of the manor, albeit with some trial and error hallway navigation.

"So why the hell're we goin' back here?" Osamu wondered aloud. "You got a death wish, or somethin'?"

She was also accompanied by the complaints of a disgruntled human mage.

"Almost everyone's fine now, except for the fairy maids." Marigold explained to him. "We should be able to get some valuable information from them. Maybe."

' _I also kinda sorta wanna know if my mother's okay after that sound thrashing. Besides, if I know anything about Sakuya, she should have that… situation completely under control._ '

She wasn't in a big fat hurry to encounter what lied beneath.

The three approached the oversized door to the throne room, which didn't open on its own this time.

Marigold went to push it open.

…

' _Why's it have to be a big door?_ ' She mentally complained. ' _Vampiric ego, more like it…_ '

She eventually pushed it open enough for a human body to slip through.

"...You know, you coulda just let me do it." Osamu commented.

Hikari grins. "Because you and doors have agreed before."

"Hey- hey… hey. I coulda handled this door. I think." He grins back.

' _I'm sure you could have. It's better than Hikari just demolishing the door with brute force, at any rate._ '

Inside, Remilia and Patchouli sat at a tea table, a small white one, which wasn't in the room previously.

"...It's the guests of the hour, I see." Remilia greets from her seat, a half-smirk upon her face.

Patchouli looks over at them, tiredly.

' _Yeah, they're okay._ '

"Why don't you join us?" Remilia proposes. "We're having a spot of tea, you see."

Marigold shrugged, nodding.

"Sure." Hikari accepted.

Osamu looked conflicted.

The three teenagers moved to the two open seats. Marigold took one, and Hikari used her gohei to push Osamu away from the last one.

...He looked around. "Yeah, I didn't wanna drink from dinky little teacups at this tiny ass table, anyway." He folded his arms.

Remilia blinked. "...I could simply have another chair fetched for you, if-"

"Nah, no, it's cool." He nodded.

"...If you insist." She shrugged, and went to drink from her teacup.

...Marigold looked at her mother. Her mother stared back, dryly.

"Do, uh… you feel alright?" Marigold asked.

' _She's normally a little more naggy._ '

"My everything aches." Patchouli expressed. "I want to go to bed. No thanks to you three..."

Hikari took notice of her discomfort.

Hikari tried Healing α!

...Patchouli blinked. "H-huh. I suddenly feel… about as bad as usual."

Marigold wasn't sure what to make of that.

"Speaking of you three…" Remilia sat her hands on the tea table. "What exactly was that showing, the other night?"

' _Day._ ' Marigold corrected.

"Violence." Hikari summarized.

"...I see." Remilia stared at her dryly. "Could… could you elaborate? Those powers were like nothing a Hakurei miko would normally display, if my sources are correct..."

Hikari raised a brow. "What are these sources?"

"My source being that I had my ass handed to me by one." Remilia soundly stated. "...That, and Patchy, but I already had a hunch the Hakurei lineage was supposed to exhibit… similar powers. Not the crazy crash-bang-boom sort- well…" She paused. "My point being, yours were curious."

Hikari nods. "...Okay, then."

…

"...Are you not intrigued?" Remilia fished for a response.

"Kinda." Hikari admitted. "I don't know why _you_ care, though."

"Merely making an observation, is all. Discussion." Remilia sighed. "...You're new to this whole 'talking' thing, aren't you?"

"Only as new as you are to minding your own business." Hikari countered.

Osamu took the moment to break his silence. Loudly. "Ooo~h, damn, dude! Shots fired! Shots fucking fired!"

…

Everyone stared at him.

"...What?" He looked around at everyone.

Patchouli rubbed her temples. "Could you _be_ any louder?"

He paused. "...Do you want me to be?"

Patchouli glared at him.

"...No?" He guessed.

"It's a no. I'd prefer you dead, but I'll have to settle with 'no'."

Osamu snorted incredulously at the severity of her response.

' _Aa~h, that venomous sarcasm._ '

Remilia proceeded to prevent silence from settling in. "So! I don't remember the finer details, Marigold, but I saw that you had a weapon of some sort…?"

Patchouli looked at her, interested.

Nodding, Marigold lifted her rifle- making sure not to point it at anyone's face, of course. "I call it the 'Air Gun'. It shoots a high velocity danmaku bullet, powered by a wind stone."

"Elegant name. From where does it derive its mana from, exactly?" Patchouli presses.

"A block of wood, with lots and lots of mana just crammed into it." Marigold grins.

Patchouli's brow twitches. "And you created this block, by…?"

Marigold shook her head. "It was a complimentary item from some second hand shop in the village. I had it made on request, specifically for this gun. It kinda used fairy fingers before, but that wasn't exactly a reliable source of ammunition..."

"Fairy fingers." Patchouli deadpanned.

"...Fairy fingers." Marigold confirms.

Patchouli processed this information. "Your innovative tendencies are as strong as ever, I see. Though, I take it you still are unable to utilize any of your personal mana pool in your experiments?"

"...Yeah." Marigold nods. "I've had to find ways around it."

Patchouli says no more, resting her arms upon the table and interlocking her hands.

The manor shook, again.

Osamu looked around. "...Did anyone else just feel that?"

"No." Marigold immediately replied. "No one else felt that. You're losing it."

"You mean I haven't already lost it?" He grinned.

Marigold shakes her head. "No."

"...Oh." Osamu had nothing for that, unfortunately.

Remilia took a deep breath. "My sister seems to be under the spell of that terrible affliction that caused my rude, yet elegant behavior the other day. Except, she's… not taking to it as well as I."

"I'd like to argue that it was just rude." Marigold spoke up. "You called me by my last name and told me to die."

"Yes- well, I don't seem to remember that." Remilia hastily spoke up, receiving a curious glance from Patchouli. "Anyway-"

The manor shook again, the vibrations reflected in the tea.

"You three are in luck, because my sister happens to be a margin less powerful under this spell's affliction, akin to how we were." Remilia elaborated.

"It's not a spell." Patchouli corrected.

Remilia turned to her, and put a finger over her lips for a moment. "On that note, I'd like to ask you three to aid Sakuya in dealing with my sister's affliction."

Hikari blinked. "Can't you solve that yourself?"

"As it turns out, simply beating her up does not, infact, make it better." Remilia resolves her inquiry. "We- Patchy tried a dispel, but it's apparently _not_ a spell. Sakuya bested her earlier, but when she woke up she was both angry and hungry for miko flesh, again."

' _Perhaps I should keep the Counter-PSI Device on hand, then…_ ' Marigold wasn't eager to discover how much of Flandre's iconic 'kyuu' was sealed by the affliction.

"Should I feel uncomfortable?" Hikari questions.

"Yes." Remilia decided. "At least, when it comes to the 'everybody wanting you dead', bit."

After a few moments of silence and tea consumption, Hikari decided to get the ball rolling.

"That vampire's not gonna cure herself, I don't think." Hikari declared. She turned to Remilia… "She's a vampire, right?"

Remilia glared at her.

"...Alright, then."

Hikari got up, and moved to the door, which had closed itself at some point during the proceedings.

Marigold rose from her chair. "...H-Hikari, wait!"

Whack!

The door flew open with one strike, only opening about forty-five degrees.

' _...Oh. She did less damage than I thought._ '

Marigold sighed, anyway.

Osamu grinned. "Yeah, I agree. Fuck doors."

With that, the two followed Hikari out of the room, and down the hall.

…

Remilia sighed. "I never told them how to reach the basement."

"I'm sure Marigold knows." Patchouli references. "I'm still surprised she's actually fashioned together armaments. To be honest, I thought her locked to a strictly theoretical level of magical practice, and here she crafts technology that relies on it despite being unable to sense it. Truly remarkable, in some senses of the word."

...Remilia sipped from her tea.

"Patchy, you think too much."

Patchouli smirked. "I didn't get where I am by being impulsive."

"...Was that a subtle jab, or were you being genuine, there?" Remilia grinned back.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

After aimlessly following Hikari for a good few minutes, Marigold took the lead again. Once more, the halls lead them effortlessly to a cellar door.

' _Here we are…_ ' Marigold took a deep breath.

Osamu ran up to the cellar door, and flailed his limbs at it, producing the incessant racket of cheap tin doors getting bombarded.

' _That is exactly what I didn't want to happen._ '

Hikari walked up beside him, and readied her gohei. She brought it down on the cellar door.

Bam!

The door flew inside, clattering down the stairway.

"You guys are freaking brutes." Marigold pouts. "What did that door do to you?"

"It got in my way, that's what!" Osamu leered at the door. "I'm just showin' it what for!"

He proceeded to become aggressive with the final half of the cellar door, grabbing it and shaking it violently. Something within it snapped, and the rigid, locked position gave way to leaving the door limp.

...Osamu let go, and it swung inside, clattering loudly against the wall.

As the two teenagers marched in, Marigold grinned sheepishly. ' _They might just be more destructive than the little vampire at this rate…_ '

She knew that wasn't true, though.

Walking to the bottom of the stairway, and into the first hallway, the party quickly found themselves at a crossroad.

Hikari looked all three ways, and decided to go right.

"Hey, hold on…" Marigold held out her arm, but Hikari continued anyway.

…

After a moment, Hikari came back from the left hallway. She paused when she saw Osamu and Marigold again.

"First time something like _that_ happened…" Hikari gave a glance back to the leftmost hallway, mystified.

"Right…" Marigold sighed. "These hallways are special, you see…"

She thought back to the time she first learned the paths in and out of the cellar.

' _It was pretty unforgettable, to be sure…_ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: FLASHBACK ====

Marigold stepped down the dark cellar stairway, accompanied by a beige-haired fairy maid.

"I'm still not expecting good things, Rose." Marigold vainly stared at the fairy maid she followed.

"Nonsense!" Rose grinned widely. "Ya've been askin' 'round 'bout this here basement hall all day! It'd do ya some good to show ya my route 'n' answer a couple questions!"

' _Your dialect being one of them…_ '

"I really just wanted to know what the specific route was. Everyone kinda agrees it's something like, uh… left-forward-back?"

Rose shakes her head. "Complete and utter bullshit. It's left-forward-back."

' _...That's what I said._ '

"Those maids, they don't know, they just don't, y'know?" Rose frowns. "They think it easy. They think it, my job, is easy! Coming down here and delivering the grubs and stuffs! Can you believe it!?"

Marigold smiled awkwardly in response. "Uh…"

"...A-anyway, this is about you, not me." Rose shakes her head. "Anymore questions before we start the trip, lad?"

Nodding, Marigold asks. "...Is she _really_ as dangerous as people say? I mean, I talked with her a few times and even hung out with her once, but-"

"Ohoho~h…" Rose leaned closer to her, grinning, before her face fell serious. "You better believe it."

Marigold tilted her head.

"How do ya think I got this here eyepatch?" Rose pointed to her black eyepatch.

...Marigold grabbed it and lifted it up, revealing a perfectly fine eye underneath.

Rose flipped it back down. "Stop that. I _hate_ it when people do that…"

"I still haven't found out why she's so supposedly dangerous." Marigold presses.

"Alright, look here…" Rose raises her arms to gesture. "This don't mean much to fairies like me- 'cause we revive after any horrible death and all that- but you happen to not be a fairy, if I remember correctly. You're one of them there, uh… funny magi fellows, aren't ya?"

Marigold wasn't sure how to feel about being described as a 'funny magi fellow'.

"Right, so, if she paints the walls if your blood, you _might_ not come back." Rose nods at her own explanation.

Marigold scoffs. "Are you making her out to be some sort of crazed killer?"

The fairy maid sighs in frustration. "Look- it's like a- it's like an oni holdin' a glass 'a water. With one twitch of a muscle, kaboomaroo! The glass is bloody shattered, yeah? Well, the little mistress- she does that, too. Except with… your life, I guess?"

"Except with my life." Marigold skeptically echoes.

"Yeah. Like, she grabs the air, and then you're just dead. Yer gone. Kaput." Rose nods, an assured expression on her face. "S'just how it is."

Marigold wasn't really buying it. "Yeah, okay. Speaking of, how about you show me the way there, then? Well, walk me, at any rate, considering I already know the way..."

Rose rolled her eyes. "Ah, whatever. Don't come cryin' ta me when you're a puddle. Follow me."

They went left, and ended up back at the crossroads, except there wasn't a stairway up down one of them. They then went forward, and then went backwards.

' _Here we are…_ '

The short walk left them in front of a dark door, light emanating from under it.

"There she is." Rose stared at the door. "...Well, there's yer path. Remember," She held up a finger. "Once you open this door, it's no goin' back. Point of no return, they call it? Somethin' like that. If you open it and run, well, you'll die!" She grinned as she finished her sentence.

Marigold stared at her. "...Is that a good thing, then?"

"Oh, no, no, I was just remembering my first time down here. I ran, yeah. And I died." At that, Rose nodded nostalgically. "I was the laughin' stock of the barracks for weeks. Or days. They kinda blend together."

' _I'm sure they do…_ '

"Well, that's nice." Marigold casually comments as she walks towards the door.

...Rose jogged to catch up with her. "Wait wait wait, the hell're you doing!?"

"Going inside." Marigold described. "If I've come this far, I might as well talk with her."

"Lass…" Rose shook her head in disbelief, jaw dropping. "You don't know what you're doing! I-I didn't plan to die tonight, ya know! I've got a card game after this, and the girls'll be _really_ pissed if I don't show up!"

"...Right."

Marigold walked up to the door, and opened it.

Rose gasped. "...!"

The door creaked open.

"...Hello?" A voice called from within.

"Hi." Marigold made herself known. "I found you."

Flandre stood up from some toys she had aside her bed. "You found me?"

Marigold nods.

"I've been found!" Flandre exclaims, smiling.

Rose shakily walks in, stepping cautiously.

Flandre watched her enter. "It's the funny pirate fairy! Hello!"

Freezing, Rose furrowed her brows. "...I'm _not_ a pirate fairy. I'm a trained expert."

"Pirate fairy, pirate fairy!" Flandre cheered. "Ahoy, me bucko! Hahaha~!"

Rose facepalmed. "Geh…"

' _...I don't see a lot of danger going on here._ '

Skeptic once more, Marigold looked over at Rose, and decided to press her on it. "She _really_ doesn't seem as dangerous as you make her out to be."

Rose looks back, eyes widening.

"I mean, I don't even get those comparisons you made earlier, with the oni and all that." Marigold finished. "...I suppose this isn't the time and place to question that, though."

She focuses on Rose again, who is now completely frozen.

' _Hmm?_ '

Then, she looks at Flandre, who had also paused, staring at Marigold.

"...Oh, I suppose you're curious." Marigold scratches her cheek. "Well-"

Flandre's head jerks to the side as she focuses her eyes on Rose. "Are… are you saying bad things about me, pirate fairy?"

Rose's pupils contracted, and she held her hands up. "L-litt- I mean, Flandre- I can explain. You see-"

"I don't like it when people spread rumors about me." Flandre begins walking towards her. "It's just not fair, you know?"

"C-certainly!" Rose agrees hastily. "Real scumbag move, yeah? Totally!"

"I _hate_ it when people lie to me." Flandre walked straight up to the fairy maid, looking up into her eyes. "You aren't lying to me, are you?"

"Nope! Not at all! Didn't say a word!" Rose grins. "They call me Honest, with a capital H! Pirate captain Honest, yes!"

Marigold sighed. "...You know, couldn't you just explain what you said to me, to her? Or… was it actually gossip?"

…

Flandre expressionlessly turns to Rose.

Rose's expression falls to a deadpan sort, as she looks over at Marigold. "...You daughter of a-"

BOOM

Pi~chun!

Marigold's eye widened as Rose suddenly exploded, becoming a raw blast of mana. A violent force expanded outward from the focal point of the explosion, throwing Marigold against a wall.

Thud.

' _W-woa~h…!_ '

Flandre turned to Marigold. "You don't believe anything she said, right?"

' _U-uhm…!_ '

"N-no…" Marigold smiled weakly. "She was… clearly wrong."

Flandre smiled. "I'm glad. It's mean when people _gossip_ about each other."

' _Duly noted._ '

…

After a silent moment, Marigold stood up from the wallside…

"Do you wanna play with my toys with me?" Flandre offered. "I got a new batch just yesterday!"

' _A… new batch._ '

Suddenly, it made sense.

' _This is why we cycle out toys. The chief's not throwing them out, they're… moved here._ '

She decided to confirm her suspicions. "Flandre, where… what happened to your other toys?"

Flandre smiled sheepishly. "Eheh… I kinda got excited, and you know… they went 'kyuu'."

' _Ah._ '

…

Marigold stretched. "We~ll, I think I left one of my spell tomes… in the oven."

Flandre tilted her head. "...Why would you do that?"

"I don't know. It was a good idea at the time." Marigold moved to the door. "I gotta go get it out before it explodes, or something. Have a nice evening, Flandre."

Flandre was befuddled. "Oh… okay. Bye!"

The door clicked behind Marigold as she left. She slowly walked from the door…

' _Left-forward-back to get in? That's, uh… forward-back-right? Right-back-forward?_ '

...She began sprinting forward, and wound up at the same intersection in front of Flandre's door.

' _Right-back-forward, got it._ '

With haste, she sprinted through the maze, and back up the stairs out of the cellar.

' _...I can't believe I'm saying this, but that fairy maid's gossip was_ real _. Everything… well, not everything, but a lot of what I heard… seems to be true._ '

Except for that one she heard about Flandre being a lizardman in disguise. That one she wasn't so sure about.

Marigold closed the cellar doors.

"...Let's not do that, again. Not any time soon. Or ever."

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: FLASHBACK OVER ====

"...I wonder if that fairy maid's still around?" Marigold wonders aloud.

Osamu snaps his fingers in front of Marigold's face. "Hey, hey, Earth to magi. You've been spacin' out for like, twenty seconds now! Hikari's losin' her mind over there!"

He gestured to the halls before them, where Hikari continuously dashed down the same, incorrect, stretch of hallway, passing by them multiple times.

Marigold shook herself from her trip down memory lane. "A-ah… Hikari! Hikari!"

Hikari eventually begins to slow down, before stopping in front of the two.

"...As I was saying," Marigold resumes her pre-flashback explanation. "These halls are different. We have to follow a specific route, or they're just going to repeat for literally forever."

"Literally forever?" Hikari raises a brow."

"Literally forever." Marigold assures her. "...You can keep running, and running, and running… and you'll go nowhere."

"...Cool." Hikari grinned at the prospect.

"...Right." Marigold continued. "Anyway, I believe… the path was left-forward-back."

She began walking to the leftmost hall, as she had directed. The other party members follow her, and they quickly reach the hall prior to Flandre's room.

The manor shakes once more, the sounds of explosions imminent and loud.

"Holy crap." Osamu chuckles. "Seriously. Are we, like, fighting explosions themselves now, or something?"

"...Kinda." Marigold shrugged.

Osamu double-took. "Wait, what!?"

...A barrel on the side of the otherwise barren hall caught Marigold's attention.

' _I don't remember that being there, though…_ '

...She walked up to it-

"What're ya doin'!?"

"A-ah!" Marigold flinched.

A fairy maid popped out! Specifically…

"Rose?" Marigold's brow rose.

"Ahoy, me bu- I mean… Hey!" Rose scratched her head awkwardly. "Are you gonna try and rip me limb from limb?"

"...No." Marigold decided. "Not unless you give us good reason to."

Rose grinned, and climbed from the barrel. "Aa~h… I knew this would happen. The other maids've finally succumbed to their base urges! It's just me and you, Mari! And… those guys." Rose examined the others.

"Hi." Hikari waved.

Osamu jerked his head back. "Whaddaya mean 'those guys'?"

Rose walked into the middle of the three. "And those vampires! Ohh, they've turned a blind eye, they have. It's us against the world!"

' _She seems to be having fun with this…_ '

Rose grinned. "It's too bad for them that I've got a special secret weapon! Two of them, actually!"

"...Such as?" Marigold baited her.

"I've got a spell card!" Rose announced, and waited.

…

"...That's your cue to applaud me." Rose dryly added. "Among the idiots in this manor, that's kinda an accomplishment."

"Woo." Hikari unenthusiastically makes noise.

"...I also have this." Rose walks up to the barrel, and pulls out a cutlass.

Osamu snorted. "S'that a fuckin' sword?"

Marigold blinked. "Where did you find a cutlass in a mansion?"

"...Where did you find a bloody gun in a mansion?" Rose gestured to Marigold's Air Gun.

' _I didn't necessarily find it, and it wasn't in the mansion, but uh…_ '

"...S'what I thought." Rose nodded. "...Say, uh, any of you seen the chief maid 'round here?"

A loud blast sounded from the room ahead, causing all four of the girls to jump. The hallway shook.

…

"'Cause the place is exploding, it is! Where's the big girl in charge when you need her!?" Rose yelled.

' _Might as well let her find out._ '

"...Well, we're going to go tame Flandre." Marigold informs her.

Rose's expression fell. "Mari, lass, no. She's gone from 'debatably a crazed killer' to 'actually a crazed killer'. To answer your question from earlier, that is."

' _...That's actually some impressive memory for a fairy maid._ '

"Don't worry. We're professionals." Hikari spoke up, holding up her gohei. "We solve problems."

Osamu nodded. "Yeah. We hit things really hard until they fall over. Professionally."

Rose scoffed. "You three, professionals? The day Mari here's a professional's gonna be the day I wear an eyepatch on both eyes!"

At that, Marigold grinned. "You'd be surprised."

' _That reminds me…_ '

"How are you not affected?" Marigold questioned. "All the other fairies and youkai in the manor seem to be."

The hallway shook again, a loud blast sounding from the room ahead.

Everyone stumbled a bit from the impact.

…

"S'that answer yer question?" Rose proposed. "I actually was, for a bit, I think. I remember runnin' at the Flan-lass, and then I exploded. Repeatedly. When I stopped explodin', I was fine."

' _Well, that implies good things for us, then._ '

With a large vibration, and the sounds of crumbling stone, the entire party ended up crouching or sliding to the floor as they heard many rocks tumbling on the other side of the door.

…

"What the hell's goin' on out there!?" Osamu shouts. "It sounds like a fucking war!"

' _Not just any war. A fucking war._ ' Marigold mentally jabs at Osamu's way with words.

"...Yeah, if only." Rose comments. "Whelp…" She raises her cutlass. "Time to put this baby to good use. If she doesn't explode, that is. I hope not, 'cause it's a really nice blade, too."

Marigold stands. "Well, we're not getting anything done by socializing. Let's go."

"Mmm." Hikari confirms.

They walked to the door, and Marigold swung it open.

On the inside, she saw nothing that reminded her of Flandre's room.

Jagged rock composed the walls, illustrating a tunnel straight from the door to outlying cellar hallway, which in turn was also reduced to a tunnel of jagged rock, as if traversed by an oversized earthworm that happened to be made of abstract geometry.

"...Wow." Marigold was speechless.

"Someone was busy." Hikari noted.

"...How big're we talkin'?" Osamu wondered. "'Cause if you say she's anywhere near that other vampire lady's size… I just won't believe you."

"Alright- make way, get outta the way!" Rose pushed her way past the three, barging into the jagged tunnel.

"Woaa~h, holy sledgehammers!" Rose gaped. "She can just _do_ this!?"

The tunnel lead in a line that eventually went into daylight.

' _...This might work to our advantage, actually._ '

Marigold walked forward, carefully stepping over the jagged terrain. Osamu followed, and Hikari took her time even more so, since sandals were not very optimal footwear for jagged rocklands.

...Rose simply floated overhead. "...I dunno what you guys're doing, but I think it's a good idea to _not_ walk on the spiky rocks."

"None of us can fly." Marigold kept it short for her.

"Oh." Rose nodded. "...Come again? I thought ya said you were professionals?"

"At hitting things." Osamu corrected. "Flying costs extra."

"Oh, I see. I getcha, I getcha." Rose nods. "Yeah, I wouldn't have the money for that. Or any money at all, come to think of it."

...Osamu wasn't sure what to make of that.

The trek through the treacherously jagged tunnel proceeded slowly, with Rose very, very slowly floating to stay with the party, likely unappealed by the idea of rushing forward only to get brutalized by Flandre.

Before long, the party reached the end of the cave, gazing into the bright, snow-laden yard ahead…

Bam!

' _More like knife-laden._ '

"Raaagh!" Flandre roared.

Sakuya never stuck in one place for any longer than a second, constantly teleporting around and chucking barrages of knives towards Flandre. Those that stuck didn't stay stuck for long, and only left marks for about as long as it took for them to be removed.

Flandre staggered about in the sunlight, shielding herself from the oncoming knives, occasionally lashing out with an explosive beam.

...She turned, and noticed Hikari.

"H-Hakurei…" Flandre seethed. "Blood…"

Hikari frowned. "I can assure you my blood's not that tasty. Honestly."

Flandre wasn't exactly listening, however, sending a barrage of emerald orbs towards the party. Knives moved to intercept the majority of them, but a few still got near the party.

Rose ducked under one. "We're under fire! Everybody hit the deck!"

She dove into the snow.

Marigold aimed at Flandre.

Klack!

Nothing productive happened when the bullet hit her.

' _As expected, she's nearly immune to damage, it seems._ '

Red energy swirled around Flandre…

"Get ready." Hikari cautioned the party.

' _It's that red fog again. Hopefully she's already on her second form…_ '

"Hraaa~gh!" Flandre throws her arms outward, arching her back as she glares into the sky. Green streaks of light raise from the snow under her, and soar into the sky.

Sakuya appears next to the party. "Move."

Then, she's gone.

' _Thanks, for that. I wouldn't have known to dodge the enemy attacks otherwise._ '

On closer inspection, the green streaks of light appeared to be coming back down.

Everyone scattered to move away from them, but no one really knew a good way _to_ avoid them, similar to attempting to dodge a rain of arrows.

The bolts of light struck straight down into the snow, everyone grazed fairly closely.

"Aargh!" Osamu clutched his leg, green electricity running up it from being caught in one of the light beams. "I-I can't feel my fucking leg!"

Hikari tried Lifeup α!

"...Nevermind." He stepped a few times with it, to make sure it was fine again. "Let's beat her up before she does that again. I don't like getting bombarded by freakin' solar beams or whatever."

' _They're not solar, they're… whatever element they are. Aagh._ ' Marigold mentally groaned at the technically incorrect elemental naming.

Rose had the same idea. "Alright! I'm'onna deck this vampire! Watch this!"

She floated into the air, and grinned down at Flandre. "This is for all those times you made me a fine fairy mist! Steel Sign, Blade's Dance!"

She arched her head back. "Hyaa~h!"

A spinning circle of gold, danmaku cutlasses formed around her. "Go!"

They all spun towards Flandre, who made no attempt to get out of the way.

All the bullets smoothly thunked into Flandre, but all it seemed to do was make her more angry.

She held her left arm up, and made a circle with her hand…

…

She hissed in annoyance. "Hhh… No, no, nooo~!"

With a fling of her arm, a line of explosions flew towards Rose.

Rose blinked. "Oh, bugge-"

Pi~chun!

' _I can't say I didn't expect that. I should probably use that device, now…_ '

Marigold slid off her backpack, and pulled out the Counter-PSI Device.

Hikari looked over to her curiously, while Osamu was more focused on watching Flandre's movements.

Marigold began tuning the settings on it…

Phhsshhh-zz',;.';,';.';',;.';,.,'.;...

"...Ugh, no…" Hikari clutched her head.

"Oh, not now! Fuck, not now! Gaa~h…" Osamu clutched his.

…

Poof. Sakuya landed in the snow, an unthrown scatter of knives landing in it next to her.

Flandre gritted her teeth. "I-it hurts… A-aah…"

She threw her arm to the side, and sent a barrage of lava orbs towards the back wall.

Bam!

"It hu~rts!"

Flandre threw herself about in an attempt to mitigate the pain she was feeling from the high-pitched static the device emitted. Vampiric magic was randomly flung about, lines of light haphazardly shooting into the sky among random explosions and unaimed fireballs being launched.

The red mist that was around her began getting diced up again, as if being run through an invisible net. It dissipated shortly after.

"M-make it sto~p…" Flandre whined, falling to her knees and finally clutching her ears. "St-stop…"

' _I should probably stop it, now…_ '

';,.';,.';.';zz-phhsshhh…

...Hikari came to, and gazed at the Counter-PSI Device.

Osamu shook himself back into focus. "...Dude, I think I need to see a doctor. I'm havin' like, mini-strokes or something."

...Sakuya rose from the snow, dusting herself off. "What… was that?"

Flandre paused. "...O-owhh…"

Somewhat frazzled, everyone pretty much readjusted themselves after the momentary headache.

Hikari walked up to Marigold. "...So that's where it came from."

' _She knows._ ' Marigold nodded. "Yeah. I've learned to use it kinda carefully…"

"You had better." Hikari asserted. "That thing hurts, you know."

' _Does it really?_ ' Marigold blinked. "W-well… sorry."

Satisfied, Hikari stares back at the others.

Flandre walks up to the three calmly. Osamu's eyes widen.

"Oh, dude, oh du~de…!" He yell-whispers, only to be silent once Flandre finally reaches them.

"Hi." The vampire began. "...You're… Hikari, right?"

Hikari stepped up to her. "Hello. Yeah."

"Cool." Flandre nodded. "Some strange voices kept telling me to kill you. I thought it was funny, 'cause I never even met you yet! I thought I was regressing, too… but it was just some stupid red stuff." She frowned. "It was mean."

"Mmm. Someone's seriously out to ruin my day." Hikari agreed with her..

Flandre smiled. "I know, right? I feel the same way! Actually, I got something to show you, I think. I'm, like, a sanctuary guardian or something. I dunno what that means, though. The red stuff said so."

' _Huh._ '

Sakuya stood, stumbling forward. "W-wait! The mistress- sh-she's unsafe!"

Flandre turns to her. "No, I'm not, Sakuya. I think. Unsafe… wait, am I _in_ danger, or am I _the_ danger?"

In an attempt to fight further, Sakuya messily throws a barrage of daggers towards Flandre, who actually makes an attempt to dodge them, this time. Sakuya, then, flops over into the snow.

"A-ah…"

Poof.

Flandre stared down at her, concerned. "...That's no good, Sakuya. You're off your game, today."

...After a moment, she lifted up Sakuya. "I'll be right back, guys. Wait here, okay?"

She flew up and over the top of the manor, carrying Sakuya.

…

Osamu looked around, and hugged himself. "I just realized how stinkin' cold it was."

...Hikari hugged herself, too. "Thanks for reminding me temperature was a thing."

Marigold smiled. "It's a good thing I came prepared, then, huh?"

"Yeah, screw you." Osamu glared at her.

' _Why is he cold in those robes, anyway?_ '

Flandre touched down in front of them. "Hello again! Alright, follow me. The weird place is this way."

She walked forward towards a section of wall. Along the wall, there was a crack in the lower portion. It was large enough for a human to fit in, and was shrouded in darkness.

Flandre walked into it, and actually bumped into the darkness.

She made a small frown, "Hey…" and proceeded to tap it. After a moment of contemplation, she punched it.

Cra~ck!

The darkness shattered, literally falling to the floor like glass, then dissipating.

Flandre smiled. "Alright! Let's go!"

...Hikari turned to Marigold, and Marigold turned to Hikari.

They both thought pretty much the same thing. ' _Did she just_ punch out _the darkness?_ '

...Hikari, however, shrugged it off.

Marigold furrowed her brows, gazing forward incredulously. ' _That shouldn't be remotely possible!_ '

"Freakin', alright…" Osamu grins, going along with it.

They walked through the crack in the wall, leading to a small patch of dense forestry.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIKARI'S VIEW ====

Hikari looked around the snowy wood, realizing that it was not only dense forestry, but it was very dense forestry.

' _You could tell me that those trees were a palisade wall, and I'd believe you._ '

"...This is definitely a natural feature of the environment." Marigold jeered.

Hikari's eyes locked onto the murky puddle in the middle of the snow.. It rippled softly, as a single drop of water fell in from the cloudy sky above, every few seconds. It sat in such a manner, that one might have questioned if the snow upon that spot of earth had simply melted away without reason, leaving a puddle in the dirt.

"...Yeah, it's weird, right?" Flandre smiled at it. "Kinda cool, too. I'd splash around in it, but, yeah…" She scratched her head sheepishly. "It wouldn't be a good idea."

Hikari walked up to it, and took out her sound stone.

' _I'm not sure yet if it's actually a sanctuary of any sort, but it is weird…_ '

She pressed it against her forehead.

...

She heard a melody play.

 _A gentle breeze rolled through Giant Step, caressing the indent in the hill…_

 _It then rolled through the crevice leading to Subconscious Steps, before whirling around and escaping into the sky above..._

 _Fluttering through the valley, it weaved through bamboo trees before circling around the Milky Well. It circled back around, and flowed right back out through the trees..._

 _Smoothly floating over the crisp air of the Misty Lake, the wind swept past the walls of a western manor, before dipping into the trees just outside the walls to orbit Rainy Circle. It flowed out just as freely..._

 _Becoming entrapped within the walls around Magnet Hill, the wind anxiously rebounded off the walls before escaping, flowing back over the Human Village..._

...

…

...

A beat continued to play after the numerous notes, but no more actual music continued to be produced by the stone.

' _They play in a set order, then. Have I somehow been finding them all in order…?_ ' Hikari's brow rose as she stared at the Sound Stone. ' _Whatever. This thing was weird to begin with…_ '

She glanced around the very clustered trees around the small clearing, then her eyes washed over the wall.

' _...There was more to this little place. As in, there was another wall of trees right about there._ ' Hikari gazed at the brick wall. ' _Not that it matters. A wall's a wall._ '

Osamu stretched, taking in the relaxing sensation. "Ma~n, that feels good _every_ time."

Marigold stared at the puddle. "...I take it this is the magic fixture that is the basis for this sanctuary?"

Hikari nods. "Yeah, basically. It's kinda been here, from what I know."

' _Not that I know a lot about it other than its architecture and some of the events that took place here. By that, I mean many years of seemingly nothing._ '

"...I see." Marigold nodded slowly. "There's no limit to ancient, mystical landmarks, are there?"

' _Yeah, a mud puddle is kinda stretching it…_ '

Flandre tilts her head, grabbing onto her hat. "Woaa~h! Easy there, wind! My hat is not for flying!"

' _...Well, I'd stick around, but it's cold, wet, and windy. Not a great place, even if it feels like home, somehow._ '

Hikari turned around, and began to leave the sanctuary, navigating to the crack in the wall.

"H-hey!" Flandre called out to her. "Are you really just gonna leave it? It's magical, and stuff!"

"I kinda got what I needed from it." Hikari responded. "There's not much reason to stick around when it's this cold."

"...I guess so." Flandre admitted, frowning. "It's so weird, though…"

' _Gensokyo is full of weird things._ '

"About time. Dude, that wind just kicks my robe's _ass_. Not that nice magic wind, but the wind wind." Osamu complained.

And so the four departed from Rainy Circle, leaving behind the rather dim and cold environment of the sanctuary location, as they navigated back into the manor.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

END OF CHAPTER 12

Protagonist: Hikari Hakurei, Disciple of Paradise

-Inventory-

Weapon: Magical Gohei - Ability to whack stuff really hard. Amplifies whacking power, too! Able to deal magical damage. Critical hits enabled.

Arms: Iconic Hakurei Arm Sleeves - Keeps arms warm. A Hakurei tradition. How they stay on is a Hakurei family secret.

Body: Combat Miko Outfit - A black leotard and hakama combination worn by the previous-previous Hakurei miko. Designed to be suitable for excessive physical activity and close combat, it slightly improves physical combat prowess.

Misc: Yukkuri Ribbon - Looks like a bad Christmas ornament. Lime green, with yukkuri decals!

-Skills-

Attack: Quickly! Swing your gohei at them for massive damage!

PK Fantasy α, β - Bombards the enemy with pain in the form of flashing colors. Deals magical damage. Heavy mental strain that increases with each tier.

PK Flash α - A bright flash that distributes very random status effects to enemies. Usually makes people cry.

Hypnosis α, Ω - Puts weak enemies to sleep for a short time. Works better on tired or exhausted foes. Can also be used in a far more costly form that works on multiple opponents.

Shield α, ß - Halves damage the target takes. Only works against physical attacks, and enough strikes, or powerful strikes, will dispel it. Higher tier turns it into a power-shield that protects even better and even reflects a fraction of protected damage.

Lifeup α, ß - Heals target a little. Higher tiers heal more grievous wounds, like bone fractures.

Healing α, ß - Heals basic status ailments. Higher tiers can cure more dire effects, like burning alive.

Ofuda Toss - Throw a holy ofuda that does massive holy elemental damage to youkai and dark elemental foes. Effect lessens the more holy the thing you're attacking is, to the point of healing holy things. Only works if you actually have ofuda, though.

β-β-β-β

Mage: Osamu Katsumi, the Wannabe Mage

-Inventory-

Weapon: Fisticuffs!

Arms: Nothing

Body: Worn Magician Robes - An old robe from the days when the village respected the medium of magic. Well past its due date, but still comfy!

Misc: Yukkuri Beanie - Resembles a really tacky tablecloth, made in the Yukkuri theme. Lime green and has tons of fun yukkuri decals!

-Skills-

PK Thunder α, ß - Very random thunder attack that deals limited damage. Higher tiers increase number of bolts, and sometimes power.

PK Hydro α, β - Gets everyone wet. Usefulness with PK Thunder and PK Freeze depends on whether you hit yourself or not! Creates whirling water spirals at higher tiers.

PK Freeze α, β - Generates ice crystals at the target's location. Medium damage and effect; may freeze some targets, especially wet ones.

Fireball - Manipulate mana to make a shoddy fireball. Low damage and effect.

Static Hands - Not a real spell. Result of a very undercharged PK Thunder that can accidentally go off.

PSI Telepathy α - Speak to friends you haven't met yet! Unstable connection and only works if they have the skill or are asleep.

PSI Shield α, Σ - Halves damage from magical and psychic attacks. Thunder spells fry it instantly, and harder blows dispel it. Second tier applies basic shield to entire party at higher mana expense.

PSI Magnet α - Costs no mana to use, and steals a very tiny amount of mana from the enemy. Enemy has to have mana in the first place for it to work, though.

Offense Up α - Get pissed! Boosts strength and confidence depending on caster's power and receiver's power.

β-β-β-β

Inventor: Marigold Knowledge, the Tri-Magi Love Child

-Inventory-

Weapon: NF Burst Gun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Uses a Pop Gun as the base, but amplifies its power with an array of random batteries jammed into the base with the Pop Gun. The more batteries, the better, but the typical yield is about five bullets per trigger. Spamming the trigger doesn't make it go any faster, unfortunately. Has no foreseeable ammo limit, and the batteries are only there for mana circulation, meaning their power is really inconsequential.

Arms: Nothing

Body: Custom Dress - A custom dress made by Alice. Provided slight defense against magical and psychic attacks.

Misc: Swirly Glasses - Lets Marigold not be blind.

Backpack - Allows extended inventory. Aged relic from the Kourindou.

Unnamed Lock Opening Device - Opens locks very precariously. Made with steel, burnt cloth, packaging peanuts, thumbtacks, string, and wooden wheels. Don't even ask…

Ruler - Lets you measure the world around you!

Protractor - Lets you find the angles of anything ever. Totally overpowered.

Deck of Cards - Allows Marigold to play Strip Poker with the party. Just kidding… or am I?

Stun Gun - Electrical device used to subdue harassers. Has settings ranging from Tickle Torture to Arse Blaster. Able to stun and inflict paralysis on certain foes. Deals electrical damage, and on the highest setting can fry shields, at the cost of temporarily shorting itself out.

Air Gun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Uses air to propel moderately powered danmaku particles at high speeds. Bland, but efficient. Filled with foil chip bags to conduct the mana, and it is transmitted into a wind stone. Recently upgraded to draw mana from a simple wooden block filled with immense magic reserves, giving it virtually unlimited ammo.

Holmes Brand Designer Hat - Village swag! A retro village hat that ceased production ten years ago. Sells for a pretty penny nowadays, but it's pretty useless otherwise.

Slime Generator - A bulky box that shoots a small splat of slime. Doesn't seem good for much.

Counter-PSI Device - A weird device Marigold found from a flying saucer. Works in strange ways, and seems to disrupt everyone's concentration. Marigold is immune to its effects.

Broken Cylinder - Has a red crystal in the center, encased by clear plastic and steel. The purpose of it, however, is unknown.

Broken Barrels - Gun barrels, ready to go! Of variable broken sizes and made for minigun bullets, but probably fine otherwise. Made from steel.

-Skills-

Radio DJ - Apparently not very good at it.

Dubstep Composer - That, however, she _is_ good at!

Vampire Discomforter - Truly a force to be reckoned with.

Has Not Used Her Ruler or Protractor Even Once - Probably deserves a medal for that.

100.1% Mansion Exploration - Aside from the cellar, anyway…

Might Be Able To Moonwalk Up Stairs Backwards - Or she might not.

β-β-β-β

Author's Note:

took my sweet time developing this one because video games and summer

once i get more bored with life and things, pace could increase… or not

but yeah, vampire fights!

...yeah i made them steal moves from dracula because it was COOL. also i've been playing a lot of castlevania recently

giygas nerfs affected people because he/it's controlling them in some way and doesn't know how to use them; also, a fully powered and right-minded remi, flandre, or patchouli could totally tear them apart right now unless they very explicitly went for cheesing strats, some of which wouldn't be viable to express in literature (and would probably only easily get them past a sane patchy)

SO YEAH

as always, see you all next time!


	14. Hakurei: Microwave on High

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIKARI'S VIEW ====

On the manor's inside, Hikari and her friends got to enjoy a bit of the luxury they had expected previously upon entering the manor.

"Dude, that meal, was like, _the_ meal." Osamu patted his stomach.

The three sat in the library, which was now devoid of noticeably homicidal flying tomes.

"I don't know. Too much fancy food, to be honest." Hikari had mixed feelings.

' _Unlike Mom, I'm a bit of a picky eater when it comes to 'real food'._ '

The two sat at a table in one of the library's many clearings.

"Too much fancy food!?" Osamu looked at her as if she grew a second head. "Who are you, and what've you done with Hikari?"

"Is it really that big of a surprise…?" She asks back nonchalantly.

He nods exaggeratedly. "Yeah! You eat almost as much as I do!"

Hikari raises a finger. "But… they were all mostly snacks."

"And? Food's food, dude." Osamu shakes his head.

Meanwhile, Marigold was using the table's other half to fiddle with the Broken Cylinder and the Broken Barrels.

"...I'm not sure such a design would work." Patchouli, who was seated across from Marigold, told her daughter. "Are you _certain_ you know what you're doing?"

"Hey." Marigold pointed a detached barrel at her. "Experimentation's kinda part of the process."

"So many a novice magician have said…" Patchouli comments. "...And Marisa."

Hikari gave them a glance, as did Osamu. She took note of the metal she was fiddling with...

' _I still don't know where she gets these ideas._ '

Marigold pouted. "Well, unfortunately, back-alley magical weapon assembly happens to not be a well documented trade. That, and the things I'm working at are of such a basic level that nothing should really explode or go horribly."

Patchouli nods. "Fair enough. Minus the flame crystal you're currently working with."

Marigold pauses for a moment. "...Yeah."

"I don't even know how it might work on activation." Patchouli reflected. "For this reason, please inform me of tests ahead of time so that I may properly ward myself."

Marigold snorted. "Oh, trust me, you'll know."

She had her mother alchemically produce a wheel to attach to the edge of the crystal's cylindrical container, able to fit the four barrels.

' _Okay, I'll bite. That looks nothing like her other guns, except for the rods at the end._ ' Hikari tilted her head, attempting to discern how Marigold was sure simply attaching the metal would do something.

"...H-how is that going to work?" Hikari asks.

' _I should clear my throat more often._ '

Marigold looks over at her, taken off guard for a moment. "A-ah, well… The way I was thinking, was that I was gonna have mana go in through one end and hopefully come out the other, with the metal and barrels acting as ways for the output to be received and shaped. I don't know what the output will be, exactly, though."

' _...Ah._ ' Hikari nodded. "...So what goes in, must come out?"

"Basically." Marigold nods as well.

"Hopefully." Patchouli adds.

Marigold glances at her, smiling ironically, as she looks back down at the device. "I need an easy way to activate whatever distributes the mana charge, though."

"...I would suggest a magical trigger," Patchouli shrugs, "But I don't think you could activate such a thing, being unable to feel the flow of mana at all…"

"Why not something pressurized?" Marigold suggests. "Like a trigger, or a plate. Something that activated by physical means."

Patchouli sighed. "I am a mage, not a metalsmith."

Marigold rolled her eyes. "You don't have to _be_ a metal smith. Even a material that reacts a bit excited when smacked would be alright with me. I would prefer something automatic, but…"

"...That could work." Patchouli agrees. "Allow me to locate the materials."

Patchouli raises from her chair, and floats away.

' _Most of that was greek to me._ '

Osamu nods and grins. "...Well. I have no _idea_ what the hell you two just talked about, but it sounded smart, so I'm confident you know what you're doing."

Marigold snorted. "I see…"

After the discussion died down, all was quiet for a few moments, barring the noise of Marigold tinkering with metal parts.

' _...I feel like we've been facing more enemies lately than normal._ ' Hikari stares up at the upper levels of the library, and the far away ceiling. ' _The last time there was a brainwashing thing, there was a very obvious source of it. Here… nothing felt very different about everyone affected._ '

She looked over at Marigold, who was focused on the parts.

' _That, and those machines near Mom's shrine…_ ' Hikari began realizing the scale of things. ' _...This might be a bigger thing than I first anticipated._ '

Hikari then looked to Osamu, who was picking at his nails…

"Ow!" He shakes his thumb, then glares at it. "Stupid fuckin' hangnail…"

Hikari decides to beckon his attention. "Say, Osamu…"

He's instantly alerted, looking up at Hikari. "Yeah- huh, what?"

"Don't you feel like we're starting to see more and more stuff geared against us? Like, those robots, and the increasing amount of brainwashing?" Hikari questions.

He shrugged. "...Now that ya mention it, yeah. Also, who the hell's this Giggly Gas guy?"

Hikari snorted. "Someone who _really_ wants to ruin our day. Days, rather."

Patchouli floated back down. "Here we are…"

She laid down a orange, rectangular gem on the table, which was encased by a frame of metal.

"It's a garnet." Patchouli states.

"I can see that." Marigold observes.

"I've enchanted it to serve two purposes for you. One is to hold an immense surplus of mana, an easy task. The metal borders are to help it retain that charge, as well. The second was to make it react violently on contact, and exude the mana. If you were able to feel the flow of magic, I doubt you could hold the gem proper."

Patchouli, herself, had only been touching it by the borders, as observed by Hikari.

Marigold furrowed her brows. "Why might that be?"

"The simplest touches can make it emanate slight amount of mana. It feels and acts as though it's constantly vibrating, giving it a slippery quality, though only to biological beings. For example…"

She held it by the borders again, and held it towards Hikari and Osamu.

"Touch it." Patchouli requested.

Hikari leaned forward and put her hand on it.

' _W-woah._ ' She held her hand on it. ' _My hand's all tingly…_ '

Osamu reached out, and put his hand on it.

"Yo~! Kinda feels like my hand's numb, except not…" He retracts it, clamping it shut a few times. "Wei~rd."

She holds it closer to Marigold. "Now, for you."

Marigold grabs it, and holds onto it. "...It feels like a regular crystal."

Patchouli nods. "To you, maybe."

Marigold attaches the garnet to the free end of the cylinder, or tries to. "...I assume you planned for this?"

Patchouli gives a small grin. "Yes, yes. Some simple magnetism with the ambient mana should do wonders."

' _Magnets…_ ' Hikari furrowed her brows. ' _Now, just how do they work?_ '

Patchouli moves around the table to reach the gem, and swipes her hands across the metal, pressing it to the bottom of the cylinder.

"There." Patchouli nods. "That should hold. Should it ever fail, you may ask me to reapply it, if only because you're at a disadvantage."

Marigold nodded. "I mean, I'm sure some tape could've done the job, but this works too."

Her mother's brow twitches. "Right…"

Marigold stood up, holding the new machine. "Alright… Could you make some large rocks for me to shoot, Mom?"

"Mmm." Patchouli hummed.

She held out her hand, and three pillars of rock erupted from magical circles on the floor.

Marigold held the unwieldy cylinder with both arms, keeping her rightmost one near the back to access the garnet.

She aimed at the central rock, and slapped the garnet. Her hold on the device tightened as it shook, the other end of the device outputting a blast of raw heat. The table's corner was caught by the heat blast, and ended up getting pushed back somewhat.

"Woah!" Osamu jumped, surprised.

Patchouli stared. "Hmm… Perhaps try being a little more gentle? I made it quite sensitive."

"Mmm." Marigold acknowledged her advice, and instead pressed on the garnet.

A low hum was produced by the gun, a shimmering orange beam expanding to meet the stone ahead. Nothing visibly happened to the stone.

Marigold took her hand off the garnet, and the ray fizzled out shortly after.

"...That was underwhelming." Marigold declared.

Patchouli sighed. "Need I remind you that it's a _fire_ crystal?"

Marigold paused, furrowing her brows. Then, she began blushing. "...Shut up."

Patchouli smirked. "Would you like something that might actually burn, instead? Wood, perhaps?"

"...Actually," Marigold had a different idea, "Do you think you could summon a homunculus?"

Patchouli thought on it, for a moment. "...A shoddy one, yes. That's likely all we'll need, though. Give me a moment..."

Hikari rose a brow at the term. ' _A what?_ '

Osamu looked curious. "A what? A hoe, mun…?"

"Please refrain from hurting yourself." Patchouli monotoned, floating to the side of the clearing with the rocks. With a wave of her hand, they retracted back into the magical circles. A new circle formed, and she began focusing on it…

Osamu folded his arms.

After a few moments of focus from Patchouli, a human figure was created in the middle of the magical circle. It was, however, faceless, featureless, and uncannily smooth.

"The best I can come up with on a whim's notice." Patchouli admits.

"S'that a dude?" Osamu stood up, leaning to look past Marigold.

Patchouli stared at him blankly. "...It's technically genderless, but you could call it whatever you want. It's not even sentient, though sentience is a whole different science."

Osamu nodded. "...Wazzat mean?"

"Does it have organs?" Patchouli poses the question to him.

"Not that, the other part. With the sentiment stuff."

"It doesn't think." She abbreviates. "It cannot feel, either. It hasn't a working mind."

"...Oh." Osamu nods, again. "Alright, I getcha."

' _It looks kinda creepy._ '

Hikari stares at it, unsure what to really think of it.

Marigold aims the device at it, and presses on the garnet.

Once again, a low hum is made audible as an orange beam of energy expands to meet the homunculus. The skin and flesh of the homunculus begin to boil on contact, the entire body swelling up. After just a few seconds of exposure-

Splash!

The homunculus burst into a torrent of blood, spilling across the carpet under it, its flesh and parts flowing uselessly to the floor.

...

' _Yick._ ' Hikari winces at the display. ' _That was… messy._ '

"Pff-fft…!" Marigold grins incredulously. "Wow. Al~right, then…"

Osamu gaped. "What the fuck!? Woa~h! That guy just _came apart!_ "

Patchouli grimaced at the mess. "Tch. The carpet's going to need some deep cleaning."

...Marigold held her device in front of herself. "I _like_ this new weapon."

Patchouli snorted.

"I shall call it the Fire Laser Gun." Marigold decides.

…

Patchouli stares at her tiredly. "You will not."

Marigold jerks her head back, as if surprised.

"For one thing, it seems to produce microwaves, and not exactly fire. I'm not familiar with any technology that would normally be able to replicate microwaves on a level of weaponizable capability, but such a weapon should prove to be vastly powerful against anything biological." Patchouli explains. "As such… at the very least call it the Microwave Gun if you're to be unoriginal."

Marigold pouts. "...Alright."

Marigold has obtained the Microwave Gun!

' _I'm not sure how to feel about that._ '

Marigold brings her backpack from the floor to the table, and opens a flap. "...How am I going to store this in my backpack?"

Patchouli held up a metal plate. "You're probably going to want a cap, for that."

Patchouli floats over, and attaches it. "It's lockable, and has fake hinges."

Jerking her head back, Marigold looks at her mother. "Fake hinges?"

"Magic ones. They're finicky, but work well if used sparingly and combined with inactive states, like locks or latches." Patchouli explained.

"I see…"

"Although, as your mother, I have the obligation to tell you to not point that thing at people." Patchouli states, half in jest. "It may or may not gib them."

Marigold nodded. "I'll keep that in mind…"

"Unless it's in self defense." Patchouli adds. "Then you can go nuts."

With the cap now attached to the Microwave Gun, Marigold was able to slip it into the backpack.

Patchouli and her both sat back down, and the discussion died down.

' _I should probably ask her if she knows anything about the recent events…_ '

Hikari turned to Patchouli. "Would you happen to know anymore weird things lately?"

"...Where is this coming from?" Patchouli rose a brow. "I'm not sure if I follow."

"I-I mean, with like…" Hikari pauses. "Robots?"

...Patchouli nods. "That does remind me… Meiling has been complaining about a sudden surge of combatants at evening. They don't seek to invade the manor walls, but when they see her they typically attack her. She reports things such as status ailment inducing machines and laser-firing robots."

' _That sounds about right._ '

"They're scarce during the day, only roaming in large at night. For Meiling, groups of ten-twenty laser firing robots aren't a huge concern, even with status afflictions, but for you three, it might be more than you're willing to bargain for."

' _Ten to twenty!?_ '

Osamu's eyes widen. "Ten to twenty? Are you serious?"

Patchouli's expression was deadpan. "Does this look like the face of a jester?"

"Dude, the last time we saw them was around the freakin' shrine, and it was like, two or three!" Osamu argued. "There's no way there're a horde of the tin cans!"

"Two or three sounds about right, for day time." Patchouli tilted her head back and forth. "Nights in Gensokyo are becoming more perilous. I would dread to be caught somewhere far from any form of abode, as even during the day there may be more. It would seem some sort of mechanical presence is taking the land by storm. In the end, it's not my problem, though." She folded her arms.

Hikari slowly turns away from her. ' _Well, when they come knocking on your door, you can't say you didn't have the chance to do anything._ '

"Currently, they're all coming from one distinct direction." Patchouli provides. "Youkai Mountain."

Osamu snorted. "Oh, yeah, that place. S'it actually got a shitton of youkai, or are people just bein' superstitious like usual?"

Patchouli gazes at him. "It does, infact, harbor a large majority of youkai homes in Gensokyo, along with various larger communities, such as the kappa or tengu."

"...Oh." Osamu nodded. "Well, uh, why're there robots coming from there, then?"

Patchouli shrugged.

"Maybe we should check it out." Hikari decided. "Finding the source of the robots would be a good step in stopping that… Giygas thing."

' _I can't believe I'm actually calling it by the name. I have to call it something, though._ '

Marigold smirked. "You say that, but considering ten to twenty are a nightly thing _this_ far from the mountain…"

Hikari cringed. ' _...This might be a little beyond our capabilities._ '

Patchouli stood. "Well, I'm not one to tell mikos how to handle incidents, but I would recommend you travel during the silence of the daylight. Considering even Meiling is beginning to feel uncomfortable with combat at night, I would dread to think what might befall you three if you were caught o-out at n-night."

...Patchouli coughed, clearing her throat. "Ahem. I a-appear to have been talking too long…"

Hikari smiles. ' _And people call_ me _new to talking._ '

Standing, Hikari stretches. "We~ll… I think it might be time for us to head out."

"Very well. Do make haste, as it's already noon." Patchouli begins floating away. "...Think carefully, Marigold. Don't let that wit of yours dull. It is a valuable asset."

Marigold smiled. "Love you too, Mom."

Caught off-guard by the blunt statement, Patchouli turned away quickly. "I love you, too, daughter."

With that, she floated away.

...Osamu sighed. "Dude, we just got here…"

"Stuff's not just gonna wait for us to sit around." Hikari states. "While it'd be nice to stay and eat stuff, we've really got to get going."

"Where, though?" Marigold tilted her head. "I don't think we'd have luck if we just marched up the mountain, with how things were described."

"Hmm…" Hikari put a hand to her chin.

' _Where could we go?_ '

"...We could try my mother's house, and ask her." Marigold thinks aloud. "She might know a good course of action. We can't approach the mountain, so~..."

Hikari shrugs. "We might as well."

With that, the three teenagers rose from the table and began to navigate out of the library.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

At the front gate of the manor, Meiling moved to converse with the party.

"Hey! I didn't get to see you guys in yesterday's madness. I was kinda whipping the fairies back into shape…" Meiling stands before them, smiling casually. "Are you heading out already?"

Marigold nods. "Yeah. We're heading to my other mother's place for advice, and stuff."

"Ah. Alright." Meiling stares off at the nearby woods. "...Be very careful, and travel at day."

' _So we've heard…_ '

"If you see anything that looks strange, just run from it, alright? Come back here, if you need to." Meiling tells them. "I'll take care of anything!"

"I'll remember that." Marigold smiled at her, nodding. "...Well, have-"

"Also, before you guys go…!" Meiling grins. "How about telling me about that thing you did when you got here?"

' _Oh, yeah. The teleportation…_ '

Hikari looks to Marigold. "I think we could do it again, if you really wanted."

Marigold shrugged. "It's not a long walk, to be honest. Well, it kinda is, but…" She scratches her head.

Meiling holds her hand up. "Relax, relax, I was only kidding. It was pretty cool, though. I didn't even detect you guys coming at all!"

' _Yeah, funny story, that._ ' Hikari grinned to herself. ' _I don't think there's any way you could have. In any case, I don't really feel like potentially breaking my limbs just to avoid this walk. I can see the lake from here, so it shouldn't be a very lengthy one.'_

"Have a good one, Meiling." Marigold waves at her as the three set off.

"Next time I come back here, I'll be able ta' armwrestle ya!" Osamu calls out to her. "Just you wait!"

Meiling smiles in an ironic way. "I'll hold you to that…"

With that, the three teenagers had left the manor grounds proper.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Walking along the snow-crested lakeside, the three began discussing.

"So, in recent news, it's fucking cold." Osamu hugged himself. "Shit."

"You have _robes_ on." Marigold criticized. "You're in no place to be complaining."

"Yeah, well, they don't do their job!" Osamu whines. "Stupid discount, village robes…"

' _I don't understand how a wearable blanket couldn't be warm, either. I mean, this rubbery stuff in my current outfit really doesn't do me any favors. That, and the exposed armpits._ '

The design choice mystified Hikari, but she's learned to not think much of it.

"I kno~w, right? It's fucking freezing!" A female voice sounded from beside Hikari.

' _...!_ '

Hikari whirled to face the woman, who was the orange haired fairy maid from earlier.

"Wha-!?" Marigold jumped. "Koi, where in blazes…?"

Koi reached her hands out, and groped Hikari's breasts.

"A-ah…!" Hikari fidgeted.

' _Th-this is…_ '

" _I'll_ keep you warm…" Koi smirked as she addressed Hikari in a sultry tone.

Marigold reacted quickly, pulling the appropriate armament from her backpack.

Zazazap!

"Egegadageguh!" Koi released Hikari, jittering violently.

Hikari hugged herself, blushing. ' _We-weird! That feels weird!_ '

Thud. Koi collapsed on the ground.

Marigold turned off her Stun Gun. "...Seriously?"

"I-it was worth it…" Koi held her arm up. "Mi-miko breasts… are soft…"

' _Perverted fairy…_ ' Hikari readied her gohei, preparing to smack Koi's head as if it were a golf ball.

…

SMAAAA~SH!

"Aaaauu~gh!" Koi slowly clutched her head.

' _She survived?_ ' Hikari blinked.

Osamu snorted. "Wow. Fairy just got freakin' owned."

' _Huh._ '

Koi writhed a bit on the ground, before sitting up again. "O-ouch…"

"...Let's get going." Marigold decides, as she begins walking ahead. Osamu and Hikari follow her.

"D-don't leave me…!" Koi calls out to them, getting back onto her legs.

Once Koi catches up, she makes an attempt at conversation. "Alri~ght! Where're we going…?"

"Home." Marigold tells her.

"House." Hikari elaborates.

Koi pouts. "...I see how it is."

They continue in silence, the lapping of waves against the lake's shore, and the billowing of wind the only audible noises.

"Awfully quiet…" Koi notes. "I don't even, like, see any fairies."

' _...Come to think of it, I don't think the woods around the shrine had an unbroken silence this long. We've been walking for..._ ' Hikari paused to think about the time, only to realize she had no way of comparing it. ' _Awhile._ '

"Then again, some days are slow like that." Koi shrugs. "What can ya do?"

' _Yeah, that too._ '

No one responded to her out loud, however, even if they pondered her words.

"...Alright, you guys're creepin' me out." Koi muttered. "Let's get hyped! Sing songs!"

"Please, no." Marigold monotoned.

"They're finally here! Preformin' for you!" Koi began.

"Stop." Marigold futily monotoned.

"If you know the words, you can join in, too!" Koi does a little dance.

"Desist."

"Put yer hands together-"

Osamu spins around to face her. "Enough already!"

"-n' up yer ass…" Koi trails off, glaring at him.

Suddenly, a unnatural noise was heard from the nearby forestry. "Euh-uuh-euh-uhja!"

Hikari instinctively gripped her gohei tighter. "Company."

"The hell kinda noise is that?" Osamu furrows his brows at the bushes adjacent to the party's path.

The foliage rustled, and a tall figure emerged.

' _It's… not really a figure._ ' Hikari takes in its appearance.

A hunched, large blob of wool had two large, red bulbs which emitted similarly colored light. The facial features of this creature ended there. For arms, it simply had two tiny tentacles, and for legs, there seemed to be orbs of some sort under the mass of fur.

Koi chuckled. "Thaha~t is one _ugly_ fucker."

"What even _is_ that thing?" Osamu practically double-took. "S'that like a youkai?"

Marigold shakes her head. "I'm not sure what that's even supposed to be."

"Uuh-euh-munj." The shambling, wooly creature stated.

Wooly shambler tried PSI Shield α!

Wooly shambler was protected by the psychic shield of energy!

"It's a~pparently a mage, or something." Osamu notes. "Good to know."

Marigold drew her Microwave Gun. "I… don't like being compared to this thing, for some reason."

Koi blinked. "Hang on, are we really gonna _fight_ it?"

"...Yes." Marigold nodded.

Osamu stretched his fingers. "Alright, time to shut down that shield of his!"

Osamu tried PK Thunder ß!

Thwaa~sh!

The bolt struck a snowy tree, and the snow fell from the branches.

Thwaa~sh!

The bolt struck the shield of the shambler.

Bam!

It didn't acknowledge the absence of its defenses- at least, not in a language anyone knew. "Euha-muna-munj!"

A laser shot from one of its bulb eyes, drilling into the snow before it. It slowly progressed along the ground towards the party, who moved out of the way of the creeping laser.

Koi attempts to dance around it, but ends up stepping on it instead.

" _Fuck!_ " She clutched her foot, and fell over. "G-gaa~h!"

' _...Should I bother healing her?_ ' Hikari considered. ' _I mean, fairies respawn…_ '

Marigold pointed the Microwave Gun at the wooly shambler, and pressed on the garnet.

The low hum was made audible, as a beam expanded to meet the wooly shambler.

"Euhj! Euh-munj-uuh!"

It lit on fire. Marigold sustained the beam on it, but past the miniature inferno it developed into, progress wasn't being made.

"Dude, what if I freeze something that's on fire?" Osamu asks Marigold. "Can I like, freeze the fire?"

Marigold spares him a glance. "No- well, if it's metal it could help, but-"

She was forced to release the garnet, moving to the side to avoid a creeping beam fired from the shambler.

"Guess we'll find out!" Osamu grinned.

Osamu tried PK Freeze ß!

KaKa-KaKaKling!

Rapidly freezing and thawing ice crystals formed in and around the wooly shambler.

Kra~ck!

The final blast of icy wind finished off the creation, a blast of raw energy emitting from the shambler itself, triggered by the contrasting elements.

Boom!

In layman's terms, it exploded.

The fluff and metal parts floated and fell to the snow, respectively.

Marigold nodded in satisfaction. "Not what I was expecting, but… that works."

Osamu pumped his fist. "Yeah! Fuck whatever that was!"

' _I feel like we have too much fun killing things._ '

"Paa~in!" Koi wails. "Do something, you idiots!"

' _I don't entirely mind, though._ '

Marigold turns to her. "I will end your suffering."

Koi jerks her head to look at her. "What? Oh, don't you _fucking_ dare…"

"It's something." Marigold argues.

"I didn't go on this miko-molesting crusade just to get executed out of pity!" Koi shouts. "...You know what? Fine."

Marigold tilts her head.

"But on _one_ condition."

Marigold sighs. "That is…?"

Koi points at Hikari. "I get to squeeze your tits one last time!"

Hikari scoffed. "You're not really in a position to be making demands, here."

"I'm a dying girl! A dead girl walk- well… groping, I should say." Koi shrugged. "Still! It's perfectly within reason!"

Marigold and Hikari glower down at her.

"...O-okay, look. I'm gonna die here, and-"

Sploosh!

Something absolutely _massive_ shoots straight up out of the lake's water, soaring into the air.

Hikari's eyes widened. "W-woah!"

She, along with her other party members, retreated along the shore to escape the large object.

Koi, however, was not so lucky.

"Holy shit!" She yelled. "...Quick! Someone, pull me-..."

She notices no one around her, and sighs.

"For _fuck's_ sa-"

Thu~d!

Pi~chun!

"Rooaaaah!" The creature roared.

It was a bear. An absolutely massive, house-sized, blue bear.

"Du~de!" Osamu gaped. "That's the biggest damn bear I've ever seen!"

' _U-uhm…_ ' Hikari felt a little skittish around something that blatantly huge and powerful.

The bear lumbered towards the woods, and slashed at the trees.

Bam!

Trees were outright slammed out of the way by the beast's mighty paws.

Behind a few trees were strange, tentacled beings. With two eyes on stalks, the rest of their body were tentacles that helped them walk, for the most part. Two seemed to act as 'arms'.

"Eeoorgh!" One wailed, frightened.

Two more came from some further back trees, and focused their attention on the beast.

Lesser Mook C tried PK Freeze ß!

Ice crystals assaulted the bear, but it only seemed to make it angrier.

One of the purple, tentacled beings turned its attention to the party. It looked back and forth between the bear and the party, before making a decision.

Lesser Mook D tried PK Freeze ß!

KaKa-KaKaKling!

A pattern of ice froze and thawed around Osamu.

"Woah-oh-woah-shit!" He convulsed violently, before-

Kra~ck!

Osamu was solidified!

"Well, that happened." Marigold was slightly alarmed, aiming her Microwave Gun forward. "Who should I shoot…?"

Hikari looked to Osamu. ' _Considering he's our source of offensive spells, I should probably help him…_ '

Hikari tried Healing ß!

...Osamu quickly shook the ice from himself. "S-so fuc-king c- _co~ld_ …!"

Lesser Mook A and B glared at the large bear, with their eerie eyes…

...The bear simply glared right back.

"Rooooh!"

"Eooorgh!" One of them wailed, flailing away from the bear.

Lesser Mook B tried Hypnosis α!

...The bear swept its paw across the forest floor, flinging the creature away.

"Eeeoo~h!"

Thud. It smacked into a tree, slowly peeling off of it.

"I think we should focus on that bear." Hikari decided. "They can't seem to do anything to it with those freezing spells."

Osamu furrowed his brows. "Th-then how the hell're wh-we gonna do anything to it?"

...Marigold looks between him and the Microwave Gun. "We're gonna cook it."

With that, she aimed her Microwave Gun at the bear, and held her hand on the garnet.

The beam hummed softly, and connected with the bear.

"Rouh!?" It felt the effects immediately, but knew not the source, and began flailing its limbs and biting at the air. "Raah! Roouh!"

The mooks fell back further into the woods, in an attempt to evade the bear's massive reach.

Mook C tried PK Freeze ß!

The magical ice crystals did nothing to alleviate the bear's pain, and did nothing to hurt it, either.

Mook A tried Hypnosis α!

The bear was wailing. "Roo~h… Raaoo…"

After moments of futile spells slung by the mooks, and sustained cooking for up to five minutes on high by Marigold, the bear began showing signs of affliction.

Scorch marks began lining the beast from the points of where the orange beam swept across it.

' _It certainly seems to be working…_ ' Hikari warily watched the beast flail wildly, sand, dirt, foliage, and other assorted assets of nature being flung about as it went ballistic.

Before long, its fur began burning, and large boils began popping where the Microwave Gun was pointed. "Rooaa~h!"

The mooks eventually caught notice of the beam, and began turning their sights on Marigold.

Osamu, who had been paying further attention to them after the previous cooldown they had enforced on him, chose this moment to act. "Yeah, n-no fuckin' way!"

Osamu tried PK Thunder ß!

Thwaa~sh!

The bear was struck, and it did absolutely nothing. "Roooahooh!"

Thwaa~sh!

One of the mooks was struck, lighting up brightly from the lightning as it courses through its slimy body. "Egegehuhuhgh!"

After intense focus on the bear, a result was finally achieved.

 _Boom-Sploosh!_

Like a large balloon, the bear had exploded, its back being the first part that blew open before its entire corpse was ripped asunder by the microwave's heat.

With this monumental explosion, came gibs. Lots, and lots of gibs. Bone fragments, chunks of flesh, and blood rained across the lakeside, staining the sand, grass, trees, and even the party, somewhat.

A fine, thin rain of red speckled the party with blood.

Hikari froze. ' _I-I've… never seen that much blood before._ '

At the ground-zero of the bloody blast was the bear's carcass, lying on the ground with a huge portion of its back and torso missing, two separated parts of the spine exposed and dripping. Blood pooled around it, and began flowing into the lake.

...She raised her white sleeves, which were speckled with blood drops. ' _That thing better not have had diseases, though. Yuck, yuck, yuck…!_ '

Marigold shared similar sentiments. "O-oh, dear. It's... all over my clothes…"

Osamu grinned widely. "That was the coolest thing _ever!_ "

Then, they were reminded the mooks were still there, albeit thoroughly terrified.

Lesser Mook C tried Hypnosis α!

Marigold blinked. "I… I'm tired…?"

Hikari was getting some similar vibes from this. ' _I wonder…_ '

Sitting down, Marigold yawned. "A-ah…"

Hikari tried Healing α!

…

Marigold looked around, shaking the sleepiness from herself. "What am I doing…?"

She stood back up, holding her Microwave Gun up again.

"...Should I wait for a clear shot, or just shoot?" Marigold asked.

"Fuck 'em up!" Osamu barked.

She shrugged, and held onto the garnet again.

The beam extended outwards, hitting nothing, but she slowly dragged it across the length of the woods ahead.

One of the mooks was in the open, and got caught by the beam. "Eeeuuu-oooor…!"

Plop.

It exploded into purple and green goop, its flesh melting away, leaving the puddle of acidic goop to eat away at the nearby plant life.

' _They're apparently made of acid._ ' Hikari tilted her head. ' _Our enemies just keep getting more and more abstract. I'm pretty sure mother's incidents were never quite this outlandish._ '

Marigold continued dragging the laser across, until the next mook hid behind a tree.

Osamu used PSI Shield α!

Marigold was protected by the psychic energy shield!

"There. No more mumbo jumbo magic bullshit getting in the way of our slow roast goin' on here." Osamu nods.

"Thanks, but uh, he's kinda managed to hide behind a tree." Marigold grins. "But can this thing cook trees!?"

…

A minute of little progress confirmed that it couldn't in fact, cook trees. It could cook plants, but not cook _through_ plants.

"Apparently not…" Marigold sighs.

Osamu glared forward at the woods. Then, he had an idea.

"How about this?"

Osamu tried PK Hydro ß!

Fwwiish!

A spinning shuriken of water was generated behind the tree. The mook was eventually flushed out, shielded itself from the incoming water, only for the beam to focus on it.

Plop.

The water ended up spreading the acid blood further, steam emitting from the plant life it came into contact with.

Lesser Mook D tried PK Freeze ß!

KaKa-KaKaKling!

Marigold jittered, intensely gripping her Microwave Gun as the frost shards froze and thawed around her slowly in the shield.

Kra~ck!

The final blast of ice had little impact, thanks to the shield.

' _...I feel useless at long range._ ' Hikari reflected. ' _...I wonder…_ '

The next mook hid behind a tree, as well.

"Oh, come on!" Osamu yelled. "Really!?"

Hikari tried Hypnosis Ω!

Noticeable ripples of psychic energy went rampant in the forest ahead. Moments later, both hiding mooks stumbled out of cover, wobbling around on their tentacles.

Marigold easily caught them in her beam.

Plop. Plop.

The last splats of acid on the bloodstained plants signalled the end of the encounter.

…

"We~ll." Marigold looked down at her bloodied clothes. "It's a good thing we're visiting my mother, because my outfit is probably ruined."

Osamu stared at his robes. "Dude, this shit is going to smell. Like, even worse than usual."

Marigold scoffed at him. "Yes, Osamu, I know you smell like you just rub yourself in food and let it rot. Those robes really don't help things."

' _...I don't think any of us had any real chance to bathe, recently._ ' Hikari reflected. ' _It's just kinda been one thing after another. We probably should've bathed back at that mansion…_ '

…

"We should probably get out of here before we get assaulted by behemoth bears again." Hikari proposed.

"You know, that sounds like a plan." Osamu agrees.

"Mmm. I… think I need a bath, too. All of us, too." Marigold realizes herself their state of hygiene.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

In the sunset, three teenagers stepped up to the door of a rather quaint house in the midst of a large, magical forest.

Marigold knocked on her mother's door. "I'm home, Mother!"

Osamu walked into it, flailing his arms at it. Hikari assisted by giving the door a good smack, and their combined efforts made it sound like the house was being assaulted.

' _Mother freak out moment in three… two…_ '

It swung open, and Alice peered out. "What on earth- wawawa- Ma-Marigold!? What happened to you!?"

"Eheh…" Marigold scratched the back of her head. "It's a long story."

"Y-you're covered in blood…" Alice, expression still in shock, breathes out.

' _It does look pretty bad, I'm not gonna lie._ '

"...Well, the good part is, it's not _my_ blood." Marigold puts her arms up in a compromising shrug. "The bad part is, my costume is soaked. That, and potential bloodborne illness, but I that's what we have Hikari for."

' _I don't know myself if that status healer move heals crippling disease. I think it'd be best not to try._ '

Alice looked over to the other two. "...I-I see. You three look like you've been busy."

Osamu folded his arms, and gave a cocky grin. "Well, when you fight bears the size of houses, things tend to get a _little_ messy."

"It turns out bears explode when microwaves are concentrated on them for ten minutes or longer." Marigold discusses her discovery. "At least, bears that big."

...Silence set in as Alice thought over a plan of care.

"Why... don't you three get out of those awful, bloody clothes? I have a few spares in the back. You can wear those until I've cleaned your outfits properly." Alice proposes. "Also, Marigold, I've actually been working on something for you. I'll tell you about it a little later."

Marigold smiles, visibly excited. "Cool."

Alice moves inside, gesturing for the party to follow.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

After a quick bath in Alice's tub, Marigold and Hikari were squeaky clean.

"...Seriously?" Marigold dryly asks as she slips on a pair of pajamas. "We're both girls. I don't see the big deal."

"I-it just feels weird." Hikari hugs her chest. "I'd prefer if no one touched them…"

Marigold shrugged. "Alright, alright. No need to get worked up about it."

Hikari slips on a pair of Marigold's pajamas, which are roughly the same size as her's. The sun was down, now, and through the window the two could actually make out creatures roaming the night.

Osamu was in the wash himself, now having his turn to take a bath.

"Du~de, you have rubber duckies!?" His voice was heard from the guest bedroom. "They still make these!?"

Marigold sighs.

Alice walks into the room. "...I suppose pajamas work, for now. I'll probably be up late, tonight. For some reason, your outfits have dirt in very confusing places. Aside from being caked in blood, of course." She added the last part with a scoff. "...I still want to know just what you three even could have even _done_ to lead up to that."

Hikari chose this moment to speak. "Actually, that's kinda related to something we wanna talk to you about."

Marigold and Alice turned to her, curious. Alice rose a brow. "Oh?"

"Yeah." Hikari nodded. "We wanna get to Youkai Mountain, but it seems like there's a ton of new, powerful monsters going around and disturbing the peace."

Alice jerks her head back. "That… sounds like an incident, actually. I've noticed some new creatures myself, and I won't lie that they worried me a little. I'm starting to see less fairies, too."

"At night, they apparently attack the manor gates in hordes." HIkari notes. "Meiling says she even has trouble sometimes, or so we heard."

Alice's eyes widened. "Genuinely?"

Marigold nodded in agreeance. She then glanced at Hikari…

' _I don't think we should tell her the 'everyone trying to kill us' part of when we got there._ '

"...I'm not certain if I really want to let you go, then. The mountain sounds completely unreasonable." Alice put her hands on her hips.

"I have guns." Marigold refuted.

Alice furrowed her brows. "Marigold, that toy gun we gave you-"

"No, I mean, I have _guns_." Marigold asserts.

She moved over to her backpack, which she sat in the corner of the room, and took out the NF Burst Gun.

"I actually used the Pop Gun to make this." Marigold tells her. "...Do you have anything for me to shoot?"

Alice sighs, and a featureless doll floats into the room.

Marigold aims at it.

PoPoPoPoPop!

Thu-thunk-thunk-thu-thunk!

"It's pretty much automatic." Marigold adds. "It makes up for being extremely weak."

Alice tilted her head. "...Interesting. But-"

Marigold pulls out her Air Gun. " _This_ is for the heavier opponents."

She aimed it at the featureless doll.

Klack!

Thwack!

It jerked back in the air a bit.

Alice nodded. "...That's still pretty low-key." She frowned, dissatisfied. "Though, I am impressed… A-are you using your magic to power these?"

Marigold shook her head. "No, I just know how mana works, even if I can't feel it. All these guns have their own power sources."

"Huh. That's rather innovative of you." Alice smiled. "...But still rather underwhelming in actual combat."

"Okay, look…" Marigold went to her backpack, and pulled out the Microwave Gun. "This. This is my _new_ weapon."

Alice was immediately intrigued by the odd, washed-out metal design. "Hmm…"

Marigold aimed it at the floating doll, and pressed on the garnet.

A slight hum, accented by a cackling orange death beam, lit up the guest room as it impacted the doll.

Crackling and popping occurred immediately, the metal joints of the doll flashing brightly, forcing Hikari and Alice to look away. Sparks danced off of it, onto the floor, before dissipating. The doll lit on fire.

Marigold, blinded herself, released the garnet. "U-uhm… I didn't expect it to be _that_ good."

Alice, rubbing her eyes, eventually gazed at the burning doll. "...That's a rather stark contrast, don't you think? Danmaku, danmaku, and death laser?"

She opened a nearby window with a wave of her hand, and had the burning doll base escort itself out. It was laid to rest on a patch of dirt outside.

"Yeah. I take what I can get." Marigold shrugs. "I can't deny its effectiveness…"

' _You also got the parts from the bloody corpse of a dead, mechanical man._ ' Hikari realized. ' _That was probably a sign it wouldn't be anything pleasant._ '

"...Now I'm more worried you might go around indiscriminately killing people." Alice held a hand to her mouth.

"Don't worry." Hikari speaks up. "I make sure we don't actually harm anyone."

' _Blatant lies. I'm sorry, Alice._ '

"Ah. Thank you, Hikari." Alice smiles. "You truly do take after your mother."

' _I'm pretty sure my mother would be just as nonchalant about accidentally blowing other people to pieces as I am, but okay._ '

…

' _As long as it's an accident, or they're trying to kill us._ ' Hikari mentally adds. ' _I-I don't want to feel like a murderer._ '

With that, Alice begins to leave the room. "Tell me if you three need anything. I'll be in the main room sewing, and cleaning your outfits."

"Before you go," Hikari raises her voice. "I was wondering if you knew of a safe way we could get to the mountain. We _know_ marching up it's a totally bad idea, so…"

...Alice put a hand to her chin. "Hmm. You can fly, right, Hikari?"

Hikari shook her head.

Alice blinked. "Oh. I was going to suggest going to heaven and working your way to the mountain from above, but…"

Hikari tilted her head. "...Heaven?"

' _I'm sorry?_ '

Alice nodded. "Mmm. It's above the clouds, and usually hidden. It's a mass of land with particularly stuffy people on it. I only went there once, myself."

' _...Oh. Heaven exists, then._ ' Hikari takes in this fact. ' _And it's a material place._ '

"...Maybe London could get there." Alice decides, glancing at her daughter. "Where did you leave her, anyway?"

Marigold froze. "...U-uhm…"

"She parked it at the clinic." Hikari told her. "We should be able to retrieve it."

' _I think._ '

Marigold twitched, and then turned to Hikari to glare at her.

' _...What?_ '

Alice nodded. "Well, then. I suppose that will be your next stop?"

Hikari shrugged.

Alice began walking off. "I'll be in the other room, if you guys need me."

She closed the door.

…

' _Well, that's going to be an experience._ ' Hikari stared at the door dryly. ' _Literally just_ going _to heaven._ '

"I'm _pretty_ sure it's broken." Marigold argued. "Why did you tell her it was okay?"

"Ah. I feel like you could fix it, or something." Hikari reasoned.

"There's a- well… maybe, actually." Marigold pouted. "But still…"

Osamu then strutted into the room, in a bathrobe that was slightly too big for him.

Marigold looked at him. "...Is.. that my Mom's?"

He shrugged. "Grabbed the first one I could find."

"Ah…" Marigold was slightly offput.

Hikari looked to the beds. "...There are only two." She observed.

Marigold hummed. "Mmm. I have my own room here, you know."

' _Oh._ '

Osamu's jaw dropped. "What!? For real?"

...Marigold nodded. "It's comfy."

Osamu folded his arms. "Dude, lucky."

"It's called owning a house." Marigold countered. "I didn't complain, when I was in your little bum hut."

Osamu looked offended. "Hey! It's not a… okay, maybe you're right." He scratched his head. "I mean, it's okay by villager standards."

" _Villager_ standards." Hikari noted.

"...Good point." Osamu folds his arms.

"Look on the bright side." Hikari focused on him. "You actually get a bed, this time."

Marigold grins.

"Yeah, yeah, be quiet…" Osamu rolls his eyes.

The simple, double-bedded guest room was where Hikari and Osamu would later sleep.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Hikari blinked awake in the midst of the night.

Thu-thud, thud, thud!

She heard the front door getting assaulted.

' _U-ugh…_ ' She rolled over. ' _Someone else can get that…_ '

Thud! Thud! Thud!

"The fuck…?" Osamu groans.

...Bam!

"I'm kicking their ass…" Osamu clambers out of his bed, marching for the front door.

He reaches the main room, where Marigold seemed to have a similar idea, her Air Gun ready.

"O-Osamu?" She aimed at him, only to pull the gun away.

"Razzum frazzum." Osamu groaned back, as he swung open the front door.

...A cyan-haired fairy maid was on the other side. "Hello, Mari-chan! I came to-"

Whack!

She fell back onto the porch, and Osamu shut the door.

"We don't want any."

Then, he marched back to the bed, and flopped on it.

…

Marigold slowly opened the front door, and dragged the fairy maid's body inside.

She gave a thumbs up. "I-I'm okay!"

"Hey, Ha-chan." Marigold greeted her. "...We were kinda sleeping, so I'm just gonna go back to doing that. I'll talk to you in the morning, though."

"Mmm!" Ha-chan smiled. "I'll just sing songs to pass the time!"

Marigold, detecting imminent misfortune, attempted to intercept it. "Yeah, uh-"

"Si~nging in the ra~in…!" Ha-chan began.

Marigold facepalmed. "Ugh…"

' _For crying out loud…_ '

"Oh, fuck me…" Osamu groaned, clutching his head.

"Raindro~ps… they give me pa~in!" Ha-chan began making lyrics up.

Hikari sat up, and got out of bed.

' _It's cold…_ '

She walked into the main room.

Ha-chan turned to her. "Oh, is this one of your friends, Mari-chan?"

"Die." Hikari monotoned.

Hikari tried Hypnosis α!

Energy rippled around Ha-chan…

"A-ah…" Ha-chan stumbled about, drowsy. "I-I'm… getting sleepy…"

She fell onto Marigold, who grabbed her.

"G'night, Mari-chan…"

With that, Ha-chan began snoring.

…

Marigold was slowly pressed to the floor by Ha-chan's weight. "He-help."

Hikari nimbly power-walked back to bed, and slid under the covers.

' _Aa~h… still warm…_ ' Hikari felt herself melt into the blankets.

"...Help!" Marigold calls out.

"Gaa~h!" Osamu roars, not bothering to get out of bed.

...

After some struggling, Marigold managed to wiggle her way out from beneath her fairy friend. She got up, and moved to the front door, closing it.

"There…" Marigold spoke under her breath. She began to move back towards her bedroom door-

...Vrrr!

Suddenly, a laser impaled the front door.

All the lights in the house flipped on, and dolls began moving to respond.

"Ho~ly shi~t!" Osamu roars, again. "I just want to fucking _slee~p!_ "

' _What's even going on…?_ '

Dolls mobilize from all parts of the house, flinging the door open and throwing an innumerable amount of spears and sharp projectiles at a robot that was just outside.

Loud clanging and combat was heard.

Bam!

It exploded. The dolls, then, went to engage every enemy that was in range around the perimeter of the house.

"Aaaa~h!" Osamu was livid, flailing his limbs as he got out of bed. "I'm gonna kick some ass!"

' _...I'm just going to lie here until someone calls for me._ '

Alice swung her door open. "Wh-what's going on out here!?"

There was little rest to be had that evening.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

The next morning, Osamu sat with his head down on the main table, now wearing his newly cleaned robes. His face was in his pancakes.

Hikari blinked at the pancakes before her, and slowly began working at them.

Marigold was energetic, having received a brand new outfit.

Alice clapped her hands together. "So! How do you all like your outfits, now?"

Osamu's was virtually unchanged, but now looked fresh and clean. "Mmmph."

Alice looked at him. "Your robe was difficult to clean. It was made of cheap materials, and seemed to have never been cared for before. It was actually _too_ difficult to clean, so I just had the dolls make an identical one from the same materials."

Osamu still sat with his face in his pancakes, looking dead inside.

"That hat of yours was easy to clean, though, knitwork and all that. My only gripe is that it looks like an absolute disaster even when clean, but, what can you do?" Alice looked dissatisfied.

She then looked to Hikari. "Your… hakama and leotard combo was interesting. I didn't have any problems cleaning it. What I _did_ have a problem with, though…"

She held up the Yukkuri Ribbon. "...This thing. I don't know where you got it, or why, but it's a catastrophe. I mean… it looks like a christmas ornament. A Yukkuri christmas ornament."

Hikari was wearing a new ribbon at the moment, a deep, royal red one, with subtle flower illustrations in a different shade on it.

"I also added some more material to the, ahem… exposed portions. I know your outfits seem to be on the combat side, but I don't think you're some elite martial artist. Besides, the original fabric layout was clearly intended for someone a lot taller." Alice spoke, addressing some general changes to Hikari's outfit.

' _That works, I guess. I didn't personally mind it, myself._ '

Osamu looked up from his pancakes. "...Great." His head flopped back down.

' _...Nevermind, I'm happy with the change._ '

Alice, then, turned to Marigold. "Your last outfit had blood in all the wrong places, so I had to ultimately make you a new one. It should feel about the same, although, I've made a few minor adjustments, if you haven't noticed already…"

Marigold nods. "Mmhm… I noticed the skirt's a bit shorter, to my knees, this time."

"The fabric's also a bit more flexible." Alice noted. "So you should be able to have spills and things without fear of ripping it. Dirt should come out easier, too. Blood… try not to get caked in blood, again. That stuff doesn't come out easily."

' _Duly noted. We'll try not to make anymore house-sized bears explode._ '

Hikari obtained Royal Ribbon!

Marigold obtained Custom Adventure Dress!

Osamu obtained Dated Villager Magician Robes!

Hikari's Combat Miko Outfit has been repaired!

The morning slowly came to an end as the party finally fully woke up from their drowsy state.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

"I suppose you'll be off, now, then?" Alice inquired.

"Yeah." Hikari nodded.

"Well, don't let me stop you." Alice sees them off. "...Be safe, Marigold."

Marigold grinned. "I will, Mom."

Osamu grinned, too. "Don't'cha worry, blonde lady, my na~me is Magic Man, and I shoot magic spells from my magic hands!"

…

"My name's Alice, by the way." Alice tells him, before closing the door.

Osamu half-deflates. He turns to Hikari. "C'mon, that was cool, right?"

Hikari chuckled. "In _what_ way would you think that was cool?"

"How was it _not_ cool?" Osamu folded his arms. "Dude."

"It was cheesy, creepy, and, pardon my french, crappy." Marigold explained.

Osamu is now fully deflated. "Well… shit."

Hikari stretched. ' _No~w… Eientei…_ '

She looked to her party members. "I think we'll be doing another teleport."

Marigold nodded. "Yeah. Eientei's pretty far, and I'd rather not have to cook a trail there."

"Fuck that forest, man." Osamu contributed. "That thing was a mess."

Hikari looked around.

' _There's not a lot of room to run, here…_ '

She begins walking into the woods. "Come on. We're gonna go to one of the main paths."

Marigold agrees. "Yeah, I don't think we can run fast enough with all these roots and trees around."

The party begins walking into the Forest of Magic, clumsily navigating the meshes of large roots that ended up cluttering the way they chose to access Alice's house.

A thought came to Marigold. "...Should we bother to visit my... _other_ mother's house? It's really close, and she might have some more of those bottle rockets for me. Those things were pretty powerful."

Hikari paused. "...That's not a bad idea, actually."

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Visit Marisa's house, they did. It was a tiny cottage, of a sort, with only two rooms. A glance into the windows revealed they were covered up by books.

' _First we went to a mansion, then to a regular house… and now to a shack. I'm glad it's still day._ '

Marigold took a deep breath, and knocked on the door.

"Are we like, goin' down in quality or somethin'?" Osamu scratched his head. "Do you have a fourth mother who just lives in a cave?"

Marigold turns to him. " _You're_ gonna live in a-"

The door swings open, and Marigold cuts herself off.

Marisa takes a moment. "O-oh, Marigold! He~y! Stoppin' by to pay me a visit?" Marisa smiles widely.

"Bottle rockets." Marigold states simply.

"R-right…" Marisa blinks, and pulls out a bottle rocket. "Check this one out! I was kinda workin' on it a bit, earlier."

It was bigger than the other one, and instead of a red cap, it had a blue one.

"This one'll explode better, go farther… It's basically just better, ze." She grinned.

Marigold folded her arms. "I assume it costs twice as much, too?"

Marisa cringed. "Well… I _know_ you stole those other ones offa me. Some strange sleep magic. I'll consider those on the house, 'cause yer my daughter, but… One thousand yen per rocket."

Hikari felt around in her pockets. ' _...Still three-hundred ten yen. Uhm…_ '

Hikari tried Hypnosis α!

Energy rippled around Marisa…

A necklace around her neck began to glow.

"Ha!" Marisa grinned, and held up the necklace. "I got myself a charm that repels sleep inducing spells!" She held it up, and it was a purple positive symbol of some sort. "I mean, it does that by repelling sleep altogether, but uh… still. I equipped it just for this moment!"

"...Why was it on before we got here?" Marigold asked.

…

"Well…" Marisa scratched her cheek. "Y'see, I was kinda gettin' tired of having to sleep when I was workin' on spells and stuff, so uh…"

"You've just been wearing it for days on end." Marigold folds her arms.

"Yeah." Marisa shrugs. "S'no big deal. I just take it off when I wanna sleep."

Osamu looked interested. "Where'd'ya get a necklace like that from?"

Marisa thinks about how to word it. "Well, I went ta' Reimu, but she said she didn't do sleep stuff, so I just went to the gods on the mountain. Kinda."

' _Kinda._ '

Marigold tilted her head. "Kinda…?"

"Yeah- it doesn't matter." Marisa shook her head. "I'm sure they'll give ya one if you ask, too!"

' _For some reason I'm not sure about that._ '

Marisa clapped her hands together. "So! Them rockets, ze? You interested?"

Marigold looks to Hikari. "I guess…"

' _I do not have the funds for this._ '

…

"Can you bill my mom?" Hikari grins sheepishly.

Marisa grinned back. "Hahaha… she'd kill me, ze."

' _Apparently not._ '

…

"I think I'll be right back." Hikari announced. "Stay here, guys. Actually, someone, time me."

Hikari applies her wind buffs to herself, and dashes towards the exit of the forest.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Reimu sat at the kotatsu, drinking tea.

"...Cold day."

…

The shrine door slid open.

"Hahh… hahh…"

Hikari power-walked towards the kotatsu. "H-hey…"

Reimu blinked. "Hikari? What's wrong?"

"N-nothing… I-I just ran all this way…" Hikari took a deep breath. "...Did my dad send in a new allowance yet?"

Reimu nodded. "Another ten thousand. Do you want it now?"

"Yeah."

Reimu got up, and went to grab it from her room. She came back out, and handed it to Hikari. "Here you go. Nice bow, by the way."

"Thanks, Mom." Hikari takes it, and runs back to the door, sliding it shut as she left.

…

"Better than that last one…" Reimu spoke under her breath.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

' _I wonder…_ '

Hikari stared down the hillside.

' _I think I could get back with that…_ '

Focusing on Marisa's house, she ran down the hillside, boosting herself with gravity and wind.

Hikari tried Teleport α!

Kra~koom!

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Kra~koom!

Hikari skids to a stop in front of Marisa's house.

"H-holy crap!" Marisa jumps. The party members jump as well, but they half expected something loud to just happen.

"Hey…" Hikari slips three yen bills from her stack, and looks at Marigold. "You want three?"

"Sure." Marigold accepts.

"We'll take three." Hikari hands the money to Marisa.

Marisa smiles. "Thank you, and thanks for doin' business! I'll bring 'em out in just a sec…"

She sets the first bottle rocket down on the ground, then retreats inside for a moment. Then, she comes back with two more.

"Here ya are, Mary."

Marigold slipped the big bottle rockets into her backpack.

Marigold obtained three Big Bottle Rockets!

"...Thanks." Marigold mutters.

Marisa beams. "No problemo!"

After that exchange was said and done, the party began departing.

"Don't be a stranger, Marigold!" Marisa waved them off. "Come back and play, ze!"

Marigold simply smiled and waved as the party departed.

It wasn't very long before they escaped the Forest of Magic, and were back on the trail just outside the Hakurei Shrine.

Hikari prepared herself for another run. "Okay, guys…"

She held out her arms. "We're forming up, again."

Osamu and Marigold shifted into their respective positions.

"On three." Hikari announced. "One…"

Everyone got ready as the wind swirled around them.

"Two…"

Osamu and Marigold mentally prepared to sprint.

"Three!"

All three of them broke into a sprint, the wind ripping past them as they gradually sped up.

"I-I almost forgot how fast this wa~s!" Marigold shouted.

The thundering of their footsteps and the dirt kicking up in their wake both gradually grew, until-

Hikari tried Teleport α!

Kra-Koom!

A trail of flames was left in their trail as they were transported elsewhere.

…

Reimu floated down, again. "Seriously, what is that…?"

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Kra-Koom!

The party clumsily skidded to a halt, but no one fell over, this time.

...Osamu momentarily lost his balance, and fell on his bum.

"Oof." He promptly got back up.

Almont no one fell over, in any case.

' _Good job._ '

They were now right outside Eientei, at the front sliding doors, which slid open once they walked onto the small pads in front of them.

...Osamu stepped off the pads, and the corresponding door slid shut. "Du~de."

"It's probably simple magic." Marigold shrugged it off. "We saw these last time."

"But dude!" He stepped onto the pads, and off them again. "...Doors!"

"...Sometimes you worry me." Marigold scoffs.

"Sometimes?" Hikari grins.

Marigold follows. "You're right. He worries me all the time."

Hikari walks forward, the door opening for her, and she walks in. Marigold follows.

"Awwh…" Osamu slumps, marching after them.

Inside, Reisen stood at the main desk. She jerked her head back, noticing the approaching party and recognizing a few faces.

"...Quite a group, you have there." She notes, speaking to Hikari, who had arrived at the desk first.

Hikari nods. "Yeah."

She then realizes that she's spoken to Reisen before.

' _She isn't lynching me for the demise of her medicine stand, so I'm going to assume she's forgotten about me._ '

"Do you happen to know of a room with a smashed doll thing in it?" Hikari gets straight to the point.

Reisen blinks. "...Something like that happened a little while ago. We haven't found time to clean it up, considering we've just had one assault after another, recently."

Hikari furrowed her brows. ' _One assault after another…?_ '

Osamu jerked his head back. "What, you mean you guys're still gettin' attacked?"

Reisen nods. "Yeah. It's no big deal, but a majority of our staff is on guard duty at the moment." She sighed. "It's kinda made the work pile up recently, though…"

"...In any case, we need to see that wreckage." Hikari stated.

"Very well." Reisen moved to get out of the desk. "...You guys speak as if you were here before."

Marigold nods. "We were here for the great zombie mania."

"Oh! Master told me about that, actually. Three kids came by and fixed it, she said." Reisen recalled. "I didn't think it'd be you guys, though."

Reisen lead the three down multiple halls on the way to the wreckage.

In the hall, they passed a familiar face.

"Oh? What a choice time for the shrine maiden to show up."

Eirin paused, and moved to walk along the party. "I take it you've come to fix our robot invasion problem?"

Hikari nodded. "I think it's actually an incident, this time."

"O~h." Eirin monotoned. "I almost thought we were just having an extreme string of bad luck. How silly of me."

' _She's all rainbows and sunshine._ ' Hikari snorted.

"So, do you know the source of our problem?" Eirin dug for information.

"Some factory on Youkai Mountain." Hikari provided. "The ground path is too dangerous, so we're gonna try an aerial route."

"Oh?" Eirin nodded. "You know flight, now, I take it?"

"Nope." Hikari shook her head.

…

"Good luck with that, then." Eirin dryly jeered.

' _Yeah, thanks…_ '

"...What's heaven like, anyway?" Hikari asked.

Eirin grinned. "Contemplating death already? How pessimistic of a shrine maiden…"

"...I mean the place. You can fly there." Hikari added, annoyed.

"Simply teasing you. I sent a shipment there, the other day." Eirin supplied. "It's a curious place, to be certain."

' _...That doesn't tell me much._ '

"What kind of drugs did you send there?" Hikari inquired.

"Oh, basic anesthetics, among other things." Eirin offhandedly lists. "At least, that's the bulk. There were some hallucinogens included, too, but they only ordered five crates of those."

' _Five crates…?_ ' Hikari wasn't sure what to make of that.

They eventually reached the room, with the large, gaping hole in the wall.

"Here you guys are." Reisen gestures to the wall.

Eirin frowned. "I thought I told you to staff cleaning and reconstruction here, Udongein."

Reisen fidgeted. "There's no one _to_ staff, Master…"

…

"How disappointing." Eirin sighs. "Well, nothing can be done, then. It will have to wait. The protection of our goods and the princess is more important."

"Yes, Master." Reisen salutes, as Eirin wanders off.

Hikari and her party members climbed through the hole in the wall, and into the room. The rubble and debris were untouched, but it seemed the snack machine was restocked, with a sticky note on the side.

Hikari walked up to it, and read it…

' _You may wanna get this machine checked out, Mina S. P.S, the glass is broken._ '

...Hikari shrugged, and took a bag of chips from the machine, since the glass was still broken from when they were last here.

Marigold walked up to the smashed, somewhat charred, and broken form of London. "Ohh~ boy. I… have my work cut out for me."

Osamu nodded. "This is probably gonna take forever."

...He looked outside, but both Reisen and Eirin had fled the scene.

"...I was gonna ask if they had any cool shit to mess with." He slouched.

Hikari tossed him a bag of chips.

"...Thanks."

' _These are some pretty good chips._ ' Hikari reflects, tearing open the bag. ' _...I'm probably going to eat until I can't stand the sight of them, again._ '

Marigold kneeled next to her machine, beginning to work at it, while Hikari and Osamu consumed processed junk food and talked about life.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

END OF CHAPTER 14

Protagonist: Hikari Hakurei, Disciple of Paradise

-Inventory-

Weapon: Magical Gohei - Ability to whack stuff really hard. Amplifies whacking power, too! Able to deal magical damage. Critical hits enabled.

Arms: Iconic Hakurei Arm Sleeves - Keeps arms warm. A Hakurei tradition. How they stay on is a Hakurei family secret.

Body: Combat Miko Outfit - A black leotard and hakama combination worn by the previous-previous Hakurei miko. Designed to be suitable for excessive physical activity and close combat, it slightly improves physical combat prowess. Now with less sideboob!

Misc: Royal Red Ribbon - A ribbon made with rich materials, with a floral pattern.

-Skills-

Attack: Quickly! Swing your gohei at them for massive damage!

PK Fantasy α, β - Bombards the enemy with pain in the form of flashing colors. Deals magical damage. Heavy mental strain that increases with each tier.

PK Flash α - A bright flash that distributes very random status effects to enemies. Usually makes people cry.

Hypnosis α, Ω - Puts weak enemies to sleep for a short time. Works better on tired or exhausted foes. Can also be used in a far more costly form that works on multiple opponents.

Shield α, ß - Halves damage the target takes. Only works against physical attacks, and enough strikes, or powerful strikes, will dispel it. Higher tier turns it into a power-shield that protects even better and even reflects a fraction of protected damage.

Lifeup α, ß - Heals target a little. Higher tiers heal more grievous wounds, like bone fractures.

Healing α, ß - Heals basic status ailments. Higher tiers can cure more dire effects, like burning alive.

Teleport α - Allows instant transport to the general location of an area remembered by oneself or one's party members. Requires a long, fast run-up to execute, however.

Ofuda Toss - Throw a holy ofuda that does massive holy elemental damage to youkai and dark elemental foes. Effect lessens the more holy the thing you're attacking is, to the point of healing holy things. Only works if you actually have ofuda, though.

β-β-β-β

Mage: Osamu Katsumi, the Wannabe Mage

-Inventory-

Weapon: Fisticuffs!

Arms: Nothing

Body: Dated Village Magician Robes - An old robe from the days when the village respected the medium of magic. Now actually looks navy blue, instead of black!

Misc: Yukkuri Beanie - Resembles a really tacky tablecloth, made in the Yukkuri theme. Lime green and has tons of fun yukkuri decals!

-Skills-

PK Thunder α, ß - Very random thunder attack that deals limited damage. Higher tiers increase number of bolts, and sometimes power.

PK Hydro α, β - Gets everyone wet. Usefulness with PK Thunder and PK Freeze depends on whether you hit yourself or not! Creates whirling water spirals at higher tiers.

PK Freeze α, β - Generates ice crystals at the target's location. Medium damage and effect; may freeze some targets, especially wet ones.

Fireball - Manipulate mana to make a shoddy fireball. Low damage and effect.

Static Hands - Not a real spell. Result of a very undercharged PK Thunder that can accidentally go off.

PSI Telepathy α - Speak to friends you haven't met yet! Unstable connection and only works if they have the skill or are asleep.

PSI Shield α, Σ - Halves damage from magical and psychic attacks. Thunder spells fry it instantly, and harder blows dispel it. Second tier applies basic shield to entire party at higher mana expense.

PSI Magnet α - Costs no mana to use, and steals a very tiny amount of mana from the enemy. Enemy has to have mana in the first place for it to work, though.

Offense Up α - Get pissed! Boosts strength and confidence depending on caster's power and receiver's power.

β-β-β-β

Inventor: Marigold Knowledge, the Tri-Magi Love Child

-Inventory-

Weapon: Microwave Gun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Constructed with a controlled flame crystal and metal parts, it fires a beam of sustained microwave energy that cooks biological foes alive. Fire-elemental at its core, it's also very inefficient against machines.

Arms: Nothing

Body: Custom Adventure Dress - A custom dress made by Alice. Provides slight defense against magical and psychic attacks. Now allows freer movement with a shorter skirt, and a more flexible material.

Misc: Swirly Glasses - Lets Marigold not be blind.

Backpack - Allows extended inventory. Aged relic from the Kourindou.

Unnamed Lock Opening Device - Opens locks very precariously. Made with steel, burnt cloth, packaging peanuts, thumbtacks, string, and wooden wheels. Don't even ask…

Ruler - Lets you measure the world around you!

Protractor - Lets you find the angles of anything ever. Totally overpowered.

Deck of Cards - Allows Marigold to play Strip Poker with the party. Just kidding… or am I?

Stun Gun - Electrical device used to subdue harassers. Has settings ranging from Tickle Torture to Arse Blaster. Able to stun and inflict paralysis on certain foes. Deals electrical damage, and on the highest setting can fry shields, at the cost of temporarily shorting itself out.

Air Gun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Uses air to propel moderately powered danmaku particles at high speeds. Bland, but efficient. Filled with foil chip bags to conduct the mana, and it is transmitted into a wind stone. Recently upgraded to draw mana from a simple wooden block filled with immense magic reserves, giving it virtually unlimited ammo.

NF Burst Gun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Uses a Pop Gun as the base, but amplifies its power with an array of random batteries jammed into the base with the Pop Gun. The more batteries, the better, but the typical yield is about five bullets per trigger. Spamming the trigger doesn't make it go any faster, unfortunately. Has no foreseeable ammo limit, and the batteries are only there for mana circulation, meaning their power is really inconsequential.

Holmes Brand Designer Hat - Village swag! A retro village hat that ceased production ten years ago. Sells for a pretty penny nowadays, but it's pretty useless otherwise.

Slime Generator - A bulky box that shoots a small splat of slime. Doesn't seem good for much.

Counter-PSI Device - A weird device Marigold found from a flying saucer. Works in strange ways, and seems to disrupt everyone's concentration. Marigold is immune to its effects.

-Skills-

The MacGyver Of Our Time - But can she create an atomic clock from mud and sticks?

Skill Level 2 Firebug - Microwave Gun Unlocked!

Secret Agent - Except with arts and crafts!

Sometimes Eats Cookies In Bed - Beware of crumbs!

Microwave Warfare Specialist - Served with Barrie Trower in the Queen's Royal Microwave Submarine Warfare division.

β-β-β-β

Author's Note:

fun chapter; a lot of BUSYWORK but still had its good moments

writing gore is always fun because i can just feel the "woah where did that come from" factor seep into things

outfit updates! more bottle rockets! fwwwsshh boom!

as always, see you all next time!


	15. The Hakurei in the Sky keeps on Turning

Hikari, Osamu, and some rabbits who happened to have been passing by, sat in the lounge room, eating from multiple bags of chips.

"So then I was like…" Osamu paused to chew another chip. "...I was like, 'you are mighty indeed! But now, feel my unbridled wrath!' and I did an awesome uppercut, and I pulled out some blades and did my signature blade rush- that vampire didn't know what hit 'er!" He got progressively more excited as he told the story.

"Awesome…!" A pink-haired rabbit girl beamed.

"Mmnh." A blue-haired one simply hummed, disinterested.

' _Totally how it went._ ' Hikari withheld the truth. ' _You totally weren't nearly useless for the latter portion of that fight with Remilia._ '

"...There." Marigold spoke. "...I-I think that's it."

Osamu looked over. "That's what you said the last ten times!"

Marigold had been hard at work at fixing London, eagerly running multiple tests once she finally got it into semi-working condition. This time, however, she was nearly certain of its performance.

The London mech stood tall, nearly reaching the ceiling of the meager break room. "It took some serious scavenging, problem solving, and hard work, but the systems my mother installed were basically all intact and in place- the big problem was simply the hardware."

Hikari nodded. ' _Also the same thing you've been saying for the past day or so, now._ '

"I think I've got the grip of it, though. Even if I had to use… less than quality materials." Marigold adds the last part somewhat sullenly.

The arms and legs of the mechanization were very crudely emulated with wood and metal parts, along with various run-on joints and bindings.

The arms and legs could only be described as 'messes of geometry'.

Hikari stares at it. ' _I'm fairly confident she has no idea what she's doing, at this point, at least when it comes to this thing._ '

The pink-haired rabbit gushed. "Oo~h! What is that?"

...Marigold blinked. "...Who, uh, is that?"

Osamu smiled. "This is Azumi, and that's Aoyomi."

The pink-haired rabbit and the blue-haired rabbit waved, respectively.

"Oh." Marigold shrugged. "Anyway, we should be all set to go."

Hikari spoke up. "That's what you said the first three times… when it tipped over and we had a hard time getting out."

Marigold stared at her dryly. "Well, tough cookies, Hikari. It's substantially more ready now than it was then."

' _That still doesn't assure me._ '

She went around, and stepped up a small stepladder, popping open a latch in London's back.

"Come here, guys. If this works well, we should be out of here." Marigold announced. "If it doesn't… well, then, yeah."

' _You're not instilling confidence…_ '

Osamu groaned. "Al~right. See ya, girls."

The pink-haired one waved. "Bye bye, Osamu!"

The blue-haired one stared at him. "That was a waste of an hour."

"No one asked you." Osamu deadpanned back.

"I asked me." She countered.

He hesitated. "Well… damn." Osamu lost yet another verbal exchange.

Hikari and Osamu moved around the side of the large doll construct, and began stepping up the step ladder…

"Waa~it!"

Hana, the cyan-haired fairy maid, bounded into the room.

Hikari paused, but continued climbing into the mech.

On the inside, it was as cramped as she remembered. Marigold hollowed out some small sections of walling for her and Osamu to pretend to sit in, but they were practically leaning on Marigold the entire time.

"Ah… Oh, that's right! Ha-chan…" Marigold realized she had forgotten her at the house the other day. "Oh, well. She can catch up, I'm sure. I wasn't gonna wait for her to get up earlier, and I'm not waiting for her to find a way to fit in here, now."

' _Thank heavens for that._ ' Hikari awkwardly grinned as she examined the meager piloting space. ' _Speaking of heaven…_ '

"How far do we need to fly?" Hikari posed the question.

Marigold glanced in her direction, and shrugged. "Mmm… I'll just fly up, and take it from there."

' _I'm not confident this thing can move, period._ '

Marigold slammed the back latch shut. Then, she cracked her knuckles…

"Now, I _should_ know what to press this time." Marigold assured the party.

" _Should._ " Osamu stressed.

' _On attempt six, she pressed the eject button and we ended up lodged in the ceiling._ '

Marigold presses the large button, labeled 'START'.

Lines of magic ran up the walls of the machine's interior, meeting at large, flickering magical screens. The images were a little fuzzy, and flickered a bit from uneven magical connections, but the scrying magic still worked.

"Alright… Those still work." This Marigold knew. The hard part would be getting it to move…

She pressed the up arrow key.

Creaks were heard as the machine lumbered forward, propelled by being activated. The two rabbit girls stepped out of the way cautiously, while Hana threw herself at the legs. The machine eventually moved forward and clipped the lower portion of wall.

"Holy shit, it's actually movin'...!" Osamu gaped, watching the magical screen.

Pi~chun!

Hana was crushed.

"A-ah, It's moving!" Marigold cheered. "Now I just need to steer it out…"

She looked at the arrow keys.

"...Oh, dear…"

' _I fully expect us to crash at some point._ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: MARIGOLD'S VIEW ====

Marigold pushed the button labeled 'E' next to the up arrow.

' _Th-that wasn't the eject, right? That's labeled 'E', too…_ '

The London mech began raising, slowly ascending through the incline of gaps in the walls of the clinic.

Thu-thunk-thunk-thu-thu-nk-thunk!

The machine clipped many aspects of walling.

' _Good... Haven't hit anything big yet, so~..._ '

One of the walls they were coming up on, the last wall between the interior and exterior, had scaffolding in place over it, unmanned.

' _Uhhhh…_ '

Bam!

The mech blew through the scaffolding, trashing it.

"I'm sure they're gonna happy about that." Hikari comments.

"Eheh…" Marigold grins sheepishly. "They can live. Aliens did it."

"Pfft…" Osamu grins.

Now outside, the mech floated through the air.

' _...Hmm._ '

Marigold mashed the E button. The mech quickly began ascending.

"If this thing breaks in mid air…" Osamu chuckles. "We're gonna _fucking die._ "

Marigold smiled nervously. "A-ahah…"

' _Don't say things like that!_ '

As they ascended, multiple things could be seen on the screen. The first was a view of a bulk of Gensokyo's lower landscape.

From the somewhat subpar quality screen, the party could see the human village, the Hakurei shrine, the Scarlet Devil Mansion, the Misty Lake, and the Forest of Magic, among other sights they were unfamiliar with, such as the field of sunflowers off to one corner of the screen…

"Already!?" Osamu yelled. "How high are we!?"

Hikari disdainfully glanced at him.

' _This thing does move fast..._ ' Marigold notes.

Various saucers passed across the camera, some near and some far. Cloud fairies floated in front of the camera, and flew to catch up with London, but were too slow.

"Are… how high are we going?" Hikari warily asks, the Earth's surface getting farther and farther.

"I-I don't know." Marigold admits.

The party quietly watched the screen, awed.

…

"Is there a limit?" Hikari questions.

"Hmm?" Marigold wasn't sure what she meant.

"To how high up we can go?"

Marigold pondered this question… "Sort of. My mother- the purple one- taught me about the atmosphere. Air gets thinner the higher you go, so eventually you have to stop."

"Ah." Hikari nods.

"What, really?" Osamu raises a brow. "How'd she even know?"

"I'd like to remind you that essentially everyone except us can fly." Marigold adds dryly.

"...Ah, shit. Right, right." Osamu sighs. "How the hell's that even work?"

"I dunno..." Hikari was curious, too. "I was told it was like swimming and walking, sort of. Or falling, except with style."

" _I_ can fall with style." Osamu grinned.

' _You don't_ have _style to begin with._ '

The downward view didn't show them what they were flying up into, however.

 _Bam!_

' _...!?_ '

A horrible scraping noise was heard around the entire party, the camera suddenly going out and the magical lines flickering, power becoming scarcer.

"Oh, fu~ck!" Osamu wails.

Hikari grabs Marigold's seat tensely.

' _Are-are we falling…!?_ '

…

' _No, we're not falling._ ' At least, it didn't feel like they were falling, and the scraping was still persisting.

...Osamu covers his ears. "Let me know when we're dead!"

After a moment, the scraping halted, and the party members were all thrown to the roof of the machine.

"Aaaa~h!" Marigold screamed.

Bam. Everyone fell forward onto the bits where the screen would be, parts audibly rattling and gravity shifting once more.

"...Ouch." Hikari was curled up in a ball. She tried moving… "I-I'm stuck…"

Marigold was on top of her, eyes widening. ' _M-my back…_ '

Osamu was splayed across one of the curves of the machine's interior. "Damn... That was a hoot…"

…

"H-help." Hikari requests.

Marigold speaks. "...I-I can't move anything. My back…"

Hikari tried Healing ß!

Marigold quickly rolled off of Hikari, falling onto Osamu.

"Oof!" He tried pushing her off, but eventually gave up. "...Blueberries."

"Sh-shut up." Marigold elbowed him.

"H-hey! That's not fair!" Osamu glared back.

Hikari emerged from her ball position, and attacked the latch.

Patter, patter, patter!

Marigold sighed. "It doesn't work like that. It's reinforced, to make sure the wind force doesn't rip us out and tear us apart."

Osamu gapes. "Oh, fuck! Don't open it, then!"

"...We're not _moving_ , genius." Marigold adds.

"But, the wind…!" Osamu argued. "You just said…"

"You don't understand how wind force even works." Marigold facepalms. "Look…"

She opens the hatch, and Osamu shields himself. "I'm too young to di~hi~hie!"

…

Marigold climbs out of the mech, and throws her arms back, making her clothes rustle slightly.

Outside the mech, it was revealed that London had shot up out of the floor of some sort of platform, and collapsed on the top, most of its limbs outright gone. A town of some sort surrounded them…

...Various people had gathered to witness the commotion.

' _...I think we're here._ '

Leaping from London, Marigold lands on the cobblestone floor.

Hikari climbs out next, and does the same. "Huh."

Once Hikari exposes herself, the people begin dispersing, waving the event off.

Osamu followed. "...Wind force my ass."

Marigold gave him a disdainful glance herself, before looking around the town. "...Small place." Only a row of buildings surrounded them, but from here they could also see adjacent islands with more buildings.

Many more adjacent islands.

"...Big place." Hikari corrects. 

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIKARI'S VIEW ====

After only a few moments of curious glancing, a woman with short blue hair approached them.

"Greetings. I am Tamiko, mayor of sector forty-eight." Tamiko introduced herself. "I take it you are the newest Hakurei miko?"

Hikari blinked. "...Y-yeah, actually."

"On what occasion do you spare us this visit?" Tamiko spoke softly.

"...Just passing through." Hikari hazarded. ' _I didn't know this place existed until yesterday._ '

Tamiko smiled. "Come, now. Surely, you don't expect me to believe you went out of your way to fly here to simply 'pass through'."

Hikari folded her arms. "It's the truth, and I'm sticking to it."

"Hehehe…" Tamiko giggled. "Very well. However, we will be having a festivity, shortly. It would be quite an honor if you could att-"

"Will there be food!?" Osamu blurted upon the announcement.

Tamiko scowled at him. "I was speaking to the Hakurei Miko, mortal. Hold your tongue, and know your place."

Osamu jerked his head back. "...Sheesh. Coulda just told me to shut up…"

Tamiko smiled. "Come with me, Hakurei."

She begins walking towards a large church-like structure. Hikari begins walking, and gestures for her friends to come along.

Osamu folds his arms. "She's just gonna get angry at me. I know it."

"I'll get angry with her, then." Hikari decides.

They enter the church, and catch up to the celestial woman.

Tamiko turns around, and her serene expression falters. "I thought I made it clear… _Hakurei_ miko. Not random mortals."

"Where they go, I go." Hikari declares.

Tamiko frowns. "My sincerest apologies, then, but you will not be eligible for any form of festivities."

Hikari shrugged. "I guess so. I wouldn't really wanna go to a party hosted by someone like you, anyway."

Tamiko froze. "...What do you mean, by that?"

"You don't seem like a good person." Hikari informs her. "So I'll just leave."

"You won't tell anyone of this conversation, right?" Tamiko narrows her eyes. "It would reflect badly upon…"

She pauses.

' _...?_ '

"Go on." Marigold spoke up.

"It…" Tamiko cleared her throat. "Ahem. If you spread this conversation… it will have dire consequences on your role as a Hakurei Miko."

' _Pffft._ '

"You let us in the party, and we won't spread it." Hikari argues.

"Fine. Whatever." Tamiko pouts. "If those mortals are _really_ so important to you. Go on, then."

Hikari smiled. "Thank you."

' _She completely set herself up for that._ '

Osamu chuckled. "Wow. What a bitch."

Tamiko twitched.

' _...You said that with her literally right there._ ' Hikari turned to Osamu, exasperated.

"...This would normally be a situation for me to contact the eldest daughter, for, but she has been curiously absent, as of late. A pity." Tamiko frowns.

…

' _I don't know what that means, but okay._ '

Hikari moves back to the town square, and her party members follow.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

"I didn't wanna say anything," Marigold began, "but that lady was pretty terrible."

"I know, right?" Osamu agreed. "She just stunk of political bullshit. All kissy kissy with Hikari until she said somethin' she didn't like."

Hikari shrugged. "She didn't seem very persuasive, at least."

The three sat on a bench in heaven, slightly off put by the sheer amount of sunlight.

"...Seriously, I hope I don't get sunburnt." Marigold shields her eyes with her arms.

' _It_ is _pretty bright._ '

…

After a moment, Hikari stood. "Should we get going?"

"I dunno. I kinda wanna go to that party, even if that lady was a bitch." Osamu shrugged. "I mean… food."

' _Good point._ ' Hikari brought a hand to her chin.

A man with brown hair walked up to them. "Hello. You're the new Hakurei Miko, correct?"

Hikari sighed. "Who wants to know?"

"Oh, I just wanted to help out." He smiled casually. "Hey, did you know you can press the A button to jump?"

…

' _What?_ ' Hikari furrowed her brows.

"If you hold the right trigger, Hikari will charge herself with wind energy, and do a quick dash!" The man exclaims, running in place as if demonstrating.

"H-how do you know my name…?" Hikari backed away from the strange man.

Marigold stared at him dryly. "Who are you…?"

He turned to Marigold. "Hold the left trigger to aim down the sights as Marigold."

...Marigold takes out her Air Gun, and aims down the sights, at the man's head. "I'm not sure if I should trust you…"

"If you do a triple-kick backflip through the wall in Remilia's Throne Room in the Scarlet Devil Mansion, you can clip through the wall to find-"

Hikari tried Hypnosis α!

"...A-a 'Power of Mistress'... and a neutron b-bomb…"

Thud. The man collapsed on the cobblestone near the bench.

"...What the fuck." Osamu questioned.

Hikari stared down at the man. "Heaven is weird."

Tamiko walked back out, smiling. "The festivity is ready!"

…

' _Its been ten minutes._ ' Hikari stared at her blankly. ' _Not even._ '

The party moves to re-enter the church, and on the inside, they see a few lazily placed balloons, a cake, a bowl of water, and a few party goers.

"Hey." A guy with red hair waves his hand. "I'm Narfilzon."

…

' _Okay._ '

"Have fun and all that." Tamiko waved them off. "I'll just be… overseeing. Yeah."

With that, Tamiko quickly moved to a back door, and left.

Osamu grinned. "Pffft."

The three teenagers moved to the table, and examined the present foods.

Peaches, peaches, cake, and peaches.

"Wow." Osamu nods. "...Fruit. Don't get me wrong, I like fruit, but uh…"

Narfilzon takes a bite out of a peach. "Who wants to share?"

…

The three promptly ignore him.

Hikari picks up a peach. "How do you eat these things, again…?"

' _Do you peel them? I forget…_ '

Narfilzon stands up, setting his down. "Don't worry, I'll show you…"

Hikari turns to him. "Go away. You're annoying."

' _Mom told me not to talk to strangers. At least, not the creepy ones._ '

He grins. "Oh, come on. Don't be that-"

Osamu tried PK Thunder ß!

Thwaa~sh!

The water bowl was struck, and exploded into a splash of deadly electric water, prompting Hikari and Marigold to crouch. All the celestials present shielded themselves; the few that were there, anyway.

Thwaa~sh!

Narfilzon was struck.

Bam!

"...Ouch." Narfilzon stroked his now charred hair. "Well, okay, then. I'll take that as a no."

Osamu double-took, surprised that he was largely unaffected.

Narfilzon moved to his seat, and sat down again, still smiling smugly. "If anyone wants to share, just let me know."

"No one wants to eat from your spittle covered peaches." Osamu tells him.

Narfilzon folds his arms. "And how do you know? I'll have you know that I'm widely respected among women up here."

"Too bad." Osamu rolls his eyes. "You're not respected by these women."

A green-haired woman pressed her fingers together. "Uhm… My name is Azalgone."

Narfilzon smiles warmly at her, as she introduces herself. "Hello, my dear Azalgone. Settle this debate for me… which of us is more handsome?"

…

"U-uhm…" Azalgone looks away. "I-I wouldn't know about that… but you're kind of a creep. I-I'm sorry!"

Azalgone went quiet, staring into the mostly empty bowl of electric water.

Narfilzon's jaw dropped, and he froze. "Wh-wha…!?"

…

Hikari claims a seat. ' _Might as well._ '

Marigold rubbed her hands together. "I think it's time for some cake."

She takes the small knife near the cake, and begins cutting a slice.

Azalgone took a pitcher, gathered some of the electric water, and put it into a cup. She then began drinking it…

Zazazap!

"O-ooh... " Azalgone's eyes widened. "It-it tingles…"

Osamu shook his head. "I don't even know anymore…"

"Heaven people are weird." Hikari states aloud.

"Celestials, you mean?" Narfilzon corrects.

"If that's what they're called." Hikari shrugs.

Hikari looks at the cake herself.

"Would you like me to cut you a slice?" Marigold offers.

"Sure." Hikari shrugs.

"Ah- me too." Osamu approach the cake.

Narfilzon smirks. "Me three~."

"Get it yourself." Marigold instructs him.

Marigold cuts everyone an even slice, and puts it onto a little paper party plate they had grabbed from nearby, except for Narfilzon, who had to get his own slice.

Osamu and Marigold begin eating their cake…

Hikari stares at the sides of it, examining the color. ' _...I know it's probably because this is heaven cake or something, but blue spots are kinda a weird color for a cake's interior…_ '

She takes a bite of hers, and chews on some of the blue pieces inside. ' _Oh, they're candy, then…_ '

…

Osamu looks up from his cake. "...Something's… wrong."

Marigold blinks. "L-like… what?"

…

"U-uh…" Osamu puts his cake down, and stumbles about. "Du~de… everything's like… green 'n' red…"

Hikari looks up from her cake, and notices colors deviating from every object in her vision.

' _A-ah… Wh-what…?_ '

"Dude…" Osamu shakes his head in an attempt to better himself. "...I don't th… think that was cake… we just ate."

Marigold sits down. "Whaa~h…"

Hikari's vision waned. "U-uhh…"

Lurching forward, she slinked off her chair, and curled up on the floor.

' _W-wow…_ '

…

Narfilzon's eyebrow rose. "What happened to them?"

Azalgone shrugged. "I guess… th-they got tired?"

Shrugging, Narfilzon went to take a slice from the cake. "Well, more for us, then, I guess. I wonder when Tamiko's coming back…"

Azalgone quietly went to grab a slice herself.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: ?'S VIEW ====

…

' _A calling…'_

Hiyori Hashimoto opened her eyes.

"Hmm?"

From across the temple yard, Byakuren tilted her head. "You were interrupted. Is something the matter?"

Hiyori was still. "I sensed something."

…

"Do whatever it is you need to do." Byakuren spoke. "...But, do not forget your teachings."

"I would never." Hiyori stood, raising from her cross-legged position in the temple yard. "Thank you, for your time."

Her hair was long, black, and naturally side-parted. She was clad in a gi, which was fairly plain, except with additional magical runes along the red trim of it.

' _Enchanted for durability. It's proven itself necessary._ '

Byakuren smiled. "I should be thanking you."

Hiyori moved towards the temple's entrance. Pushing open the door, she briskly marched through the temple until she reached the kitchen.

"...You're back in early, today." Murasa commented, leaning against the counter on the far side of the kitchen. "I've not even a chance to start dinner, yet."

Hiyori moved to one of the shelves along the wall, and opened it. Reaching in…

Hiyori obtained Canteen of Water!

' _This should do._ '

Murasa's brow rose. " _Another_ trip? You've been here only a week, lass!"

Hiyori turned to her. "Something came up."

"...If you say so." Murasa shrugged. "Dinner'll be ready in a couple hours, yeah? If yer still around, anyway."

Moving back into the hallway, Hiyori passed Nue…

"He~y." Nue called to her. "...You look ready for war! Did someone, like, make fun of your horns?"

' _...I suppose I look a little intense._ '

Hiyori sighed. "No, I just have to do something important."

Nue rose a finger. "Ooh, ooh, I know… You have to _go_ really badly, don't you?"

…

Hiyori began walking. "I have to finish my training."

Nue rolled her eyes. "Aaah… Whatever that means."

' _Byakuren has her work cut out for her, with that one._ '

Navigating out of the temple, Hiyori passed Byakuren in the shrine yard.

"...Good luck." Byakuren added, as Hiyori was exiting the gate.

' _...Thank you._ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

In the woods outside the temple, Hiyori wandered, looking for something distinct.

' _My people have never had a good reputation with magic._ '

She paused, thinking she heard something rustle in the bushes, but continued.

' _Though our species as a whole is powerful… we spend too much time indulging ourselves to truly appreciate the extended life we live._ '

Nearing a series of familiar ridges in the floor of the woods, Hiyori leaps and bounds over them.

' _Us oni are typically thought incapable of being magic practitioners of any sort, even if we have the stamina and magical capabilities to do so._ '

Eventually, she came to an old, wooden podium, with a stone plaque in the middle of it. It itself was rooted in stone, resting before a clearing.

' _Other practitioners of my belief told me the most efficient method to doing so, was simply to practice, and exercise my abilities. So I did. However… exploration of my surroundings yielded this._ '

She read the stone plaque once more, which held text inscribed in Japanese.

"Fantasy endangered, a sleeping land shifts…" Hiyori read aloud. "Only by true discipline, a way revealed."

She sat down in front of the plaque, positioning herself, as she recited the rest from memory. "A boundary lies in turmoil, as ruin follows greed."

…

' _I still don't know what that means, exactly._ '

Akin to the many other times she'd visited the mystifying stone plaque, she focused on it, and channeled mana into it.

' _It seems to have a function, of some sort._ ' Hiyori noticed many times ago. ' _I've yet to figure out how to activate it… but focusing mana on it makes great mana pool exercise._ '

She pauses.

' _...This feels different, somehow._ '

She channels her mana along the corners of the plaque itself. ' _...The oddity is here._ '

Then, her focus is broken, as the plaque lights up, and hexagonal pillars of earth shoot up in the clearing in front of her.

' _What!?_ ' Hiyori stands, and backs up somewhat, as the ground trembles from the rising stone.

After a few moments, the apex of stone ceases rising, the jagged architecture raising above the trees.

…

Hiyori moves towards it.

' _This must have rose for a reason._ '

She begins leaping up the various surfaces and platforms of stone, occasionally having to leap off the side of one to reach the other, closer platforms. Leaps normally unimaginable by a standard human proved trivial for Hiyori, as she scaled the large pinnacle of stone pillars.

Before long, she reached the top.

' _There we are…_ '

From atop the stone pillar, she could see the nearby temple, along with a glance of the human village and the tops of trees of the nearby forestry.

...Hiyori takes a seat, crossing her legs once more. ' _This should be a great spot to meditate. I don't think the design and secrecy of this pillar is to be ignored, either._ '

She closed her eyes, and began focusing…

…

It was at this moment Mamizou floated up, and touched down on a nearby pillar. "Hiyori! Hiyori~!"

' _Mamizou…?_ ' Hiyori was curious. ' _For what reason?_ '

"C-come quickly…!" Mamizou breathed out, her voice ragged. "The temple… it's-it's under attack!"

' _...Again?_ ' Alarm began to raise in Hiyori's mind.

"Th-...they're here…!" Mamizou breathed out, exhausted.

…

' _It's not like Mamizou to be like this._ ' Hiyori reflects, still not opening her eyes. ' _...I also doubt she'd leave the temple and seek me out, of all people._ '

"...Hi~yori~!" Mamizou shouted louder. "Please!"

' _...If she had the energy to fly up here, surely she couldn't have been in that much trouble. She would also know the proper method of communicating to someone in deep meditation is not shouting; it would be with deep meditation of her own._ '

"...P-please, Hiyori…" Mamizou fell to her knees.

' _...Who is 'they', anyway?_ ' Hiyori's mind calmed. ' _This is completely unlike Mamizou._ '

Hiyori did not act, and let herself resume meditation.

…

Eventually, Mamizou shifted, and revealed herself as Nue. She floated away, looking frustrated. "Damn. That usually gets her…"

…

' _I'm not sure what she means by that._ ' Hiyori was curious, but dismissed the thought.

…

Just as Hiyori was about to sink into deep meditation, she felt a life force creeping up the pillar she sat on.

' _Hmm?_ '

…

"Boo!"

Kogasa leaped up from behind Hiyori and yelled. "Ooga booga booga!"

…

' _Oh. It's just Kogasa. Probably drawn to the pillar._ ' Hiyori ignored her.

…

Kogasa frowned. "Awwh…"

With that, Kogasa drifted away, lowering into the woods below. Hiyori felt her depart.

' _Finally…_ '

Hiyori allowed herself to drift into deep meditation.

…

…

…

Slowly, she felt the presence of stars around herself realizing itself.

' _This feeling…_ ' Hiyori felt taken aback by the level of clarity that washed over her.

Gradually, the feeling of a life form slowly moved towards her, in a straight line from her altitude.

…

"Hiyori, huh…?" A voice spoke, that of a man. "Anyway, I'm the spirit of your ancestry!... I'm here 'cause you wanna learn magic, and you finally figured out how to undo that elementary magical seal. Good job, I guess. Also, I'm gonna have to break your legs. You'll lose the use of them. Is that what you really want?"

…

' _Yes._ '

Hiyori immediately feels a presence running along her legs, and then, in the next moment, intense pain. She resists the urge to excessively writhe, gritting her teeth, along with finding that she indeed cannot feel her legs.

"So, Hiyori…" The oni spirit spoke, "You will never be able to walk again, with your legs gone. Next, I'm gonna tear off your arms, and feed 'em to the crows. So, taking your arms, are you cool with that?"

…

' _Yes._ '

Hiyori anticipated the pain, as she felt a tingling sensation run up her arms. The next moment, immense pain. Unable to writhe anything but her torso, the pain bounced around in her mind, the seemingly unending hell gradually fading.

"Well, Hiyori…" Once again, she heard the oni spirit. "Without legs and arms, all you can do is lie there. Next, I'll take away your hearing, by cutting off your ears. S'no big deal, right?"

…

' _Yes._ '

She braced herself for the torture that awaited her ears. A light brushing sensation passed them, and then she once again reeled from the overwhelming waves of pain coming from both sides of her head. Her torso jittered violently, but she contained herself.

She heard the oni spirit, but not with her ears. ' _So, Hiyori… With no legs, arms, or hearing… I can still think to you, or something. Next, I'm gonna steal your sight. You'll live in darkness. No regrets?_ '

…

' _Yes._ '

Feeling the urge to scream, but holding it in, she felt her eyes pulsate. She was relieved to find that there was no lasting pain, but she was in no hurry to open her eyes any time soon to find out what happened.

The mental image of stars went out abruptly.

' _...Now that you have literally nothing else,_ ' The oni spirit began, ' _We can only talk through your mind, so… I'll take your mind. Kinda sucks, doesn't it? I don't think you really want that… but you can't really talk back, so I guess I'll just do that._ '

Hiyori felt everything drift away…

…

...

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Hiyori opened her mouth, and gasped for air. "Huaa~h!"

She was lying on the hexagonal stone pillar, on her back. She sat up abruptly, looking around. She grasped her legs, her arms, and felt around her entire body.

Then, she felt something more come to her…

Hiyori learned PK Freeze α, ß!

Hiyori learned PK Fire α, ß!

Hiyori learned Lifeup α, ß!

Hiyori learned Healing α, ß!

Hiyori learned Shield α, ß, Σ!

Hiyori learned Teleport α, ß!

"A-aah…" Hiyori froze, jittering from the amount of mana she suddenly felt course through her.

' _I-I… feel ali~ve…!_ '

…

The stone pillars slowly began to retract back down to the forest floor. Hiyori rested upon the tallest one, as it eventually came down to rest like all the others.

She stood, stretching grandly, and taking a deep breath. "...Haa~h…"

...She looked at a nearby tree.

' _I should practice these new skills…!_ '

She focused on the tree, and then reflected on her mana pool…

' _It flows so smoothly…_ '

Hiyori tried PK Freeze ß!

KaKa-KaKaKling!

A pattern of ice crystals began assaulting the tree trunk, freezing and thawing rapidly.

Kra~ck!

The tree's bark was frozen.

' _Frost…_ '

Hiyori looked at the center of the dirt clearing.

Hiyori tried PK Fire α!

Fwoo~m…!

Fire expanded outward from the point of focus, forming a small field of flames.

' _Fire…_ '

Hiyori tried Shield ß!

Hiyori was protected by the power shield of light!

' _...Light? Protection?_ ' Hiyori stared curiously. ' _I don't think I need something like that…_ '

Feeling confidence well up inside herself, she walked back to the temple…

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Hiyori entered the temple yard, smiling.

Byakuren notices her. "...I feel as if the magic training worked well, for you."

Hiyori nods. "Very much so. I can feel all my mana so clearly…"

"Just remember to practice with it." Byakuren advises her. "You don't know the limits of your natural talents yet, so it would only be best to exercise caution."

"...Thank you." Hiyori nods.

"Now…" Byakuren smiles. "How about we resume that meditation session?"

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Calmed and sated of her excitement, Hiyori found herself drifting in meditation once more…

…

She found herself visualizing a place with clouds, and buildings.

' _...What a curious place._ '

Panning the mind's camera around, she observed the network of islands, before it focused again on the one it started on.

' _Hmm…_ '

She examined the island closer. It had a church, a wreckage of some description, and a fountain in the center…

Hiyori's mana flowed freely, her mind neglecting to keep tabs on it.

' _I wonder what it would be like, if such a place existed?_ '

Hiyori tried Teleport ß!

She suddenly found herself moving, physically.

"H-hmm…?" Her eyes blinked open, and she found herself being dragged in a circle pattern by her own mana. "A-ah…!"

Byakuren opened her eyes. "Hi-Hiyori…?"

Hiyori gradually sped up, the circle expanding slightly. "Wh-whoaa~h!"

Byakuren moved to grab her in an attempt to stabilize her-

KraKoo~m!

Hiyori disappeared, a circle of tame flames left in her wake.

...

Byakuren scratched the back of her head sheepishly. "...Oh, dear. I hope she's alright…"

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

KraKoo~m!

Hiyori slid across the cobblestone, before bumping into a bench and tipping it over.

…

She stood up from her cross-legged position. Various people emerged from their homes to observe the sudden blast of noise.

' _...This is… that place I visualized!_ ' Hiyori realized, looking around with wide eyes.

Various bystanders stared at her horns, a few eying them curiously.

…

The nearby church's doors opened.

A blue-haired woman walked out, and laid her eyes upon the oni.

She double-took. "...Se-Seriously?"

Hiyori walked up to her. "...I wish to inquire about this strange new land."

…

"Nope. I'm done." The woman walked back towards the church. "First the Hakurei, then this? Ahahahah… No. If anyone asks, I wasn't here, today."

She walks back into the open doors. "Cake on the table if you want any. Just don't break anything, or anyone."

…

' _This is a rather cynical land, I take it._ ' Hiyori rose a brow. ' _Rather curious for a nation in the sky, but I suppose life is full of mysteries._ '

She progresses inside the church, and looks around…

There's a few overturned chairs, a guy with red hair, and a girl with green hair.

"Hey." The red-haired man raised a cup. "Name's Narfilzon."

…

Hiyori approaches the table, and examines the food choices.

Peaches, peaches, cake, and peaches.

' _They like peaches up here, apparently._ '

...She takes a peach, and takes a big bite out of it.

Crunch!

Narfilzon hastily grabs one. "H-hey, wanna sh… ah, whatever." He waves her off. "...I was gonna ask you if you wanted to share, but…"

...Hiyori idly stared at him, then focused on her peach again.

Crunch!

It was all gone.

"...Yeah, nevermind." Narfilzon shook his head, and dropped his peach on the floor.

' _How wasteful._ '

Her attention turned to the cake. She took the knife and cleanly cut a slice…

' _Where do I put this?_ '

"H-here…" The green-haired girl got up. "Plates…"

She raised a paper plate from the stack.

' _Those are plates?_ ' Hiyori blinked.

Hiyori sat the cake on the paper plate.

' _...So they are. This land is full of strange magic._ '

The girl handed Hiyori the paper plate, and she held it daintily, feeling as though any sudden movements might demolish it.

' _Whoever made this design was being very economic._ '

Hiyori's face neared the cake, and she paused.

' _...This smell… it's very…_ '

She took a moment to search for a fork, and she plucked it from the table. Then, she dissected her cake, picking out blue, translucent bits from it, and examining them.

' _...Artificial. It's laced with some form of chemical._ '

...She sat her plate down on the table.

Narfilzon grinned. "What? You don't like cake?"

Hiyori stared at him. "Did you know this cake was poisoned?"

Narfilzon rose a brow. "Poisoned? Well, not like I'd know. Y'see, us celestials don't really need to worry about that sort of thing. Some kids came in here earlier and passed out, though. Me and Azalgone here figured they were just all tuckered out. Humans and youkai get like that, sometimes."

Hiyori nodded. "...I see."

' _Strange people, too._ '

...She looks around. "Do you know where I might find these people?"

' _I have no idea if they're alright, or not._ '

Narfilzon nodded. "Over there. Take the left door an' go up the stairs. There'll be a bedroom, somewhere. One of the left doors."

"Thank you." Hiyori nods, as she begins navigating through the church…

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIKARI'S VIEW ====

' _Ughh…_ '

Hikari drowsily sat up in her bed. ' _Still so tired…_ '

She looked around, and saw her friends in beds near her. The whole room was a rather short room that had a ton of beds crammed into it, leaving a small aisle in the middle for transit.

…

The door swung open, and a tall woman with even taller horns marched in, with long black hair, and a gi with red, runic trim.

' _Tho~se are big horns!_ ' Hikari's eyes slowly widened.

"...It must be you three." The woman spoke with volume. Her eyes focused on Hikari. "Are you feeling well?"

' _Those horns are half as tall as a person._ ' Hikari stared. "...U-uhm…"

The horned woman frowned. "...I wonder if my magic is capable of aiding others…"

She tried Healing α!

Hikari's drowsiness was dispelled!

...Hikari looked around. ' _Wow. I feel great. I felt really fuzzy just a moment ago, for lack of a better word_ …'

The horned woman looked around. "Your friends. Are they well?"

"Nothing a little healing magic can't fix up, I'm sure." Hikari decided.

"Healing magic…?" The horned woman rose a brow. "You know it, too?"

Hikari nodded. "Yeah…"

' _I'm more surprised you're claiming to know it, actually. It's not exactly a common thing…_ '

…

Eventually, the other two began to stir.

"Hnngh…" Marigold stretched. "A-ah…"

Osamu sat up, and wobbled a bit. "...Woaa~h."

Hikari tried Healing α!

Hiyori tried Healing α!

Marigold rubbed her eyes. "...Remind me not to eat cake again. Ever."

"Seconded." Hikari adds.

Osamu suddenly looked around, frantic. "That fuckin' cake! When I get my hands… on…" He trails off, staring at the horned woman. "...You have _huge_ … uhm- horns!"

Hikari sighs, shaking her head.

Marigold glanced at them. "Huh. She must be an oni."

The woman nodded. "That is correct."

Osamu jerked his head back. "She is!? How'd you know?"

"...Well, for one thing, horns." Marigold explains. "If that's not a dead giveaway…"

"Lots of things have horns!" Osamu argues.

"...Like?" Marigold waits for an answer.

…

Osamu glares at her.

"Mmm." Marigold grins. "Second… One of my mothers sort of had a thing against onis. I don't know why, either."

' _Huh._ '

The oni looked back at Hikari. "...Would you mind telling me about this place?"

Hikari tilted her head.

"...I seem to have teleported here by mistake," She explained. "I know nothing of this land's strange customs."

...Hikari smiled. "Let's start with names. I'm Hikari. Hikari Hakurei."

"Hiyori Hashimoto." Hiyori introduced herself. "Pleased to meet you."

"Osamu Katsumi!" Osamu announced. "Hell yeah!"

"Marigold Knowledge." Marigold stated her name.

"So…" Hikari climbed out of the bed, awkwardly sliding off it because of the cramped space. "...Let's go outside, first. It's kinda cramped in here…"

"Yeah, we should… we should do that." Marigold agrees.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Outside the church, Osamu sat on the repositioned bench as the other three stood around.

"This place is heaven." Hikari begins. "...Literally, not figuratively."

"Actually kinda sucks up here." Osamu shrugs. "S'like false advertising."

…

"Heaven." Hiyori seeked confirmation.

"Mmm. Heaven." Hikari gave it.

…

"I'm not sure if I want to believe that." Hiyori argued.

Hikari shrugged.

"Well, you don't have to, then." Marigold folded her arms. "It's probably just called heaven because it's high up."

"Oh." Hiyori looks around. "...How high, exactly?"

"It's a long way down." Hikari answered her question.

Hiyori nodded, looking around and taking in the sight of the clouds and the wide, blue, sky.

After she finished collecting her thoughts, she looked at the three before her. "...My question, then, is why the three of you are here. You all don't look to be from up here, either…"

Hikari looked at her party members, and collected her thoughts. "...It's a long story."

Hiyori shrugged. "I have time."

Hikari moves to sit down at the bench as well. "Alright…"

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

In short order, Hikari had explained the gist of her adventure so far, and that Gensokyo as a whole was potentially endangered by the mysterious and malicious activities of Giygas. She explained the sanctuaries she needed to find, as well.

"...That's really everything worth mentioning, I think." Hikari finished her short recounting of events.

"There's also big monsters and shit." Osamu clarifies. "And vampires. And evil wizards."

Marigold furrowed her brows at him. "...That last one had better not be my mom."

He simply grinned and shrugged.

Hiyori, who had her arms folded, nodded. "...I see."

…

"The land is in peril, then?" Hiyori clarified.

Hikari nodded. "Pretty much."

"And the only one capable of saving it, is you?"

"...Yeah." Hikari nodded again.

Hiyori takes a deep breath. "Then, I shall go with you. I cannot abide such malice, not in this land."

Osamu pumped an arm into the air. "Yeah!"

' _I think he's a little_ too _excited._ '

Marigold spared him a disdainful glance. Then, there was contemplative silence.

…

"Well, I think we should get moving." Marigold spoke. "So far, there's no signs of enemies up here, if we discount the strange people."

Osamu was confused. "Wait, why the hell're we up here, again?"

Hikari knew the answer. "We're taking a detour to the mountain. That's kinda why we're up here in the first place."

Marigold snorted. "Surely, you haven't forgotten already?"

"Hey, hey, I blame the drug cake." Osamu raises his arms defensively. "Some crazy shit, dude."

Hikari got up, and began walking across the square of the island they were on. She eventually walked up to a brown-haired man…

"...Would you happen to know of any magical places?" Hikari asked.

' _I've yet to find a way to make that question not sound stupid._ '

The man turned to her, and smiled. "Press L and R at the same time to bring up the Motion Action Menu!"

' _Oh. It's him._ '

She begins walking away, and her party catches up to her, moving past the man.

He waves at them. "Potions restore one hundred HP!"

Leaving the town, they quickly came to the edge of the sky island.

"...I don't believe that man made any sense, unless I am mistaken." Hiyori declared.

"It's not just you." Osamu responded, "The guy's freakin' nuts."

Hikari watched the slowly revolving circle of smaller sky islands form a mini obstacle course towards the next one.

' _At least these jumps look easy. Hard ones would be completely mortifying, all things considered…_ ' As Hikari stated earlier, it's a _long_ way down.

A large, mobile sky island brushed past their current one, enough for the party to reach by running onto it.

' _This feels weird…_ ' Hikari could feel the motion of the island, and the feeling of wind blowing past her from a gradually shifting angle.

"Ho~ly shit." Osamu looks back at the main one that housed 'sector forty-eight'. "Never thought I'd be hopping around rocks in the fucking aether."

Out from a nearby cloud came some figures.

"Hey! He~y!"

A grey-clad fairy, with an aura of mist around herself, floated towards the platform. "Wh-what're you doing!?"

…

"Moving." Hikari responded.

Two other similarly dressed fairies floated up to meet their friend.

"Those stupid humans are trying to steal our nice new island!"

The middle one turned to her. "Humans? How can you tell?"

She rolled her eyes. "Well, considering they're walkin', like… yeah."

The third one looked confused. "Then… how'd they get-"

The second fairy snapped at her. "Shut up! Look, just… they're stealing our island!"

Still confused, the other fairies began moving to engage the party, following the aggressive one.

Marigold raised her Microwave Gun. "Now _this_ is a fairy destruction ray…"

Hiyori furrowed her brows. "Hold. We needn't resort to violence instantly. They're only fairies."

...Marigold sighs. "You sure about that?"

Hiyori walks forward, and the fairies begin pelting her with a couple bursts of danmaku, which she largely ignores.

"We have no intention of stealing your home." Hiyori announced. "We come in peace."

The aggressive fairy furrows her brows. "Home? We don't _live_ here! It's just cool to own an island!"

One of the more passive ones annotated. "Uhm… we-we never even go here any-"

"No one asked you!"

...Hiyori nodded. "May we not pass through undisturbed, then?"

The fairy girl nodded. "Uu~hm… no. No, y'see, it doesn't… it doesn't work like that."

Hiyori was curious. "Why might that be, exactly?"

The fairy paused.

…

"'Cause screw you, that's why! Ha~...hahaha!" She landed on the island, holding her stomach as she began laughing.

…

"Well, then." Hiyori shakes her head, and turns to Marigold. "...There's no other way, then, it seems."

Marigold grins, raising her Microwave Gun. "Shoulda just let me do this in the first place…"

"Th-those stupid humans!" The fairy continued laughing. "They… they think they can just walk away? After settin' foot on our-"

An orange beam connected with her.

"Aaa~h!"

Pi~chun!

She became a cloud of steam.

' _...That was pretty prompt._ '

The other fairies lost their courage. "J-Josei-chaa~n! Noo~!"

"W-waah! Don't shoot! Don't shoot!"

They quickly darted off into the clouds again.

Hiyori frowned. "...I'm not normally one to bully the weak, but if they ask for it…"

"They're just fairies. Geesh." Osamu brought his arms behind his head.

...Hikari saw the mobile island they stood on near another town-bearing one.

"Get ready to move, guys." Hikari announced, moving to the edge. Everyone broke from their relaxed stances and jogged to catch up with her, before they made the awkward run from the platform to the stable, still island.

"I'd normally be excited by such things," Marigold began, a half-smirk on her face, "but the fear of falling kinda outweighs that."

' _Yea~h…_ '

They briskly paced into the town that sat on the island…

A man with lime green hair paused, turning to them. "...Now just how the hell did _four_ of you get here?"

Osamu grinned. "Why's your hair, like, _neon_ green?"

He folds his arms. "My question is more important."

Marigold shook her head. "No, no, genuinely, we wish to know."

"It's a stylistic decision, dammit!" The man barked. "Can mortals stop pestering me about my hair, already!?"

Hikari took this moment to attempt averting complete negative reception. "Uhm… Does this town have a mayor?"

His face fell further.

' _...Whoops._ '

"...You're _lookin'_ at him."

…

"No one ever thinks I'm the mayor. Maybe I'm just not cut out to be a mayor…" The man unexpectedly slouches, walking away.

…

"I do think you three were just a bit uncalled for." Hiyori criticised.

"Hey. Not my fault the dude's got an ego problem, or something." Osamu shrugged.

' _I had no real way of knowing he was the mayor. I'll be honest, he doesn't look like one..._ '

They progressed to the center of the village square…

"We should ask around, and find out if there's a sanctuary up here." Hikari decided. "I mean… if there'd be any place for a sanctuary, it'd be miles up in the air."

"Good point, good point…" Osamu nodded. "We just go around and yell at people?"

Hikari saw no problem with that plan. "Mmm."

Osamu promptly broke from the group and walked up to a rather normal looking, black-haired girl.

"He~y!" He exclaimed. "Magical places and crap! Have you seen them?"

The girl turned to him, alarmed, and jumped back. "Wings!"

Wings sprouted from her back, and she slowly floated away.

…

"S'that a no?" Osamu asked no one in particular.

Hiyori sighed. "I believe that I should be the one to handle the negotiations."

She walked up to a curious, unlabeled stand manned by what looked like an old man with two tufts of orange hair.

"Would you happen to know of any magical geology… I mean, magical landmarks, in the nearby area?"

The man smiled. "Oo~h, Samantha! What'll it be today, honey?"

Hiyori blinked. "...I'm not sure I follow."

He nodded. "Good! Good! But, before you go…"

Reaching under his desk, the man pulled out a silver, runed sword, from a stack of silver, runed swords.

"It's dangerous to go alone! Take this!"

He hands it to Hiyori, who stares at it.

"...I do not want this." Hiyori frowns at it. "The material is far too weak to be of use."

The man simply smiles at her.

"...I said-"

"Oo~h, Samantha! What'll it be today, honey?" The man repeated.

…

"Good! Good! But, before you go…"

He pulled out an identical sword.

"It's dangerous to go alone! Take this!"

He hands it to Hiyori.

...Hiyori sets them both down on the counter. "Have a nice day."

He smiles. "Oo~h, Samantha!..."

Before he can say more, Hiyori walks away as he continues.

…

Marigold turned to Hikari. "I'm not sure if there's actually anyone worth talking to, up here."

' _Things don't look promising so far…_ '

Similarly to the last town, there was a large church as the focal point of the buildings. Hikari approached it, and knocked on the door.

…

No response. Hikari knocked again.

Osamu ran up, and began flailing his limbs at the door.

Marigold kicked it.

"You know…" Hiyori looked mystified. "That could technically be considered disturbing the peace."

"The peace is already disturbed." Osamu argues.

The door eventually swings open, and the lime-green mayor looks out at the party. "What do you bozos want!?"

Before Hikari or Osamu got to say anything, Hiyori spoke loudly over them. "We wish to locate a magical landmark… except in the sky."

The man rolls his eyes. "Yeah, and what good would a lime-green haired clown like _me_ , do, huh? Go ask someone else."

Hiyori stopped the door before he closed it. "Please, sir! This is an urgent matter…" Then, she had an idea. "We would surely think it… rather _cool_ of you."

The man paused. "...Cool? Me?"

"Yeah." Hiyori nods.

"Do ya mean it!?" A smile slowly began to form on his face.

"Yes." Hiyori nods, again.

He broke into a wide grin. "Al~right! Since I'm such a _cool_ guy, I'll actually tell ya a little somethin' somethin' I came across just a few years ago!"

' _Huh. That actually worked._ '

He retreated into the church. "C'mon in, everyone!"

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

In the back kitchen of the church, the party sat around a table, and were served peaches.

' _More peaches._ ' Hikari still didn't figure out how to eat them.

Hiyori picks one up, and takes a big bite from it.

Crunch!

' _...I don't think you eat it like that, though._ ' Hikari tried to imagine herself taking a bite that big, but couldn't.

"So, there're a buncha other sky islands, yeah?" The lime-haired mayor begins, "They kinda drift around willy-nilly. The heaven network's tied to Youkai Mountain by the capital, but these loose ones are just kinda whatever. I dunno where they even come from…" He scratches his cheek.

"Anyways, most of the time we end up blowing them to kingdom come when they pass by, because, uh… kinda what we do. Anyway, a few years back, there was this pink one. It wasn't really an island… but it wasn't necessarily a cloud." He tilted his head back and forth. "Anyway, lots of us celestials set up sorta waypoints there a few years back. We do that with a lot of sky islands we wanna revisit, but we usually never go back to them… there's usually paperwork involved, too."

Hikari was eager. "Do you think you could take us there?"

He needed. "Yeah! I could guide ya over on a platform. Only problem is, it's one way, so unless you know of a good way to get back, you're gonna be forced to fly back."

' _...Uh. Yeah._ '

Hiyori, noticing Hikari's hesitation, spoke up. "We'll find a way."

' _Wh-what?_ '

He nods. "Good, good! I'll get the platform setup."

Standing up, the man moves for the back door. "Say, what's the occasion? You guys goin' on vacation, or something?"

"Y-you… could say that." Hikari stumbles to reply.

"Cool!"

He walks out the back door.

…

"So." Osamu folded his arms. "How're we gonna get back from freakin' fluffy cloud land, then?"

"Hmm." Hiyori thought about it, for a moment. "...I was able to teleport myself here, even if inadvertently. I feel as though I could do it again."

Hikari was intrigued. ' _She can teleport, too? Those fairies must really get around, then…_ '

The back door opens. "C'mon, guys!"

Casually navigating outside, the party finds themselves staring at a rather tiny platform, styled similarly to the materials of the current island they stood on.

' _...Are we going to fit?_ '

The mayor scratches the back of his head. "Yeah… I think you can tell already, but it was made for one person. I think you'll all fit if you scrunch up, though."

Osamu climbs onto it, and stands on it. "...Feels pretty stable, at least. How fast'll this thing be going?"

The man paused. "...I forget how you quantify speed. Uhh… fast?"

' _That helps._ '

Hiyori wraps an arm around Hikari and Marigold's waists respectively, one arm for each, and leaps onto the platform, holding them.

' _W-woah!_ '

"Wh-what- aah!" Marigold was surprised as well.

"We are ready to go." Hiyori declares.

"Say what?" Osamu looks at her, raising a brow.

The man with lime green hair smiled. "Alright! Remember, guys, sector thirty nine! Come visit me, sometime!"

The stationary platform lurched, and Osamu readied himself to grab onto Hiyori if he needed to…

' _She… she's strong._ ' Hikari realized.

Then, the platform shot into the distance, mobilizing instantly.

"Woaaa~h!" Osamu held onto Hiyori's waist for dear life.

The man with the colorful hair watched them rocket off into the distance.

…

"Cool." He nods, smiling.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

The tiny platform rocketed away from the mass of islands at breakneck speed, setting off into the partly cloudy sky over Gensokyo.

"Aaaa~h!" Marigold saw nothing but sky in most directions she looked.

' _W-wow…_ '

They passed various clusters of fairies who rested in nearby clouds, who only got a moment to watch them soar off. The few who bothered to pursue were quickly outdone by the speed of the platform, so they gave up.

Wind roared past the party as they were exposed to the sky's air.

Which was pretty cold, when you were going somewhere around sixty miles per hour.

Eventually, the platform neared a pink cloud, which wasn't at all visible until the party was nearly at it.

The platform stopped on a dime at the edge of it.

"Woaa~h!"

Osamu was flung from Hiyori, and he spun across the surface of the cloud, before resting on it.

...Hiyori stepped off, and sat the other two girls down on their legs again.

"...C-cold." Marigold shivered.

' _Yeah, it was pretty chilly…_ '

There were two figures on the cloud, already, facing away from them.

Hikari looked at them.

"Holy shit…" Osamu dusted some pink fluff off himself. "Remind me not to take the sky platform express. My arms felt like they were gonna rip off!"

Hiyori pauses at that phrase, but dismisses her thoughts of it.

Marigold looked at the two, as well. "...We've got company."

"That we do." Hiyori comments. "I will communicate with them."

' _...Good luck. They're probably the sanctuary guardians._ '

She steps up to the two women. One had long, blue hair, and a colorful dress, her sun hat adorned with peaches. The other was decorated in frilly, scarlet cloth, with shorter purple hair.

The one with a sun hat turned around. "...Oh? Visitors!" She smirked. "Welcome to my cloud."

Hiyori smiled. "Hello. Do you know of the magical properties of this cloud?"

She smiles back. "Why, yes, actually! That's why I was here in the first place… I was bored, and Iku here wasn't of any help…"

The other woman, named Iku, turned around, floating a few inches off the ground. "Eldest daughter…"

"That's when this… mist… spoke to me." She scanned the other occupants of the cloud with her eyes. "...It gave me something fun to do. Watch this cloud, all day, everyday, until the Hakurei miko comes. And, if you're anything like Reimu..."

She steps forward and passes Hiyori, drawing a sword from the air, and stabbing it into the cloud, searing the spot she struck.

"You'll keep this interesting, for me, won't you?" She grinned widely.

Iku floated into the air over her. "...Her name is Tenshi Hinanawi. I am Iku Nagae… and we are the guardians of Pink Cloud."

...Hiyori casually backpedalled past them and returned to the party.

Tenshi pulled her sword from the cloud, and began stepping towards the party. "When this fight's over, and I win… we'll fight again."

Marigold turned to Hiyori. "Some negotiations would be good, about now, I think."

Hiyori shook her head. "It's no use… I sense deep malicious intent inside them. They've surpassed the point of reason."

"Then, we'll fight again." Tenshi continued. "And again, and again, and again!"

She leapt into the air, and held her sword above her head. Iku retreated from the cloud entirely.

Hiyori's eyes widened.

Hiyori tried Shield Σ!

Hikari, Marigold, Osamu, and Hiyori were protected by translucent shields of light!

"Hyaa~h!"

The sword struck the center of the cloud, causing it to vibrate violently. Hikari, Marigold, and Osamu stumbled around, but weren't thrown by the force of the impact thanks to their shields.

Iku frowned. "Be still, Eldest daughter. Your opponents think themselves clever."

Static ran along Iku's hands, before she thrust her hands towards the party. The static traveled to each party member, forcing their shields to flicker out.

' _Oh, boy. Electricity._ ' Hikari has seen first-hand the damage electric magic could do.

Tenshi grinned. "Shields? No shield is mightier than my blade, Iku, but I thank you for the thought!"

Iku sighed. "If you say so…"

Drifting back to the platform, Tenshi marched forward the moment she landed.

"Now, who are these weaklings?" Tenshi scoffed at the party members who weren't Hikari. "Such outsiders aren't worthy of being in our presence."

"Screw you, too." Osamu readies his hands. "Eat lightning bolts!"

Osamu tried PK Thunder ß!

Thwaa~sh!

Iku reached her arm out, and summoned the bolt to herself, neutralizing it.

Thwaa~sh!

She did the same for the second bolt.

"Novice thunder magic." Iku stared at her hand. "I hardly felt it."

Tenshi readied her sword. "I'll have them gone in a heartbeat!"

Hiyori dashed forward, and leaped into the air, passing over Tenshi, who eagerly sliced forward, missing her.

Osamu grinned. "Let's see ya break this!"

Osamu tried PSI Shield Σ!

Hikari, Osamu, Marigold, and Hiyori were protected by the pale blue psychic shield!

Iku scoffed. "Meaningless."

Iku tried PK Thunder γ!

Thwaa-Thwaa-Thwaa~sh!

Bam! Boom! Bam!

The bolts struck Hiyori, Osamu, and Hikari, dispelling their psychic shields.

Osamu stumbled around. "Hehehe~y…!"

Marigold aimed her Microwave Gun at Iku.

She shot outward, and Iku's eyes widened the moment it impacted with her, and she formed a ball of electricity around herself.

"E-Eldest daughter! I am under extensive fire!" Iku cried out. Her electricity dispersed the microwave beam and rendered it harmless, but the sensation and implications shocked her momentarily.

Tenshi's eyes turned to Marigold. "Oh? How annoying…"

Marigold switched the beam to Tenshi.

Tenshi let it hit her, and simply kept walking towards her. "...How pitiful. A heat ray? Us celestials are resistant to magical and physical attacks, I'll have you know."

While she was gloating, Hiyori moved up behind her and attempted landing a critical strike to her spine.

SMAAAA~SH!

Tenshi stumbled forward, surprised. She abruptly whirled around to face her, and elbowed her. "You _fool!_ "

"Guh…" Hiyori slid back, keeping her footing.

Hikari tried Hypnosis Ω!

Ripples of psychic energy were thrown across the battlefield. Hiyori braced herself, unknowing if it was an enemy attack or not.

Tenshi was unaffected.

Iku wobbled in the air, but stabilized herself. "A-ah…"

Tenshi stepped towards Hiyori. "An oni, this high up? Fufufu… allow me to send you back to the underground!"

Tenshi charged forward, and Hiyori paused, detecting that with the speed and control the celestial currently displayed, she'd be undodgeable. Tenshi dispelled her sword, stretching her arms out.

Hiyori stepped back, and dropped off the ledge, grabbing it with her hands.

Tenshi roared over her head. As she looked up, she saw Tenshi's surprised expression as she looked down, whirling past her.

Hiyori pulled herself back onto the cloud with one swift motion.

Hikari tried Shield ß!

Hiyori was protected by the power shield of light!

Whipping around with enough force to throw wind, Tenshi glared at Hiyori. "You insolent…!"

Iku floated overhead. "Hold, Eldest-"

"I'm pissed, Iku! I'm not just gonna 'hold' anything!" Tenshi barked back up at her.

...Iku sighed, allowing her electric shield to drop, as she didn't need it anymore.

Marigold crouched, and pulled out a big bottle rocket from her backpack.

"As good of a time as any…" She breathed, as she began working the base. "Osamu, keep her still!"

"Which one?" Osamu glanced at her.

"Floaty McThunderbolts." Marigold supplied.

Osamu grinned. "Alright. Today's forecast is deep freeze!"

Osamu tried PK Freeze ß!

KaKa-KaKaKling!

A pattern of ice formed around Iku, freezing and thawing rapidly. She floated there with wide eyes, bewildered.

Kra~ck!

The sudden blast of frosty air chilled Iku. She glared down at Osamu, knowing he was the one who casted it. "Y-you…"

Marigold's bottle rocket shot out from in front of her, surprising her. "W-waa~h!"

Fwooo~sh!

Iku watched it near her, and began attempting to evade-

Boo~m!

A blast of thick, star-shaped bullets illuminated the sky with an array of technicolor lights.

"Tenshi~!" Iku wailed, spiraling through the air. She eventually stopped, and slowly drifted back towards the cloud.

Hiyori was backpedaling as Tenshi swiped at her repeatedly.

"Haa~h!" Tenshi spun around, attempting to slash at her by constantly whirling, but Hiyori ducked and jabbed at her stomach.

SMAAAA~SH!

"Hngh…!" Tenshi leaped back. "Foolish fool!"

Hikari blinked. ' _Creative._ '

Iku floated up behind her. "...E-eldest daughter…"

Tenshi glanced at her. "Iku, take care of this oni for me. I'm going to go take care of the main event."

With that, Tenshi leaped to the side, landing on an opposite corner of the cloud.

Hiyori glared up at the oarfish.

Iku grimaced downward. "I take it all your skills are in hand-to-hand, oni? Ah… this should be far easier than that troublesome mage, then."

A field of electricity formed to bar Hiyori from going to pursue Tenshi.

Hiyori sighed, finally focusing on Iku. "...I see you've kept yourself well decorated."

...Iku nods. "Mmm. I pride myself in my appearance, admittedly."

Hiyori nods. "I see. Those clothes…"

Hiyori tried PK Fire ß!

Fwoom!

Iku was engulfed in a ball of fire. Shortly after, she shot out of it, spinning through the air. "A-ah! How!? Ho~w!?"

Hiyori turned her attention to the fence of lightning. It only reached ten feet at the most, which Hiyori could easily clear.

Hikari stood in front of her party members, as Tenshi approached her.

"Fight me, Hakurei!" She smiled widely and drew her sword from the air. "Fight more! Fight harder!"

Hikari applied wind to herself, and began dancing about the cloud, avoiding Tenshi, who was throwing heavy swings around the entire time.

Hiyori interfered, punching her in the shoulder.

Bam!

Tenshi was pushed back, and she whirled around to face her. "You-!"

Hikari took this moment to quickly dart up and deliver a strike to the back of Tenshi's head with her gohei.

SMAAAA~SH!

Tenshi's head bobbed forward slightly. She looked around, startled.

Hiyori attempted to rip the sword from Tenshi's hands, and succeeded. Then, she was forced to drop the sword, its weight proving impossible. "What...?"

Tenshi smirked. "It is called the Sword of Hisou, and only I am fit to wield it." With that, she summoned it again from the air. "It is the weapon I'll use to cleave through you!"

...Marigold fired a single bolt from her Air Gun at Tenshi's head, doing nothing.

Iku finally came back, her clothes singed. "I-I… don't know how much more of this I can take…"

Osamu glared at her. "Oh, shut up, already!"

Osamu tried PK Freeze ß!

The pattern of ice formed around Iku, and she simply hugged herself with her arms to withstand it. "C-cold…"

Kra~ck!

The ice blast froze Iku solid. She hung in the air for a moment, encased in a block of ice, before spinning down towards the earth below.

"Good riddance." Osamu wiped his hands against each other.

The electric barrier that divided half of the platform vanished.

Tenshi gritted her teeth. "Hraa~h!"

She swung towards Hiyori with surprising velocity, forcing her to guard.

Bam!

Hiyori slid back, and a beam shot from the power shield of light, striking Tenshi.

"Hnngh…" She marched forward, and attempted to deliver the same slash again, but Hiyori avoided it, distancing herself.

"How the hell is she so tough…?" Osamu questioned. "Geez!"

"Who, the oni, or the celestial?" Marigold wondered.

"...Both!" Osamu decided.

Hikari folded her arms. "I don't know if we should relax, yet."

' _She'll probably lash out at me again, I'm sure._ '

...Hikari stepped forward. "Let's try to end this."

Osamu snorted. "Yeah, like we can do any of that. That celestial-whatever's like, made of rocks."

...Hikari glanced at Osamu. "You can still do that power thing, right?"

"...Oh, yeah!" Osamu facepalmed. "Holy shit."

Osamu tried Offense Up α!

Hiyori paused, feeling strength well up inside herself.

...Which allowed Tenshi to get a cheap strike.

Bam!

"Egh…" Hiyori stumbled back. "You're simply flailing wildly…!"

Tenshi glared at her. "It works!"

...Osamu scratched his head sheepishly. "Uhhh… whoops?"

...Marigold and Hikari stared at him judgmentally.

"Look, it's not my fucking fault that celestial's a bitch!"

Osamu tried Defense Down α!

Tenshi sighed. "W-what is this…?"

Hiyori returned the blow from before.

Boom!

Tenshi flew and landed on her back, doing a flip to land upright again. "D-dammit…! This was supposed to be between the Hakurei and I!"

Osamu tried Offense Up α!

"I'm a lean, mean, army-makin' machine!" Osamu cheered.

Hikari felt strength well up inside herself!

' _...What, me? Seriously?_ '

...She swung her gohei at the air a few times, idly.

Osamu tried Offense Up α!

' _W-woah…_ '

Osamu tried Offense Up α!

"Th-that's enough…"

Osamu tried Offense Up α!

"Stop!" Hikari yelled, her body jittering from all of the new energy. "A-ah, ah!"

She tries to move her arm, and ends up sliding her gohei-holding hand into Osamu's face, even though he was six feet away.

"Aaaa~h!"

Osamu cartwheeled across the cloud, and landed on his stomach.

' _Th-this power…!_ '

Tenshi ran forward. "Hakure~i!"

Hikari, in a quick moment, bounded towards Tenshi with one step, and then clotheslined her with her gohei.

SMAAAA~SH!

"Gu~h…!" Tenshi spun around from the force of the strike. "Y-yes… This is it! Fight me!"

SMAAAA~SH!

"Augh!" Tenshi stepped back, swinging her sword blindly.

Hiyori intercepted from behind.

SMAAAA~SH!

"Ouch…!" Tenshi grinned. "F-fight me!"

Hikari delivered a blow to her forehead.

SMAAAA~SH!

"Gwuaaa~h!" Tenshi flew into the air, the Sword of Hisou dropping onto the cloud, before she dropped onto it herself.

…

' _Well…_ ' Hikari nodded. "...She sure took a beating."

"...Indeed." Hiyori sat down. "...However… I feel as though the malicious intent was purified from her body during that fight. We've also not harmed her significantly, in any way."

' _Really?_ ' Hikari wasn't sure what to make of that. ' _...People this powerful really exist, huh…_ '

…

Hikari went to take another practice swing, putting more force into it.

"Woah!"

She did a complete flip, ending up on her butt.

…

"Well, then." Marigold walked to the center of the cloud. "It seems that's that, then."

Osamu stumbled around. "H-holy crap, those... power booster things… they-they ain't cheap…"

He sat down near Hikari and Hiyori, and Marigold sat down nearby as well.

…

Hikari clumsily reached for her sound stone, and brought it out.

' _Here we go…_ '

She tried to bring it to her forehead, and hit herself in the face with it instead.

'...'

"Pffft-hahahaha~!" Osamu burst out laughing.

With an ounce of caution this time, Hikari delicately brought the sound stone to her forehead…

...

She heard a melody play.

 _A gentle breeze rolled through Giant Step, caressing the indent in the hill…_

 _It then rolled through the crevice leading to Subconscious Steps, before whirling around and escaping into the sky above..._

 _Fluttering through the valley, it weaved through bamboo trees before circling around the Milky Well. It circled back around, and flowed right back out through the trees..._

 _Smoothly floating over the crisp air of the Misty Lake, the wind swept past the walls of a western manor, before dipping into the trees just outside the walls to orbit Rainy Circle. It flowed out just as freely..._

 _Becoming entrapped within the walls around Magnet Hill, the wind anxiously rebounded off the walls before escaping, flowing back over the Human Village..._

 _Freely dancing in the clouds, air circulated around a soft, Pink Cloud. The air dispersed, washing over the land, and sweeping against Gensokyo's border._

…

...

A beat continued to play after the numerous notes, but no more actual music continued to be produced by the stone.

' _I'm going to have an entire concert by the time I'm finished visiting these sanctuaries…_ '

Hikari looked around the sky, a sense of nostalgia and wonder setting it.

' _...The sky really is a whole lot of nothing. Except when it isn't, but I still don't know much about that._ '

She pouted, though she was eased by her strength returning to normal.

The wind that blew across the cloud was warm and welcoming, healing the party.

Osamu stood back up. "Hell yeah! Ready for round two, baby!"

Marigold smiled. "...Our next stop should be the mountain, right?"

Hikari nodded. "Mmm."

Hiyori looked around the cloud, standing gingerly. "...I feel restored. In a unique way."

"You'll get used to it." Hikari added nonchalantly.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

END OF CHAPTER 15

Protagonist: Hikari Hakurei, Disciple of Paradise

-Inventory-

Weapon: Magical Gohei - Ability to whack stuff really hard. Amplifies whacking power, too! Able to deal magical damage. Critical hits enabled.

Arms: Iconic Hakurei Arm Sleeves - Keeps arms warm. A Hakurei tradition. How they stay on is a Hakurei family secret.

Body: Combat Miko Outfit - A black leotard and hakama combination worn by the previous-previous Hakurei miko. Designed to be suitable for excessive physical activity and close combat, it slightly improves physical combat prowess. Now with less sideboob!

Misc: Royal Red Ribbon - A ribbon made with rich materials, with a floral pattern.

-Skills-

Attack: Quickly! Swing your gohei at them for massive damage!

PK Fantasy α, β - Bombards the enemy with pain in the form of flashing colors. Deals magical damage. Heavy mental strain that increases with each tier.

PK Flash α - A bright flash that distributes very random status effects to enemies. Usually makes people cry.

Hypnosis α, Ω - Puts weak enemies to sleep for a short time. Works better on tired or exhausted foes. Can also be used in a far more costly form that works on multiple opponents.

Shield α, ß - Halves damage the target takes. Only works against physical attacks, and enough strikes, or powerful strikes, will dispel it. Higher tier turns it into a power-shield that protects even better and even reflects a fraction of protected damage.

Lifeup α, ß - Heals target a little. Higher tiers heal more grievous wounds, like bone fractures.

Healing α, ß - Heals basic status ailments. Higher tiers can cure more dire effects, like burning alive.

Teleport α - Allows instant transport to the general location of an area remembered by oneself or one's party members. Requires a long, fast run-up to execute, however.

Ofuda Toss - Throw a holy ofuda that does massive holy elemental damage to youkai and dark elemental foes. Effect lessens the more holy the thing you're attacking is, to the point of healing holy things. Only works if you actually have ofuda, though.

β-β-β-β

Mage: Osamu Katsumi, the Wannabe Mage

-Inventory-

Weapon: Fisticuffs!

Arms: Nothing

Body: Dated Village Magician Robes - An old robe from the days when the village respected the medium of magic. Now actually looks navy blue, instead of black!

Misc: Yukkuri Beanie - Resembles a really tacky tablecloth, made in the Yukkuri theme. Lime green and has tons of fun yukkuri decals!

-Skills-

PK Thunder α, ß - Very random thunder attack that deals limited damage. Higher tiers increase number of bolts, and sometimes power.

PK Hydro α, β - Gets everyone wet. Usefulness with PK Thunder and PK Freeze depends on whether you hit yourself or not! Creates whirling water spirals at higher tiers.

PK Freeze α, β - Generates ice crystals at the target's location. Medium damage and effect; may freeze some targets, especially wet ones.

Fireball - Manipulate mana to make a shoddy fireball. Low damage and effect.

Static Hands - Not a real spell. Result of a very undercharged PK Thunder that can accidentally go off.

PSI Telepathy α - Speak to friends you haven't met yet! Unstable connection and only works if they have the skill or are asleep.

PSI Shield α, Σ - Halves damage from magical and psychic attacks. Thunder spells fry it instantly, and harder blows dispel it. Second tier applies basic shield to entire party at higher mana expense.

PSI Magnet α - Costs no mana to use, and steals a very tiny amount of mana from the enemy. Enemy has to have mana in the first place for it to work, though.

Offense Up α - Get pissed! Boosts strength and confidence depending on caster's power and receiver's power.

Defense Down α - Throw the enemy off their game. Makes them slightly more vulnerable to physical attacks.

β-β-β-β

Inventor: Marigold Knowledge, the Tri-Magi Love Child

-Inventory-

Weapon: Microwave Gun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Constructed with a controlled flame crystal and metal parts, it fires a beam of sustained microwave energy that cooks biological foes alive. Fire-elemental at its core, it's also very inefficient against machines.

Arms: Nothing

Body: Custom Adventure Dress - A custom dress made by Alice. Provides slight defense against magical and psychic attacks. Now allows freer movement with a shorter skirt, and a more flexible material.

Misc: Swirly Glasses - Lets Marigold not be blind.

Backpack - Allows extended inventory. Aged relic from the Kourindou.

Unnamed Lock Opening Device - Opens locks very precariously. Made with steel, burnt cloth, packaging peanuts, thumbtacks, string, and wooden wheels. Don't even ask…

Ruler - Lets you measure the world around you!

Protractor - Lets you find the angles of anything ever. Totally overpowered.

Deck of Cards - Allows Marigold to play Strip Poker with the party. Just kidding… or am I?

Stun Gun - Electrical device used to subdue harassers. Has settings ranging from Tickle Torture to Arse Blaster. Able to stun and inflict paralysis on certain foes. Deals electrical damage, and on the highest setting can fry shields, at the cost of temporarily shorting itself out.

Air Gun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Uses air to propel moderately powered danmaku particles at high speeds. Bland, but efficient. Filled with foil chip bags to conduct the mana, and it is transmitted into a wind stone. Recently upgraded to draw mana from a simple wooden block filled with immense magic reserves, giving it virtually unlimited ammo.

NF Burst Gun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Uses a Pop Gun as the base, but amplifies its power with an array of random batteries jammed into the base with the Pop Gun. The more batteries, the better, but the typical yield is about five bullets per trigger. Spamming the trigger doesn't make it go any faster, unfortunately. Has no foreseeable ammo limit, and the batteries are only there for mana circulation, meaning their power is really inconsequential.

Holmes Brand Designer Hat - Village swag! A retro village hat that ceased production ten years ago. Sells for a pretty penny nowadays, but it's pretty useless otherwise.

Slime Generator - A bulky box that shoots a small splat of slime. Doesn't seem good for much.

Counter-PSI Device - A weird device Marigold found from a flying saucer. Works in strange ways, and seems to disrupt everyone's concentration. Marigold is immune to its effects.

-Skills-

Persuade Owls to Soundlessly Descend - Summons a single, downy soft owl.

Wings! - Summon wings, but promptly remember you don't know what to do with them and retract them.

X-X!V''Q - Enables Thief Mode, boosting luck to maximum and dropping all other stats harshly.

SENDAI - Starts a new game in Sendai Hakurei No Miko mode.

Olley Oxen Free - Habbada bredi bredi bredi habbada bredi bredi.

β-β-β-β

Fighter: Hiyori Hashimoto, the Buddhist Oni

-Inventory-

Weapon: Fisticuffs!

Arms: Nothing

Body: Runed Gi - Enchanted to not get blown away by battle damage.

Misc: Nothing

-Skills-

PK Fire α, ß - Creates an igniting blast of flames at the target's location. Most impact comes with higher tiers.

PK Freeze α, β - Generates ice crystals at the target's location. Medium damage and effect; may freeze some targets, especially wet ones.

Shield α, ß, Σ - Halves damage the target takes. Only works against physical attacks, and enough strikes, or powerful strikes, will dispel it. Higher tier turns it into a power-shield that protects even better and even reflects a fraction of protected damage. Highest tier applies a basic shield to the entire party.

Lifeup α, ß - Heals target a little. Higher tiers heal more grievous wounds, like bone fractures.

Healing α, ß - Heals basic status ailments. Higher tiers can cure more dire effects, like burning alive.

Teleport α, ß - Allows instant transport to the general location of an area remembered by oneself or one's party members. Requires a long, fast run-up to execute, however. Higher tier is largely automatic and requires little room to execute.

Martial Arts - Skilled in hand-to-hand combat.

β-β-β-β

Author's Note:

nuggets

and now we have PLAYER FOUR, the BURLY BRAWLER with SPELLS (albeit less mana than osamu, probably on par with hikari in terms of efficiency when casting)

she can punch stuff really well, cast some spells and things, and do healing! she doesn't have many overall downsides, but she also doesn't specialize past hitting things, whereas hikari is a status inducer, osamu is buffs/debuffs and kickass spells and marigold is INVENTIONATION

as such, enemies will scale in difficulty and number, because dazza lot of hurt the party members can put out as is

as always, see you all next time!


	16. The Sky, The Earth, and the Hakurei

Reimu sat at her kotatsu, calmly sipping tea…

"And then Mari- she actually bought- took, took three from me!"

Marisa happily leaned back, also seated at the kotatsu. "I think she's warmin' up to me, ze…!"

Reimu turned to her. "You mean _bought_. With Hikari's money."

"Urk…" Marisa tensed up.

...Reimu sighed. "Still. She actually thought of seeing you, so you're not bad off."

Marisa sat up. "Ahah… I'd like to think not, any-"

Bam!

A back corner of the shrine's ceiling falls in, a large chunk of debris crashing through the roof.

"Wa-what the hell!?" Marisa jumped to her feet, flinging the kotatsu, and Reimu's tea, to the side.

…

Reimu turned to it, and on closer inspection, it was a crystallized Iku Nagae, sealed in a block of ice.

She then moved to fix the kotatsu, got up, and went to brew more tea.

"...We just gonna ignore that?" Marisa blinked at the fossil.

"Until she thaws out." Reimu decides. "Then we beat her up. Then we beat Tenshi up, if we can find her."

Marisa grins. "O~kay! I'm likin' the sounds of _that_ plan!"

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Hikari stared off the edge of the pink cloud.

' _...That's a long way down…_ '

...Osamu walks up behind her, and jokingly pats her on the back.

"Eep!" Hikari freezes, and backs away from the edge rapidly.

"Hahaha~!" Osamu is filled with mirth.

' _Y-you…_ '

Hikari hugs herself, taking in the possibility of possibly having fallen.

"You jumped like ten feet!" Osamu exclaimed, grinning. "Du~de…"

'...'

Hikari exaggeratedly stomped up to him.

"...Uh… I'm sor- woah!"

Hikari pretends to lunge at him with a shoving motion and he instinctively curls up to guard himself.

"Woah, woah, shit, geez, it was a fucking joke! Don't joke about shit like… that…" Osamu trailed off, realizing the context of the situation. "...Sorry."

' _There we go._ '

Hiyori and Marigold looked over at them.

"Hiyori says she's got a teleport spell of her own for us." Marigold announces. "Will you two stop trying to fall off, and get over here?"

' _...He started it._ '

Hikari and Osamu moved closer to listen to Hiyori, even if her voice was already loud enough to project across the rather quaint cloud.

"Alright," Hiyori spoke, "We need to line up, and form a strong, stable connection with each other. Interlock arms, perhaps."

Hikari blinked. "...Are we going to just be running?"

' _Off the ledge, maybe…?_ '

Hiyori paused. "Not… particularly. If you wanted. I was thinking… well, you'll see. It's not something that requires much room, but it is hard to explain. Expect to slide around a lot, however."

' _Okay, she lost me._ ' Hikari tilted her head.

She moved to interlock her arm with Hiyori, who quickly got the memo and followed.

Marigold interlocked her arm with Hikari's next.

...It took Osamu a moment, but he realized to interlock his arm with Marigold's.

"Ready yourselves, everyone." Hiyori announced. "This will be… bumpy."

' _Can't be worse than crashing and breaking our legs, like we usually do._ '

Hiyori tried Teleport ß!

Hikari felt her sandals begin dragging against the cloudy surface below her.

' _It feels like they're digging into marshmallows._ '

Moving in a small circle, seemingly pulled by no obvious force, the party began accelerating, revolving in a larger circle.

' _Now I want marshmallows…_ '

Osamu noticed Hiyori wasn't bothering to move her legs, yet they were still moving. "What the hell's goin' on, here?"

Hiyori might have responded, if she knew the answer.

Once the cycle became dizzingly fast-

KraKoo~m!

They were gone.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

KraKoo~m!

Back in the middle of a familiar town square, the four skidded to a halt.

Hiyori stopped first, pounding her own sandaled feet into the cobblestone enough to sink into the floor slightly. Hikari piled up behind her, and promptly got smooshed into her by Marigold and Osamu.

' _Uuurgh…_ '

It only took a moment for physics to kick in and throw the three of them back from Hiyori.

Thu-thud.

"...Oof." Marigold managed.

Everyone reluctantly raised from their rather comfy positions on the floor.

Various celestials gazed out at them, but were mostly dismissive or relaxed upon the sight of Hikari.

' _My mother really got around, huh?_ ' Hikari just thought about it now, but it was somewhat surreal just how many places her mother had been. ' _Including heaven itself, apparently. Come to think of it, my mother probably went to the afterlife more times than is healthy…_ '

"You know, for a place like heaven," Osamu reflected, "I thought there'd be more hot chicks."

Hiyori gave him a patient stare. "...Figuratively, not literally."

Osamu shook his head. "I don't care! Both versions should have hot chicks! It's heaven!"

Hiyori sighed.

Hikari poked him with her gohei.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever."

' _...Actually, he has a point. If this were really heaven, there'd be sweets instead of diplomats._ '

A certain lime-haired friend dashed from the nearby church, swinging the doors wide open. "You're back! That… was a quick vacation!"

'We did everything." Marigold quipped. "It was exciting."

"I know, right? There's the- and the…" He trailed off. "...That was sarcasm, wasn't it?"

Marigold remained silent, casually staring back.

"Hahaha~h… you got me." Lime-friend pointed at her with his fingers, somewhat awkward about the reception.

Hiyori, sensing the rising intent of verbally flambeing the poor, fragile-ego toting man, decided to take charge of the negotiations. "Thank you very much, sir."

He gushed. "O~h, please. You can call me Cervantes!"

' _Your name is lime-friend._ ' Hikari mentally annotates.

Hiyori continued, only after processing his input. "...Alright. Thank you… Cervantes. Would you happen to know how to get to the… the place…" Mentally cursing herself, she turned to the party, an impatient but questioning stare expressing everything essential.

...Hikari waited, but Osamu and Marigold remained eerily quiet, withholding their tongues from lashing out at the poor man.

"You su-"

Hiyori's hand shot to Osamu's face in an attempt to cover his mouth, but she ended up punching him instead.

Bam!

Thud.

"...Uuugh…" He moaned from the floor.

Lime-friend blinked. "Uh… Do you guys, like, need a moment?"

' _Guess it's up to me, then…_ '

Hikari reluctantly spoke. "Uu-uh… A-... Youkai Mountain, how to get there…?"

' _Wow. That sucked, even for me._ '

She turned to glare at her party members, who responded with indifference and sheepish shrugs.

Hiyori nodded. "Indeed. Youkai Mountain."

"...Well, if you go that'a way," Lime-friend pointed in a direction indiscernible to the party, as they knew not which way was north. "you'll eventually reach the capital, which is just before the mountain."

Hiyori nods. "Thank you, Cervantes, again. I mean it."

"No problem. Just be careful around the capital. They, uh, really, really don't like non-celestials." Lime-friend warns before he heads back into the church.

…

"Not the first time I'll have to deal with discrimination." Hiyori shrugged.

"Ditto." Osamu immediately agreed.

"Mmm." Hikari, too.

' _Human villagers gonna be human villagers. Also, Porky, but we apparently don't talk of him, anymore._ '

"Kinda." Marigold shrugged.

Hiyori stared over them with interest, but decided to reserve investigations for later. "...Right, let's get moving."

"It's dangerous to go alone! Take this!" The orange-haired, senile celestial held up another runic, silver blade.

"Can it, you mangy old coot!" Osamu yelled back at him. The man didn't even bat an eye.

The party continued to platform across various bridges of sky islands, meeting the occasional gaggle of haughty fairies who had thought fighting a team of four capable enough to reach heaven was a smart and calculated move.

The sky truly was a rather beautiful place, that is, when one wasn't paying attention to the fact the ground was so low that it had the horizon's blue hue wash over it.

' _I think I'll reminisce about the sky's majestic nature when I'm not about to fall to an equally majestic death._ '

There was one particular encounter that stuck in Hikari's mind…

' _Because it literally just happened._ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

"C'mon! Move!"

Hikari pulled Osamu by his arm, dashing across a thin stretch of land as lines of grey danmaku lasers trailed after them.

"Holy fucking shit!" Osamu flailed his limbs wildly, trailing after Hikari as best he could.

Osamu tried PK Freeze γ!

KaKaKa~...

A snowflake pattern of ice crystals formed around one of the fairies.

Blam!

A brutal blast of icy power ruined the fairy.

Pi~chun!

Marigold trailed closely behind, hyped up on Offense Up and eager to test the microwave capacity of fairies.

Her amber beam trailed across the daytime sky.

Pi-Pi-Pi~chun!

In a way, she was returning the barrages of lasery goodness the fairies were bestowing upon them, except in a more lethal manner. Marigold made sure to only attack the leftmost rabble of fairies, however.

This is because Hiyori was taking the scenic route.

Pi~chun!

Along the right group of fairies, Hiyori was hopping along them, either grappling off them or simply leaping from their shoulders to get ahead.

' _Ouch!_ '

A grey danmaku laser clipped Hikari's leg, causing her to stumble. She regained her balance within moments, still continually dashing forward to escape the fresh new hell of lasers each segment of the path had in store for them. Fairies relentlessly dove from a nearby, large cloud.

' _The next town's right there, too…!_ '

Marigold got stricken here and there by the beams, but other than rips on her clothes, she seemed no worse for wear, nor any more disheartened from it.

"Yea~h!" Marigold sweeped the beam into the cloud over them, killing numerous fairies prematurely.

It may have just been the Offense Up talking, though.

It wasn't long before they reached the town's gate, Hiyori bounding inside with the rest of the party in tow.

' _...Hold on._ '

Hikari stopped, went back, and shut the gate.

' _There._ '

…

Hiyori took a deep breath. "That… was a work out."

' _...Marigold would probably comment on how dangerous that was if she wasn't hyped up on violence._ '

Marigold grinned up at the cloud of fairies that was quickly breaching the gate.

' _Wait, what!?_ '

Cloud fairies were quickly breaching the gate, in a cloud formation… which is lingo for 'completely disorganized'.

Hikari looked at her party members to gauge the severity of this situation.

' _Osamu's about to crap himself,_ ' His eyes were wide, and he backpedalled slowly.

' _Marigold's… still violent._ ' Marigold was still grinning.

" _Hiyori…_ ' She cracked her knuckles, and took a combative stance.

Hikari decided it was time to show off her trump card.

' _Nothing gets more fantastical than four ragtag misfits fighting space fairies in heaven._ '

Hikari tried PK Fantasy ß!

The storm of technicolor terror was upon the fairy horde.

Fizzle!

Particles tore through the fairy ranks like butter, creating a mesmerizing, seizure-inducing surge of colors through the sky.

Fizzle!

They were almost all completely gone by the time the second wave rolled by. Hikari's party members stared at the sky in awe.

Hikari shot her left arm forward.

FwOwOwOw!

A technicolor polygon was cast forth to smite exactly one unlucky fairy, who decided if this was the way to go, she might as well attempt attacking the attack itself.

Her fist met the magic.

Pi~chun!

Hikari shot her right arm forward.

FwOwOwOw!

That one, however, missed entirely.

'I _don't know where that one was going…_ '

Hikari closed her eyes, and opened them again.

Fwaaa~sh!

The final blast of psychic energy wiped the floor with any stragglers, the loud 'Pi~chun!' that resulted making Hikari reach for her ears instinctively.

' _Even when you can kill hordes of them at a time, fairies still find ways to be annoying…_ '

…

"...Wow." Hiyori allows herself some awe. "That… is that the power of a Hakurei?"

Hikari turns to her. "Mmm."

' _Now I'm a lot more tired than I was before…_ '

"...I have a long way to go in the arts of the arcane." Hiyori reflected. "I was at first curious, as to why you seemed to not engage in combat as often… but now, I understand."

' _Somewhat. I'm too tired to bother, though..._ '

Osamu grinned, elbowing Hiyori in jest. "Dude, you shoulda seen her do it the last few times! Shit's _cash_."

' _...What kind of expression is that?_ ' Hikari was slightly puzzled by Osamu's speech.

Hiyori completely missed the elbowing, but noticed him speak. "...I'm sure it was a feat."

Hikari took a moment to pan her gaze around the new sky island they stood on, which was perfectly rectangular and had no vegetation or dirt on display. The floor, instead of a chunky cobblestone, was a smooth marble, the buildings a dull beige.

Celestials gathered outside once again at the commotion stirred up by the party.

' _We've probably disturbed the peace of about ten different towns by now._ '

From the crowd, yet another mayor emerged, as had become the standard whenever the party rose a ruckus upon arrival to a town.

"Everyone, be quiet!"

The blue-haired mayor's loud voice boomed, as he emerged from the crowd. Murmurs very promptly drew to a halt.

"...State your business, Hakurei." He folded his arms, giving the party a glare.

' _I noticed the fancier these towns have gotten, the meaner the mayors have gotten._ '

"Travel." Hikari gave her go-to excuse.

…

The man closed his eyes, as if contemplating.

…

"If such is true, then you need simply to leave." The man opened his eyes again. "There is plenty of air for you to travel down below."

' _That's new. The last one just begrudgingly let us pass._ '

Hiyori stepped forward. "Sir-"

"You hold your tongue, Oni! Escorted by the Hakurei or not, this is a conversation between me and her. Do not interfere."

Hiyori shrugged.

Osamu chuckled. "Geez. Breathin' air up here's some pretty serious business, huh?"

The man frowned. "Hakurei, if you are simply here to harass the citizens of Heaven, then I advise you to turn back."

...Hikari elbowed Osamu. "Hey!"

' _Hmm… What does he want to hear from us, exactly?_ '

"Why can we not simply pass?" Hikari questioned.

The man's eyes narrowed. "What business have you with the capital? That is all there is to see past this town, and I intend to prevent them from being disturbed, if I can help it."

' _Uuh… The main idea is just passing through, but that's apparently not something that happens up here. Although…_ '

Hikari stared at the mayor. "I… have to warn them about something urgent."

Her party members looked at her curiously.

The man jerked his head back. "Urgent? What could possibly be urgent that we don't already know?"

' _Good question._ ' Hikari paused again. ' _...This other mayor said something I feel like I should remember…_ '

…

"I'm waiting." The mayor sighed impatiently.

' _I hope this works…_ '

"It's about the 'eldest daughter'." Hikari guessed.

…

"Yeah? What about her?" The man narrowed his eyes, suspicious.

' _I'm getting somewhere, maybe, and I don't know where._ '

"She's… missing?" Hikari almost asks as a question, instead of as an answer.

"You sound unsure." The man observed.

' _Actually…!_ ' Hikari held herself from grinning.

"Yeah, because I saw her earlier. I was wondering how she could be missing, then."

The man froze.

…

"Very well. You may pass to the capital to tell them what you told me. But…" He glares at the party again. "I will come with you."

' _Oh. Great._ ' Hikari rolled her eyes.

The entire party had a similar reaction to express their distaste. Though the expression irked the mayor, he decided not to comment on it.

The mayor turned to the crowd of celestials.

"...What're you all looking at? There's nothing to see here!"

They all began going about business as usual, dispersing back into official looking buildings, or moving back to previous seats at tables.

The man moved for the opposite gate, and beckoned for the party to follow. "Come."

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

The path between the two perfect blocks of marble in the sky was far more tourist friendly in comparison to the rather scenic and downright fatal obstacles courses that bridges the islands together.

That is to say, this path was simply a bridge, composed of a beige stone.

Hikari and her party followed the man, albeit keeping good distance.

"What a tool." Marigold decided. "...And I would be one to know tools."

Osamu grinned. "Dude needs like, anger management. And I know anger!"

Marigold gave him a flat stare.

"...What? S'there somethin' on my face?" Osamu quickly grew uncomfortable from the stare.

"No, I was just marveling at your inability to craft a unique joke." Marigold quipped.

Osamu frowned. "Well, shit- look, how's this for ya?"

He cupped his hands around his mouth. "Hey, mayor guy!"

' _Oh, no…_ ' Hikari turned to Osamu, ready to inflict violence.

The mayor stopped, and turned, bringing his steely gaze back to Osamu. "...What?"

"What kinda stupid incomprehensible name do you- ouch!" Hikari jabbed her gohei into Osamu's stomach, forcing him to cringe. "Ghh…"

The man gave Osamu a stern, intense glare, but Osamu was too busy being in pain to notice.

"...I am called Azizmodan. Short for Azizmortiemerzandor, the fifth, and last."

'... _Okay, Osamu wasn't wrong. That's a pretty stupid name._ ' Hikari gave an awkward half-grin.

The mayor turned back around. "Remember it well."

' _How could we? All I'm going to remember was that it was big, and had the letter Z._ '

…

Hiyori turned to the party once the mayor worked up a good pace again. Specifically, she glared at Osamu. "That was rather uncalled for."

Osamu gave a grin and a shrug. "Well, how's that for original, huh?"

Marigold sighed. "All that just to prove a point…?"

...Osamu slumped. "Well, when you put it _that_ way, you make it sound bad."

Hikari suddenly focused on how incredibly slow the mayor was actually going. ' _Come o~n, this path isn't that long, even. There's no obstacles, either._ '

"That's because it _is_ bad." Marigold states.

After a few wasted moments, the mayor reached the gate to the capital. He took out a silver key from a necklace around his neck, and inserted it into the lock.

Cli-click.

' _It's not even that high of a gate. If we went around the fence, we could climb it individually._ '

It swung open smoothly, and without noise. Azizmodan turned to make sure the party didn't jump off the bridge on him, or something. "The capital building will be the third from the right."

The party followed him in. The capital building was indeed the third from the right. It was also the biggest building on the entire sky island.

' _I don't think that needed to be pointed out._ '

In addition, Azizmodan continued to the capital building himself, rendering any sort of direction useless.

The party quietly observed the surroundings of tall-ish buildings and rather bland decorations. The most notable of which were either rather generic yet still themed flower pots, or the outdoor tables, which too, were a plain beige.

' _I don't think it could have killed to use something that wasn't a shade of yellow._ '

Glancing around, Hikari saw there was another bridge on the opposite end of the capital island.

Moving up to the large, court-styled building, Azizmodan once again turned to address the party. "We are about to speak in front of the royal family of our findings, Hakurei."

'Our _findings?_ '

"It would be wise if your acquaintances would hold their tongues during the proceedings. The royal family is far harsher on insolent mortals than I am." Azizmodan warned them.

' _Right._ ' Hikari wasn't sure how much more strict one could get.

Azizmodan faced the doors once more, and pushed them open.

A murmur quickly met the ears of the party, two stands to the left and right of the room ahead filled with rather eccentrically dressed individuals. They all quieted down on their own, noticing the five enter the room.

In the center of the room, there were multiple, very tall chairs, accompanied by very tall podiums in front of said chairs.

' _How do they get down from those?_ '

…

' _Right. They fly. Stupid question._ '

The man at the podium, who was also of blue hair, slammed his gavel down, even though it was quiet already.

Clack! Clack! Clack!

"Azizmortiemerzandor. What news, do you bring us?" The man's voice echoed across the courtroom-esque establishment.

' _How do you even spell that?_ '

Azizmodan glanced at the floor, then back up at the guy on the really tall chair. "I have brought individuals who claim to have located the Eldest Daughter's whereabouts."

Gasps were audible throughout the room.

"...I see." The regal man nods. "Very well. Let the Hakurei speak, and she shall speak alone, unless imperative."

' _Figures._ ' Hikari cleared her throat. "Ahem…"

…

"R-right," Hikari began, "She was on some pink cloud, taking a nap."

' _Smooth._ '

…

A quiet murmur developed amongst the stands.

"Pink cloud?" He tilted his head. "...I've never heard of such a thing."

' _Yeah, okay._ '

"Tell me… did she have another individual with her?" The man inquired neutrally.

"Mmm." Hikari nodded. "Some girl in frilly clothes."

The man's eyebrows raised, and he nodded slowly. "What was she doing?"

"Sleeping." Hikari summarized.

' _Hopefully not in a million tiny pieces back down on the surface. I don't think super glue brings people back to life._ '

The man on the podium jerked his head back, while the murmurs grew louder.

"They… they were both sleeping." He tilted his head, not liking the sound of such a phrase. "...In what manner?"

"Peacefully." Hikari elaborated.

The murmuring continued.

"Well- hrm…" The man tapped his podium. "...Describe to me, in detail, the positions they were both sleeping in."

' _What. Why…? For what-... oh. Oh. O~h. They think..._ '

The audience turned to the man in somewhat disbelief.

' _...Hmm. I've got options, here._ '

Hikari stared up at the podium attendee idly, contemplating her next move of action.

"...Your silence is _not_ reassuring."

' _I suppose I'll just make up something believable._ '

"They were sleeping next to each other. Just kinda… splayed out on the cloud. Probably staring at the sky, or something."

...The man nodded. "Oh. Well. Good."

The audience murmured further. The man glanced around, and began glaring. "Order in the court!"

Clack! Clack! Clack!

"...She was always carefree, that one." He sighed. "...You've taken a burden off my mind, Hakurei."

' _Carefree._ '

He gave Hikari a curious glance, but shook his head. "...I know I say this all the time, but you may call me Lord Hinanawi. Just on the off chance you forgot."

' _...That's the first time I've heard it._ '

"You may leave, now." Lord Hinanawi saw them off. "That goes for you, too, Azizmortiemerzandor. You're the mayor of sector three, yes?"

Azizmodan nodded. "Yes, sir."

"To your duties, then."

With that, the five left the courtroom of a different sort.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

The party parted from Azizmodan without any words exchanged.

"Finally." Osamu exhaled. "All that standin' still was givin' me a headache…"

Hiyori looked at Osamu, amused. "That's a worrying lack of discipline."

"You say that as if he has any." Marigold comments idly.

The party passed the sky bridge ahead, managing to clear it in under a minute without any stuffy escorts. Ahead was a barren sky island, with flowers, grass, and rocks.

"Jarring." Hikari notes.

A walk across it allowed the party to see the tip of a rock poking into the clouds below.

"Seems like the mountain." Marigold observed. "...That's still a drop, though."

' _We'd probably break everything if we just jumped. We need at least our necks to patch ourselves back together._ '

Hiyori stared down at the mountain top. "I'm pretty sure that's not a bad drop."

Osamu snorted. "Yeah, well, you're an oni. We're like, squishy. We break legs falling a few feet."

"Huh." Hiyori blinked. "In that case, I could just hold all of you again."

"I'm gettin' the deluxe seat, then." Osamu moved up to her side.

Marigold's brow rose. "As opposed to?"

"Holding onto her waist for dear life." He elaborates. "That sucked."

Hiyori holds her arms out, Marigold and Osamu moving to get lifted by her arms.

Osamu tries to look at Hikari from his awkward angle. "Alright! Have fun down there!"

...Hikari climbs up Hiyori's back, and grabs onto her horns. Then, she bounces up a bit and slides her legs onto her shoulders.

"...Well, shit." Osamu deflated.

' _I probably should have asked first._ '

"Does this hurt?" Hikari asks her oni companion.

"Hah." Hiyori grins. "No way. Clever thinking, I must admit."

They were ready to jump.

"Alright. Everyone good?" Hiyori checks.

"Yea~h." Osamu sounds.

"Mmm." Marigold hums.

"Yeah." Hikari nods.

Hiyori leapt from the sky island, and they plummeted towards the mountain top like a boulder.

' _Woah!_ ' Hikari felt the dreadful sensation of falling run up her spine, even though she knew she'd be fine.

As quickly as it began, it was over.

Bam!

...Hiyori was halfway embedded in the rock. Hikari felt herself press against her shoulders.

' _Ouch. Even I felt that…_ '

The oni let the other two step out of her arms and onto the rock. Hikari climbed off, as well.

Then, she simply stepped out of the earth, using her arms to help herself break from the rock.

"...A bit rougher than I thought." Hiyori brushed herself off.

Osamu chuckled. "I'm tellin' ya, you're made outta rocks, dude."

Hikari took the moment to take in the sights of the top of Youkai Mountain. From here, she could see a vast majority of Gensokyo, even if she couldn't make out her mother's shrine from this far away.

' _It's really damp up here, too. Probably because of the clouds._ '

Marigold looked over the view, as well. "...That's a lot more manageable to look at, now that I don't have to worry about falling to my doom."

Hikari grinned. ' _She's not wrong._ '

"There's a trail this way." Hiyori proceeded forward, moving onto a noticeably smooth path that cut through the ragged rock.

' _It's still pretty steep, though._ '

The party precariously half-slid down the trail of dirt, until they reached a flat plateau of sorts. Upon this plateau was a shrine.

' _This high up?_ ' Hikari was vaguely surprised. ' _...Right. This is the Moriyas, isn't it?_ '

"I'm not gonna ask who the hell made a shrine up here." Osamu rose his hands neutrally. "I'm just glad for it."

Quickly, the party navigated to the front of the shrine, and opened the front door.

Inside sat a tall woman with purple hair, and a small girl with long, blonde hair. Both were seated at a kotatsu, drinking tea.

' _Kanako Yasaka, and Suwako Moriya._ ' Hikari recalled. ' _My mother told me they were… unique, but devious._ '

Kanako blinked. "...Oo~h? Reimu's daughter? What an unexpected face…!"

Suwako beamed. "He~y! She's brought friends, too!"

Kanako stood from the kotatsu, walking leisurely towards the party. "So, what's the occasion? Running away from home? Sent to rough us up?"

' _Uu~h…_ '

Hiyori was the one who spoke. "We're simply passing through."

Kanako folded her arms. "Aa~h. Why not stay for some tea, then? I'll go fetch Sanae…"

With that, Kanako stepped into one of the back rooms.

"...I was told she was less personable than that." Marigold added once she was gone.

"Hahaha…" Suwako laughs. "Yeah, she is."

"Oh." Marigold nods, slightly confused.

"Here's the secret." Suwako gestures for Hikari to lean closer, only for her whole party to clumsily attempt to get close to Suwako.

' _I don't think we all needed to push each other until we nearly fell into her._ '

Suwako grinned. "...She's just-"

A door slid open, and from it Kanako stepped out, a shrine maiden following behind her. Everyone snapped back into normal places whilst Kanako was still paying attention to the other girl.

' _Sanae Kochiya._ ' Hikari recalled. ' _She was nice._ '

"Kanako~sama, I was showing my friend around…" She whined.

"Well, it can wait." Kanako refuted. "You have some other friends waiting for you."

Sanae scanned the unfamiliar faces, until she eventually saw Hikari.

"Hikari~!" She quickly plopped the tea down on the kotatsu, and flew over it to glomp Hikari in a hug.

"Oof." Hikari monotoned.

"How'd you even get up here!?" Sanae giddily requested. "Nevermind that, I gotta show you my things, now that you're finally here! Come on!"

Sanae broke the hug and ran out of the room, towards her room.

"Sanae- wait!" Kanako called out for her. "...Damn- I mean, darn." She sighed.

Suwako giggled. "You messed up, Kanako~! The Hakurei miko knows you swear, now! Your plan's all over!"

Kanako suddenly gave her an intense glare. "Silence, Moriya."

Suwako just grinned in response.

...The party awkwardly stared at the visibly angry Kanako for a few moments. Then, Kanako smiled again. "So! We should drink this tea, before it gets cold."

Hikari nods. "Right…"

Marigold brings up something she remembered. "I heard something about sleep charms being offered here?"

Kanako nodded. "Oh, yes! Hikari, do you and your friends want some?"

Marigold scoffed, being the one who actually asked her the question.

"Free? Sure." Hikari nodded.

"Of course it's free! Anything for you." Kanako got up. "Give me a moment…"

She went into the backrooms again.

…

"I find her demeanor suspicious." Hiyori sounded her thoughts.

"Yea~h." Marigold agrees. "I'm getting the feeling she's just trying to kiss up to you, Hikari."

' _Is she?_ '

Osamu appeared surprised. "She is?"

Marigold rolled her eyes. "Obviously. Did you see her reaction when-"

Kanako stepped back into the room, sliding the door shut, which prompted Marigold to stop talking.

"Alright… I could only find two." Kanako admits.

Suwako smirks. "As free samples."

"Hush." Kanako scowls down at her. "One for you,"

Hikari catches hers.

"And, uhm…" Kanako looks around the others. Marigold holds her hands open.

"You, I guess."

Kanako tosses it at Hiyori, and it bounces off her chest.

Marigold scoffs again, before moving to pick it up off the floor.

Hikari obtained Charm of Sleep!

Marigold obtained Charm of Sleep!

Slowly nodding, Hikari begins inching towards the door to the backrooms. "I think I'm just going to go see what Sanae's up to…"

Kanako pouted. "What? C'mon… Tell me some stories, please?"

…

"No." Hikari decided, now casually walking to the door, her party members following.

Kanako's brow twitched as the four progressed further into the shrine, Hiyori closing the door behind them.

…

"Good job." Suwako complimented. "Hikari really loves you."

"Shut up." Kanako props her arms under her head on the kotatsu top. "Why does she seem so… disinterested? You'd figure a young teenage girl like her would have a head full of stars."

"Maybe it's the Hakurei intuition." Suwako added.

"Pftah." Kanako lifted one of the many tea cups she had laid out, and downed the entire cup. "...Besides, what was up with that incredibly docile oni?"

Suwako shrugged, reaching for another cup of tea herself. "That, I don't have a clue on. Two peaceful oni in one day, at relatively the same time? You'd have thought the world was ending."

Kanako snorted. "Mmm. Hopefully Sanae doesn't scare that miko off. I'm not done with her, yet."

Suwako swirled her tea around. "I dunno. She seems pretty done with you."

"Shut up."

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Sanae's room was full of confusing outside world technology, Hikari found.

"This is my computer!" Sanae beamed. "It's my pride and joy…!"

Marigold tilted her head, slowly getting closer to it. "...How does it work?"

Sanae shrugged. "Eheh… I was never into building them, really. I really dunno."

Marigold scowled at her.

Osamu stared at it, along with the plethora of other unrecognizable controllers, wires, and rectangles with buttons. "What the hell even is half of this crap…?"

Meekly, Sanae retreated back a bit. "U-uhm…" Sanae gestured to the boxes. "These are my gaming consoles…? It-it's hard to explain…"

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIYORI'S VIEW ====

On the far end of the room, Hiyori approached the other friend Sanae had over that day.

' _...This feeling…_ '

Her eyes ran up and down the pink-haired girls figure, glancing at the two hair buns, the bandaged arm, and the shackle on her left arm, before finally resting on the girl's eyes, which stared straight back.

' _This girl is an oni._ '

The girl grinned back. "A little far from home, don'cha think?"

"I could say the same for you." Hiyori countered. "I didn't think I'd see a fellow oni this high up."

The pink-haired oni grinned. "Me either." She held out her hand, taking a glance at the other occupants of the room…

"So," Sanae hovered over Marigold's shoulder. "You use the analog stick to move around!"

"...What's an analog stick?" Marigold flipped the controller upside down, and began reading the text printed on the back.

...The oni's stare returned to Hiyori. "Kasen. Kasen Ibaraki."

As Hiyori's hand went to meet hers for a handshake, she mentally paused.

' _Kasen…?_ ' Her eyes briefly broke from Kasen's to scan her features again… ' _I can't believe I didn't recognize her sooner._ '

"Hiyori." Hiyori introduces herself.

' _One of the four devas of the mountain, Kasen Ibaraki. One of the two who fled to the surface, for reasons unknown. That, or reasons lost in a drunken haze._ '

"...You're one of the four devas." Hiyori observes.

"Mmm…" Kasen nods. "Considering you've gone this far up, and I somehow don't smell a drop of alcohol on you, I don't really mind you knowing. I know it seems dishonest, but keep it between us, yeah?"

' _How contradictory of an oni. I wonder what the rest of them would be like, if they weren't drunk all the time._ '

"I've taken up Buddhism." Hiyori tells her openly.

"Aa~h, that's good." Kasen nods. "It's always good to have something you aspire to do, be it religious practices, or other ambitions."

' _Indeed._ '

"I've been traveling around the surface." Kasen takes her turn to tell her current activities. "Offering advice to those who need it, and occasionally paying the peacekeepers my respects."

She glances over at Hikari, who had gotten her arm sleeves tangled in some wires. "Speaking of which… I have a bit of advice for you."

"Hmm?" Hiyori was curious.

...Kasen's bandaged arm moved to fiddle with the shackle on her other arm. After a little struggle, the shackle opens up, and she removes it from her arm.

She extends her arm, holding it in front of Hiyori.

"Take it." Kasen offers her. "...If my suspicions are true, you're going to need all the preparation you can get."

' _...!?_ '

Hiyori stared at it, and took it.

"Put it on." Kasen instructed her. "Don't worry about breaking it; it won't."

...Gingerly, Hiyori clamps the shackle onto her own left arm, and seals the latch lock.

' _...This power…!_ '

"Like it?" Kasen grinned. "...Us devas all have an item like that. If you know what's best for you, I suggest you find as many as you can."

' _There's more…?_ ' Hiyori carefully examined the ordinary looking shackle.

"The fourth deva…" Kasen sighed. "She's still down in old Hell, somewhere."

Hiyori's eyes widened. "Really…?"

"Mmm." Kasen nodded. "I think, anyway. I'm not really sure where, though. My best guess is the ruins along the edges of old Hell. Her name is Konngara. That's all I can really give you."

' _Huh…_ ' Hiyori glanced at the shackle again.

Kasen walked up to her, and patted her on the shoulder. "Good luck, and all that."

Hiyori obtained Shackle of Devas!

...Hiyori smiles, looking up at Kasen. "Thank you."

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: MARIGOLD'S VIEW ====

Marigold stared at the computer screen, mystified.

"...What's a car?" She questioned, almost breathlessly.

' _So much information to take in…!_ '

...Sanae awkwardly stood behind her as Marigold rapidly clicked through Wikipedia pages.

"Nothing on quadcasting theories? Good, because they're boring, but at the same time… how?" Marigold carefully looked between the keyboard and the screen.

Hikari stopped fiddling with controllers nearby and approached Marigold's side. "This thing lets you search for anything, right?"

Sanae scratches the back of her head. "Uhm, almost! Some things are just too specific, and Yukari actually blocks certain pages!"

' _Hmm? Something we shouldn't know?_ '

"Like what?" Marigold questioned.

...Sanae shrugged.

' _Figures._ '

…

Marigold searches for 'strongest weapon'.

…

"What's a 'Tsar-Bomba'?" Marigold wondered aloud.

Sanae's eyes widen. "Maybe you uh, shouldn't…"

Osamu looks up from a controller he was attempting to make sense of. "Hey, can you search for chicks on that thing?"

Marigold scoffed. "Such a wealth of knowledge, and your first instinct is perversion?"

"...Yes." Osamu nods.

"I-I mean, you _could_ …" Sanae blushed. "B-but I wouldn't! Don't look up stuff like that on my computer!"

"What would you even search?" Marigold audibly wonders.

"N-no!" Sanae weaves past her and leans over the keyboard. "I won't let you!"

"I'm not, I'm not." Marigold waves in annoyance. "Get out of the way."

"A-ah…" Sanae gets off the keyboard.

Osamu shrugs, expression neutral. "Yeah, I didn't think so." He paused, and brought his hand to his chin. "I'd like one of them computer things myself, though…"

' _I don't think you'd be able to use it without practice. I'd like to know how this device really works..._ '

Sanae looks at him. "You're gonna have to ask Yukari-san to help you with that."

' _She won't, by the way, from what I've heard of her._ '

Osamu tilted his head. "Who?"

' _You'd rather not know, I'm sure._ '

"You don't know Yukari?" Sanae's eyes widened. "...I think that's something you should be grateful for."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Osamu furrows his brows.

Hikari speaks up. "Nothing."

He looks at her. "...Who asked you?"

"Me." She defended.

He huffed, propping his arms to his sides. "Geesh. Didn't know she was such a big secret."

"Some doors are best left unopened." Hikari advised him.

"If you say so." He rolls his eyes.

Marigold looks around the table the computer is rested on, observing a few wired objects...

' _Hmm… What could this be?_ ' Marigold lifts up a box with a large circular indentation in it.

Sanae notices her curiosity. "That's a speaker! It puts out noise made by the computer."

' _...That sounds useless._ ' Marigold sets it down, disinterested.

"...I-I mean, they play music, too!" Sanae corrects, realizing how bad her first description was. "I usually use headphones instead, though."

' _Music? From these things?_ '

"I would like to know how these things could _possibly_ play music." Marigold requested.

Sanae smiles. "Alright. Move over, so I can type…"

Marigold begins to get up-

"O-oh, no, sit back down." Sanae chuckles. "...Here."

She pushes the chair, and it rolls out of the way.

Marigold's eyes widened, and she looked under the chair.

' _...A chair on wheels. Why have I only discovered this now?_ '

Sanae types in 'Greensleeves piano' into the search engine, and clicks the first result. Then, she fiddles with the sound device settings to set it to play out of the speakers instead of the head phones…

The music was heard throughout the room.

"...Huh." Marigold stares at the stereo.

' _That sounds a lot like a real piano… but it's still a bit off. Pretty impressive, regardless._ '

Osamu gaped. "Dude, this thing's a piano, too?"

' _Of course, someone like him wouldn't know…_ '

Sanae grins. "I guess…"

Noticing the music, the other two women in the room approach the others, and stare at the computer as well.

The pink-haired woman held her hands together. "Oh, my. You should demonstrate things like this more often. I can make more sense of this than of these… 'video games' as you dubbed them."

Sanae pouted. "Awh… I really want someone to play with, for a change, though…"

Marigold rises from the chair, and moves to look around the room more carefully. Turning to Hikari, she gestures the chair to her.

Hikari shrugs, and moves to sit in it.

' _Now, all this technology…_ '

Marigold wasn't sure what to make of all of the wires, curious objects, and various labels. Most of which seemed to have been labeled in either Japanese or English, she noted.

' _What is this?_ '

She lifted a box, which had a small open slot on the bottom sticking out of it. The box was black and wooden, but the slot was made of some sort of shiny, grey metal.

Staring into the slot, Marigold couldn't see much other than some metal bits, and darkness…

' _It's plugged in, so it uses power…_ ' She rotates the box around a bit, but finds nothing other than some pegs to rest it on.

Setting the box down, Marigold looks over to Sanae.

"...You just clicked the 'x' button…" Sanae sighed, defeated.

"...Is that bad?" Hikari glanced at her.

Marigold speaks up to get Sanae's attention. "What does this do?"

Sanae responds instantly, like a moth drawn to light. "Oh! That's…" She takes a moment to recollect. "...Oh, yea~h. Kanako-sama gave me that a few weeks ago. She told me she had the kappa make it. It's some kinda… danmaku box, I think."

' _Danmaku box?_ ' Marigold looked puzzled. "How does it work?"

"Oh, it's easy! You can put mana into it, an~d… well, it comes back out as danmaku. There's more to it, bu~t I'm not really interested in it… I-I mean, don't get me wrong, I like playing danmaku, but… the instructions it came with were really complicated!" Sanae whines, raising her hands to her shoulders.

Marigold perks up. "Could you find me the instructions?"

Sanae freezes. "...I have no clue where they would be."

Marigold sighed.

"Sorry…" Sanae's disappointment was palpable.

' _...Hmm. I could ask Kanako about it, I guess._ ' Marigold figured.

"Do you mind if I take it, then?" Marigold asks.

Sanae looked unsure. "U-uhm… Kanako-sama said it was _really_ important. Something about 'revolutionizing danmaku'."

…

Marigold shakes the box, and it rattles slightly.

' _Not like that, it isn't._ '

...Sanae glances back over at her computer, and her jaw drops. "Whaa~!?"

Hikari had replaced the generic windows background image with a picture of Kanako wrapping an arm around Sanae's shoulders. She held a sake dish in the other hand, and displayed a blushed, uneven expression on her face. Sanae herself, however, looked like she didn't want to be there.

"Wh-where'd you find that picture!?" Sanae dashed to Hikari's side, and began working to undo the change.

"It was in a folder." Hikari provided.

"B-but…" Sanae pouted. "You shouldn't go through other people's stuff!"

Hikari blinked. "...Hey, you were the one that let us use this. You didn't tell us anything about private stuff."

Sanae deflated. "Aah… You're right. I'm sorry, Hikari…"

Out of curiosity, Marigold holds the box up by the external slot-

Snap!

The box rattled as it banged into the floor. Marigold jumped from the noise, and swiftly hid the slot piece behind her back, a rush of energy traveling through her body.

Sanae jumped. "Wh-what happened!?"

...Hiyori, who was watching the exchange, stared at Marigold intently.

Marigold noticed the stare.

' _...Oh, boy. I wonder if this is why my mother didn't like oni. The next question is if I'm even in a position to lie at all, though..._ '

"The box…" Marigold began.

"...Yeah?" Sanae was confused.

"It shook." She stated.

Sanae had a half-grin. "O-okay…?"

Hiyori narrowed her eyes.

' _Darn it. We~ll…_ '

"Because I dropped it." Marigold confessed. "The slot thing broke off. I'm sorry."

…

"Huh." Sanae rose a brow. "...That's pretty cheap for a kappa invention. The metal part snapped off…?"

Crouching, Sanae looked at the box closer, and saw the metal slot piece used to be attached to some inner metal indentations. "...Aa~h, it was a purely magical attachment. But, for it to break like that… it musta been rea~lly sloppy."

' _She's not angry, huh...?_ '

Marigold looked back at Hiyori, who was smiling.

' _Honesty wins this time. I guess._ ' Marigold pouted.

"I guess I'll just ask Kanako-sama for another one." Sanae stood back up. "It shouldn't've costed much if it was this flimsy and cheap, I don't think. I still can't believe the kappa apparently made this…"

Osamu stood from some controllers he was crouched over… "Oh, shit! H-hey!" The wires were tangled around his arms, and he stumbled backwards while trying to fight them.

Controllers clacked against the floor.

Sanae stared at him with tired disdain. "How did you even…?"

Sanae, the pink-haired woman, and Hiyori moved to help him...

...However, he fell backwards into a nearby table before anyone made it to him. "Aaaaa~h!"

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIKARI'S VIEW ====

"Come again soon, you hear!?"

Hikari heard Kanako call out to the party as they walked away from the shrine.

' _Maybe in the future. The distant, distant future._ '

"Visit again soon, Hikari-cha~n!" Sanae waved widely.

The party continued, progressing on the descending trail until the shrine was obscured behind rock.

"...That place was fuckin' weird." Osamu began his list of complaints.

"It wasn't so bad." Marigold argued. "I would like to visit again, if only to properly examine all that technology."

Hiyori eventually added in her opinion. "It was worthwhile."

As the discussion fell into silence, she examined the chain of her new shackle.

' _That's new. Do oni wear shackles like bracelets? I'm not entirely surprised._ '

…

"So who're those two lazy bimbos in the main room?" Osamu wondered aloud.

Hikari snorted.

"From what I know, they're goddesses." Marigold elaborated. "I mean… I was told they were kinda common knowledge. Do you really not know of the Moriya gods?"

Osamu jerked his head back. "Goddesses? Talk about givin' 'em too much credit… and I thought the Moriya's god was, like… called 'Moriya' or somethin'."

"...Suwako's last name is Moriya." Marigold adds.

"...Oh." Osamu nods. "...So who the hell's Kanako? Her half-god lover or somethin'?"

Marigold sighs. "...Actually, sure. That's totally what it is."

...He smiles. "That's hot, dude."

' _Please don't humor him._ '

The party continued down the mountainside, trees eventually becoming prominent in the nearby dirt alongside the path.

"...So, when we're talkin' gods, do we mean, like, literally?" Osamu asks. "Like… I don't think a god would-"

"Halt!"

The party freezes, as a figure suddenly stomps down on the dirt path ahead of them.

"You four are in tengu territory. Not only that, but you've somehow managed to get all this way without being detected." She stared flatly at the party, until her eyes ran across Hiyori. "...You even bring an oni with you? What foolishness is this?"

"...We kinda _came_ from heaven." Hikari attempts explaining.

"A likely story." The white-haired wolf tengu narrowed her eyes. "Such a place is even less tolerant of trespassers than the borders of the tengu."

' _Well, I tried._ '

"We simply wish to pass through." Hiyori tried working her negotiator magic. "We mean no disrespect towards your borders."

...A shifty-eyed stare from the tengu indicated that she was unconvinced. "Bringing an oni this far up is bordering on disrespect in and of itself. Do you know what youkai would think of our border if we just let people pass through, if they asked nicely?"

"...They would leave it alone?" Osamu grinned.

...The tengu frowned. "No. They'd walk all over it, and if we confronted them, they'd just try to 'ask us' to continue infringing, and then we'd appear to be sending mixed signals to the wild youkai."

"Do we look like wild youkai?" Marigold argued.

Frowning, the tengu continued. "...Well, no. Of you, only one is a youkai, and a magi at that. Two of you are human, one a Hakurei, and the other an oni. While I _may_ not see significant objection in letting a peaceful magi pass, allowing humans or oni to infringe on our borders would be extremely poor showing."

"Even a Hakurei shrine maiden?" Hikari tries to pull rank.

"Even a Hakurei shrine maiden." The wolf tengu nodded. "Who, considering her role, should definitely be aware of her boundaries."

Hikari was somewhat surprised. ' _Them's fighting words._ '

Hiyori took a deep breath. "We simply ask for passage towards the lower cave entrances of the mountain."

"Then go back through heaven, if such a thing were possible, then go around." The tengu shrugged. "Simple."

Hikari spoke up. "Isn't there a factory making robots? That kinda needs to be taken care of?"

"Our military has responded accordingly." She counters. "Even the kappa needn't get involved. Our last estimate was that it would be bested two days ago, but unforeseen setbacks have increased that deadline to this afternoon."

' _...Which has probably already passed. I have my doubts that their 'military' actually got anywhere._ '

"I would like to check it out." Hikari asserts. "Infact, I am."

The wolf tengu raised her shield and sword. "Halt! I warn you, Hakurei. Do not make me use my blade! I know you are untrained and unready for battle, and the same could be said of nearly every other companion of yours… barring that oni, of course."

' _You would think that an oni made up for it._ ' Hikari frowns. "Well, we need to get through."

…

"Then, I suppose, there's no other way." The tengu twirls her sword, gritting her teeth at the party.

' _Talk about stubborn…_ '

"Momiji Inubashiri. Tengu patrol officer." Momiji introduces herself. "Either you turn back now, or I strike you down."

"Oh, please." Osamu adds his own opinion, sensing negotiations were breaking down. "What're you gonna do? Bark at us to death?"

...Momiji glares.

' _Nice going, idiot._ ' Hikari gives him an exasperated expression. ' _If she was just going to arrest us before, she's going to murder us, now._ '

Cautiously, the patrol tengu raises her shield, and strafes towards the party…

Hikari raises her gohei cautiously.

"Let's do this!" Osamu grins.

Osamu tried Offense Up α!

Hikari felt strength surge into her body, her muscles growing eager to be active.

"No." Hikari turned to him. "It eats too much of your energy, and it makes me too powerful for my own good."

"So?" Osamu holds his grin. "It's freakin' cool!"

Hiyori marches towards the tengu with a combative stance. As she gets close, the tengu weaves past her.

"Foolish!"

Hikari's eyes widened, and she raises her gohei.

Clo~nk!

A large blade met her enchanted gohei. Hikari was afraid it was going to break from the force with which the tengu pressed her blade into it.

Osamu tried Defense Down α!

"Gh…" The tengu's blade was retracted, and she leapt back over Hiyori, who attempted to grapple her.

"What is this…? Magic?" Momiji examines her arms. "...Useless."

Hikari takes the moment to look at her gohei… ' _It's bent. Yikes…_ '

Her gohei was indeed bent in the middle, now looking marginally more sad than it was earlier.

Momiji tried Offense Up α!

Putting on a brave face, Momiji raised her sword and shield strongly again.

Hiyori heavily steps towards her, which Momiji takes note of.

"Too slow!"

A quick slash met Hiyori, cutting into her gi and leave a small cut across her stomach.

Momiji nods in satisfaction. "About as tough as they told me. It's a shame you have to fight by yourself."

Hiyori appeared confused by that statement- which Momiji used to land another quick slash, giving her another flesh wound that was promptly ignored. "What do you mean, alone?"

"You can't expect those children to be able to help you." Momiji scoffs.

Osamu tried PK Freeze γ!

KaKaKa~...!

Momiji suddenly ceased all movement, and a snowflake pattern of ice crystals began to form around her. She attempted to leap out of it, but they quickly snared her limbs. While she may have been able to fight her way out with a moment to spare-

Boom!

The ice exploded, chilling her, and sending her back a few steps.

"What good did you think ice would do!?" Momiji yelled out, more excited. "I'm a white wolf! Snow never bothered me!"

...Hiyori nods at that.

Hiyori tried PK Fire ß!

Fwoo~m!

A wave of fire washed over Momiji, and the nearby foliage. Flames licked up nearby trees, as well.

"Wh-what!?" Momiji stepped back, eyes wide as her fur began to burn. Then, she began spinning in place, wind whirling around herself. In moments, she was out. "You're a caster?"

Hiyori nods. "It has been a long road."

...Hikari looked a little anxious at the spreading forest fire. ' _Um…_ '

Momiji looked around at it, as well. "...You've lit the forest! You neanderthal!"

Marigold snorted at the diction.

"Oh, boy…" Osamu stared at the fire nervously.

Osamu tried PK Hydro γ!

A whirling maelstrom of water formed over the battlefield, numerous water shurikens raining down from it and also dispensing water. In short, everything was doused.

...Hikari parted her hair from her face. ' _This doesn't help on a rather chilly mountainside…!_ '

The spell ended within a few moments, the torrential downpour coming to a close.

"...Surprisingly competent water spell." Momiji admitted. She then shook herself vigorously, water becoming launched from her fur. "It does you no good, however."

Hikari sighed. ' _I should really do more than just stand around during battle…_ '

Hikari tried Shield ß!

Hiyori was protected by the power shield of light!

Momiji's eyes narrowed.

She took another slash, and it was slowed incredibly by the shield, the slash failing to scratch Hiyori's gi.

Upon leaving away, a beam of light shot from the power shield.

"Huh!?"

The beam swiped across her, leaving a slice across her stomach, where she tried to cut Hiyori.

"Aagh!" She yelled out, clutching the cut. "A holy shield…?"

Hikari waved.

"...But it's not a Hakurei shield." Momiji noted. "What…?"

Marigold took this moment to shoot a flurry of bullets from her NF Burst Gun. Momiji leaped back after a few struck her by surprise.

"A danmaku game, is it?" Momiji grins. "Very well, then. Dog Sign, Rabies Bite!"

Two walls of danmaku were formed around the party, bearing red and yellow bullets formed in a jaw-esque pattern.

"Oh, shit." Osamu's eyes widened. "We're gonna need some fuckin' magic shields, stat!"

Osamu tried PSI Shield Σ!

Hikari, Osamu, Marigold, and Hiyori were all protected by the psychic energy shield!

Hiyori's power shield was overwritten.

The walls of danmaku proceeded to slam into them, forcing everyone to flinch from the numerous bullets.

"Ugh…" Hikari winced.

Momiji blinked. "...You're all supposed to dodge the bullets."

' _I just want this encounter to end, now._ '

Another set of danmaku walls formed.

Hikari tried PK Flash ß!

Fwaa~sh!

"A-ah!?"

The spell card was broken instantly. Momiji stumbled back, clutching her face. "Wh-... A powerful dispel?"

' _Hnn…_ ' Hikari was beginning to feel the mental strain from casting excessively without rest.

Hiyori tried PK Freeze ß!

Osamu tried PK Freeze γ!

KaKa-KaKaKa-KaKa…!

The loud cracking of ice and rapid development of ice crystals quickly suspended Momiji in place.

Kra-Boom!

The resulting icy blast froze Momiji solid.

…

"Tengu are faster than I remember." Hiyori sighed. "Or, perhaps, simply wiser."

"That's _so_ not far." Osamu argued. "Why're they so freakin' fast? Just 'cause they're animals?"

Marigold stared at him vainly. "Have you seen a wolf run before?"

"...No." Osamu folded his arms. "How fast are they?"

"You have no place to argue." Marigold grins. "...They're fast, by the way."

"Well." Osamu scratches his head. "...What if they _weren't?_ What then?"

' _Asking the important questions, here._ ' Hikari is amused.

"...But they are!" Marigold giggled. "Wh-what are you on about…?"

The party continued forward, leaving the frozen tengu on the mountainside trail.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

"Let's avoid the tengu village, if at all possible." Hiyori suggested.

They were deep enough into the mountain to once more not know where they were exactly going, but they knew 'down' was a recommended direction.

"If we knew where it was." Marigold added.

"I believe I do." Hiyori states, carefully considering where it might be. "We shouldn't run into it unless we tried. It's upon the depths of the largest foothill, so we should be alright just making a path straight down."

' _Although…_ '

"We're not here just to go down." Hikari reminds everyone. "We need to find that factory."

"I've been walking us towards the kappa village." Hiyori tells the party. "They should hopefully be able to point us in the right direction."

' _Oh, cool._ ' Hikari is satisfied.

"Who were the kappa people again?" Osamu tilted his head. "I don't hear a lot about 'em in the village…"

"They invent stuff." Marigold smiles.

"Do they make computers that let you look at chicks?" Osamu grins.

"...I'll give you a hard 'maybe'." Marigold compromises. "If they did, they'd charge you extra, though."

"Oh, right. Stuff, uh... costs money…" His grin becomes sheepish.

Within moments, they arrive near a line of curious metal houses. Slanted roofs and sleek metal are the aesthetically pleasing front some put off, while others are very blatantly rusty sheet metal atop moldy, rough wooden posts.

Past this line of houses is a lane where more wildly varied homes sit, along with multiple creeks that interrupted the path multiple times. Simple bridges were laid across the creeks with planks of wood.

' _If Marigold ran a town, it would probably look like this._ ' Hikari considered. ' _High-tech, but at the same time, disorganized and run down._ '

Walking through the village, the few kappa who are outside stop and stare at them, then continue on about their business.

"We're not getting mauled on the spot..." Osamu observed. "I think we're makin' great progress!"

' _I know, right? This is probably the least weird place so far._ '

While passing a sheet metal awning, the party stopped to observe a green-haired kappa kneeling at some evenly laid out pieces of metal, which were all splayed out across a rug.

"...Hi." Hikari introduced herself.

The kappa ignored her.

"...I wanna ask you questions."

The kappa glanced at her, but went back to inspecting a chunk of metal she was interested in.

Hiyori had a half-grin. "They're… not incredibly sociable people."

' _At least they're not trying to put us in court, or stab us._ ' Hikari reflected.

The sun began setting on the horizon, but the mountain's side was still illuminated.

Continuing through the town, the party was eventually greeted by a blue-haired kappa, who carried a gigantic blue backpack on herself.

"...H-hey…" The kappa meekly began, "You're… Re-Reimu's daughter, right?"

Hikari blinks. "...She's even known here?"

The kappa nods. "Ye-yeah. I'm Nitori, a friend."

' _Friendly._ '

…

"A~nd?" Osamu prompts her to continue.

Nitori works up the courage to continue. "A-ah, it's getting dark… Would you four like so-somewhere to stay tonight?"

Hikari shrugs.

...Marigold gives her a glance, then looks at Nitori. "Preferably, yes."

The kappa makes a subtle fist-pump. "...O-oh, right, follow me…" Nitori gestures for the party to follow.

They eventually divert from the town proper and travel down the side of one of the creeks.

"Most of us don't really live in the town, really…" Nitori responds to a possible question they could have had. "It's just there as a sort of reference point… and sometimes a testing ground."

"...I'm not sure what to think about that." Hikari admits.

Nitori giggles.

Eventually, they come up to a pool of water.

"Can any of you swim?" Nitori asks.

Hikari pauses. "...Not at all."

Osamu shrugs. "Nope."

Marigold shakes her head. "Not really."

...Hiyori also shakes her head. "I don't think I really need to…? I can hold my breath for awhile."

Nitori shakes her head, mouth agape.. "None of you do!? That's terrible!"

' _Eheh…_ '

Then, Nitori smiled. "...It's a good thing I had an elevator installed around the back. Over here."

Leading them around the rock behind the deep, dark pool of water, there was indeed a platform-based elevator.

Nitori stepped onto it. "...Go ahead, guys, step on. It won't drop us! It hasn't done that for two straight days, now!"

Hikari's brows furrowed.

"...It's _safe_." Nitori assured again.

Reluctantly, the party stepped onto the elevator.

Nitori turned, and pressed a few buttons on the platform's terminal. "Oka~y… Here we-"

The platform drops abruptly.

"Go~!"

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Bam!

The platform stops just as abruptly. The darkness of the elevator shaft was broken by a soft blue glow coming from the room outside of it.

Everyone except Nitori and Hiyori fell over, balance mutilated by the speed that they fell. Nitori was holding onto the terminal to keep hers, and Hiyori was simply unaffected.

"...It's a little rough." Nitori admitted. "I don't use it much, except for if I have to get parts around or get people who can't swim down here."

"...Just a _little_ rough." Marigold huffs, getting back onto her legs.

"Gee~z…" Osamu clambers back up.

They followed Nitori into the dim room ahead. Soft blue lights shone from fixtures on the walls.

"How do you like the LED lighting?" Nitori grinned.

' _The what lighting?_ '

"...It's cool, I guess." Hikari answers, despite not knowing what she was exactly agreeing to.

' _It's a little too dark in here, though…_ '

"Guest bedrooms are i~n…" Nitori paused, looking down the hall ahead. "...The first right door I think? Yeah…"

To confirm her own suspicions, she continued to the door herself and opened it up.

"...O-oh!"

She shut the door, and pressed her back up against it.

A muffled explosion was heard on the other end of the door, and it shook lightly.

...

"...That wasn't the guest bedroom, I don't think." Marigold commented.

"Yeah, uhm… that was the timed proximity mine test lab. Sorry." Nitori grimaced. "I thought I turned 'em off… Darn it."

' _Timed proximity mine test lab._ ' Hikari nods slowly… ' _I'm not sure if I want to know what that means._ '

The kappa proceeded to the door on the left, and opened it. She took a few cautious steps inside, and looked around… "This seems like it. Come on in."

The party followed her in, and noticed it was a very droll looking wooden room, a stark contrast to the metal the hallway was made of.

"I made it more natural-ish to appeal to people who aren't kappas. They don't like sleeping in rooms made of solid metal, for some strange reason." Nitori shrugged.

...Hikari noticed something peculiar. "If we're underground, why are there windows?"

Nitori paused. "...Oh, right! Those. They're not, actually. You'll just see sorta natural lightning come from them. If you actually opened the windows- not that you can- you'd just see lights. That's why they're super foggy."

"...I don't even know how this can be a _thing._ " Osamu was awed by the technology. "Like… how much magic freakin' went into this place?"

"This room? None." Nitori smiled. "...My whole home, though? A lot."

"...Huh." Osamu nodded, bemused.

Nitori looked around the room, and clapped her hands together. "Alright, anyone got any further questions?"

' _Not particularly._ '

At the lack of responses, Nitori nods. "I'll be sure to evacuate you guys if any of my experiments go too wrong!"

' _That's not reassuring…_ '

The door clicks as the kappa leaves the room.

…

"We~ll…" Osamu walks up to one of the many beds in the long, rustic style room. "Normally, I'd peek around a bit, but uh…"

"Timed proximity mine testing lab." Marigold repeated, grinning.

"Exactly. Fuck that." Osamu shook his head, plopping down on the bed.

Hiyori neared a bed herself. "I suppose all of that excessive magic use earlier _has_ drained me of my energy…"

' _I've gotten pretty tired, too…_ ' Hikari moved towards a bed, herself.

Marigold noticed her friends retiring to bed. Having dissonant thoughts, she moved to one of the nearby tables, and put her backpack on it.

"Not going to bed?" Hikari questioned her.

Marigold nods. "Mmm. I'm not tired yet, myself, so I'm just going to fiddle around with some things."

Osamu snorts. "Don't blow us the fuck up. If I die, I'm gonna haunt your ass."

Hiyori stared at him vainly. "Where exactly did you acquire such a mouth…?"

Osamu paused, and glanced at Hikari. "...Home."

' _He totally stole that from me._ '

Hiyori grinned, and shook her head.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: MARIGOLD'S VIEW ====

' _Nothing seems to be broken…_ '

Marigold carefully inspected all her weaponry as her party members dozed off.

' _Now, to find out what this thing does._ '

She held up the slot piece of the 'danmaku box' she accidentally brutalized prior.

Multiple tests were put in place, scientifically accurate and quantitative tests, to be sure.

...Marigold dropped it on the floor multiple times to see what would happen, which turned out to be nothing at all.

' _It doesn't react violently to tumbling. That's a good sign._ '

Then, she drew her Air Gun and shot at it.

Klack!

The slot piece was sent flying, but she had noticed a flash of color emit from the part.

' _I wonder…_ '

She sat it on the table, and positioned herself to shoot the part off of it…

Klack!

The part went flying, and the danmaku bullet she shot changed from a grey-ish color to a neon white, glowing brighter, before it struck the wall ahead and fizzled out.

"What the he~ll…" Osamu groaned from his bed.

' _...Maybe I shouldn't be doing this next to everyone's beds. I think I got all the information I need anyway, though…_ '

...Moving over to the part piece, she held it up and eyed it.

' _Where do I put it, though?_ '

She looked at all her weapons, and considered each one.

' _My two primaries are strong enough as it is, I think. It's not good to microwave metal, so it's not going on_ that _gun, and…_ '

Her eyes ran across her taser.

' _...I have a great idea._ ' Marigold leered gleefully at the weapon.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

She held up the taser.

' _You can't really call it a taser anymore…_ '

After the removal of the front prongs, she replaced them with the metal slot from the 'danmaku box', and used various metal bits she found in the drawers of the room to piece together a rather unwieldy looking contraption, one which had a series of jagged prongs sticking from the sides of the front face.

' _Let's fire this baby up!_ '

She turned the dial on the taser midway.

It sparked to life, and electrical energy ran along the metal of the front face. It then entered the slot piece, which in turn projected arrow-esque projectiles. The projectiles were yellow, and quick, but flickered unevenly. The 'taser' shot them at irregular intervals, as well.

' _I have no idea what this does, yet._ ' Marigold smiled. ' _But I think I turned my taser into a gun._ '

Marigold has acquired Electric Projector!

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

END OF CHAPTER 16

Protagonist: Hikari Hakurei, Disciple of Paradise

-Inventory-

Weapon: Magical Gohei - Ability to whack stuff really hard. Amplifies whacking power, too! Able to deal magical damage. Critical hits enabled.

Arms: Iconic Hakurei Arm Sleeves - Keeps arms warm. A Hakurei tradition. How they stay on is a Hakurei family secret.

Body: Combat Miko Outfit - A black leotard and hakama combination worn by the previous-previous Hakurei miko. Designed to be suitable for excessive physical activity and close combat, it slightly improves physical combat prowess. Now with less sideboob!

Misc: Royal Red Ribbon - A ribbon made with rich materials, with a floral pattern.

-Skills-

Attack: Quickly! Swing your gohei at them for massive damage!

PK Fantasy α, β - Bombards the enemy with pain in the form of flashing colors. Deals magical damage. Heavy mental strain that increases with each tier.

PK Flash α, ß - A bright flash that distributes very random status effects to enemies. Usually makes people cry. Higher tiers increase chances, and introduce possibilities of fainting or dispel.

Hypnosis α, Ω - Puts weak enemies to sleep for a short time. Works better on tired or exhausted foes. Can also be used in a far more costly form that works on multiple opponents.

Shield α, ß - Halves damage the target takes. Only works against physical attacks, and enough strikes, or powerful strikes, will dispel it. Higher tier turns it into a power-shield that protects even better and even reflects a fraction of protected damage.

Lifeup α, ß - Heals target a little. Higher tiers heal more grievous wounds, like bone fractures.

Healing α, ß - Heals basic status ailments. Higher tiers can cure more dire effects, like burning alive.

Teleport α - Allows instant transport to the general location of an area remembered by oneself or one's party members. Requires a long, fast run-up to execute, however.

Ofuda Toss - Throw a holy ofuda that does massive holy elemental damage to youkai and dark elemental foes. Effect lessens the more holy the thing you're attacking is, to the point of healing holy things. Only works if you actually have ofuda, though.

β-β-β-β

Mage: Osamu Katsumi, the Wannabe Mage

-Inventory-

Weapon: Fisticuffs!

Arms: Nothing

Body: Dated Village Magician Robes - An old robe from the days when the village respected the medium of magic. Now actually looks navy blue, instead of black!

Misc: Yukkuri Beanie - Resembles a really tacky tablecloth, made in the Yukkuri theme. Lime green and has tons of fun yukkuri decals!

-Skills-

PK Thunder α, ß - Very random thunder attack that deals limited damage. Higher tiers increase number of bolts, and sometimes power.

PK Hydro α, β, γ - Gets everyone wet. Usefulness with PK Thunder and PK Freeze depends on whether you hit yourself or not! Creates whirling water spirals at higher tiers.

PK Freeze α, β, γ - Generates ice crystals at the target's location. Medium damage and effect; may freeze some targets, especially wet ones.

Fireball - Manipulate mana to make a shoddy fireball. Low damage and effect.

Static Hands - Not a real spell. Result of a very undercharged PK Thunder that can accidentally go off.

PSI Telepathy α - Speak to friends you haven't met yet! Unstable connection and only works if they have the skill or are asleep.

PSI Shield α, Σ - Halves damage from magical and psychic attacks. Thunder spells fry it instantly, and harder blows dispel it. Second tier applies basic shield to entire party at higher mana expense.

PSI Magnet α - Costs no mana to use, and steals a very tiny amount of mana from the enemy. Enemy has to have mana in the first place for it to work, though.

Offense Up α - Get pissed! Boosts strength and confidence depending on caster's power and receiver's power.

Defense Down α - Throw the enemy off their game. Makes them slightly more vulnerable to physical attacks.

β-β-β-β

Inventor: Marigold Knowledge, the Tri-Magi Love Child

-Inventory-

Weapon: Microwave Gun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Constructed with a controlled flame crystal and metal parts, it fires a beam of sustained microwave energy that cooks biological foes alive. Fire-elemental at its core, it's also very inefficient against machines.

Arms: Nothing

Body: Custom Adventure Dress - A custom dress made by Alice. Provides slight defense against magical and psychic attacks. Now allows freer movement with a shorter skirt, and a more flexible material.

Misc: Swirly Glasses - Lets Marigold not be blind.

Backpack - Allows extended inventory. Aged relic from the Kourindou.

Unnamed Lock Opening Device - Opens locks very precariously. Made with steel, burnt cloth, packaging peanuts, thumbtacks, string, and wooden wheels. Don't even ask…

Ruler - Lets you measure the world around you!

Protractor - Lets you find the angles of anything ever. Totally overpowered.

Deck of Cards - Allows Marigold to play Strip Poker with the party. Just kidding… or am I?

Electric Projector - Electrical device used to subdue harassers. Has settings ranging from Tickle Torture to Arse Blaster. Fires electrical projectiles, of unknown power.

Air Gun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Uses air to propel moderately powered danmaku particles at high speeds. Bland, but efficient. Filled with foil chip bags to conduct the mana, and it is transmitted into a wind stone. Recently upgraded to draw mana from a simple wooden block filled with immense magic reserves, giving it virtually unlimited ammo.

NF Burst Gun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Uses a Pop Gun as the base, but amplifies its power with an array of random batteries jammed into the base with the Pop Gun. The more batteries, the better, but the typical yield is about five bullets per trigger. Spamming the trigger doesn't make it go any faster, unfortunately. Has no foreseeable ammo limit, and the batteries are only there for mana circulation, meaning their power is really inconsequential.

Holmes Brand Designer Hat - Village swag! A retro village hat that ceased production ten years ago. Sells for a pretty penny nowadays, but it's pretty useless otherwise.

Slime Generator - A bulky box that shoots a small splat of slime. Doesn't seem good for much.

Counter-PSI Device - A weird device Marigold found from a flying saucer. Works in strange ways, and seems to disrupt everyone's concentration. Marigold is immune to its effects.

Charm of Sleep - Grants immunity to sleep while equipped. Can be equipped to Arms or Misc.

-Skills-

Is halfway there! - Woah-oh! Livin' on a prayer!

Fires Guns while People are Asleep - Why would you even…?

Microwaves Fairies - The monster!

She Has a Coconut Gun - It can fire in spurts!

Sniffable - Smells like periwinkle!

β-β-β-β

Fighter: Hiyori Hashimoto, the Buddhist Oni

-Inventory-

Weapon: Fisticuffs!

Arms: Shackle of Devas - The first of the four treasures held by the Devas of the Mountain. Grants immunity to sleep-inducing magic. Grants fifty percent resistance to wind and thunder magic.

Body: Runed Gi - Enchanted to not get blown away by battle damage.

Misc: Nothing

-Skills-

PK Fire α, ß - Creates an igniting blast of flames at the target's location. Most impact comes with higher tiers.

PK Freeze α, β - Generates ice crystals at the target's location. Medium damage and effect; may freeze some targets, especially wet ones.

Shield α, ß, Σ - Halves damage the target takes. Only works against physical attacks, and enough strikes, or powerful strikes, will dispel it. Higher tier turns it into a power-shield that protects even better and even reflects a fraction of protected damage. Highest tier applies a basic shield to the entire party.

Lifeup α, ß - Heals target a little. Higher tiers heal more grievous wounds, like bone fractures.

Healing α, ß - Heals basic status ailments. Higher tiers can cure more dire effects, like burning alive.

Teleport α, ß - Allows instant transport to the general location of an area remembered by oneself or one's party members. Requires a long, fast run-up to execute, however. Higher tier is largely automatic and requires little room to execute.

Martial Arts - Skilled in hand-to-hand combat.

β-β-β-β

Author's Note:

HOLA PAISANOS

hyonk

this chapter dragged along a little for a FEW REASONS… mainly being a catastrophic series of unfortunate events resulting in me forcing to take a day off from the sheer barrage of bullshit, and then the next few days was me slowly recovering my mojo

i also decided to give it a once-over to add a little more flavor; also it'd be great if you guys **provided feedback for if im screwing anything up or not** , and it has to be more than "you suck" or "i love it and you are great"; neither of those responses tell me anything, friends

basically, i'm just looking for if you guys think the pace is okay, or the characterization, or if it's getting a little too boring or if the action's too common / incomprehensible or watever, yo

we're also probably over halfway there or so to the end of things! ho ho ho! livin' on a prayer, son!

as always, see you all next time!


	17. Hakurei Metal

Hikari rose from bed…

' _What time is it?_ '

Instinctively glancing towards the nearest source of light, both to condemn it and gauge the time, she paused.

' _...Still dusk?_ ' She rubbed her eyes. ' _...Oh, right. Kappa place, fake windows. I forgot…_ '

Slipping on her wooden sandals, she looked around at the party…

' _Everyone's still asleep._ ' She noted.

Lifting her gohei, she examined the rather stark bend in the midst of it, and winced.

' _...I'm not sure if this thing works, anymore._ '

...She swung it around a bit.

Snap!

The upper part of the gohei snapped right off.

Hikari's eyes widened. ' _Oh. That's… bad._ '

...She proceeded to the room's exit, and went outside.

On the outside, the hallway was dim, and the clanks of metal could be heard down the length of it.

' _Weird place._ '

...Hikari began walking down the hallway. She glanced at the doors along the sides, not feeling inclined to look into the few that had tiny window ports.

Only a moment later, her decision to not glance paid off, and one of the tiny windows exploded.

Bam!

Glass flew out into the wall on the opposite end of the hall. Hikari froze at the sound, and looked towards it…

' _Things are going boom. This is not the nicest place._ '

Eventually, Hikari had decided she went far enough into the hallway.

' _I've walked for minutes, and this hallway doesn't seem to end._ '

She had considered asking Nitori to fix her gohei, but she wasn't entirely certain where she could find her, and she certainly wasn't brave enough to open the doors.

' _Exploding is not on my agenda for today. At least, not right away, nor alone. But, where could I immediately get a new gohei from…?_ '

She could always return to her mother, she considered. ' _...That's an easy way of doing it, though, and it wouldn't be as good as the last gohei I had unless I got it re-enchanted._ '

She snapped her fingers. ' _I know exactly where to go, actually!_ '

...She turned to the hallway she came from, and began sprinting down it.

' _Faster, faster, faster…_ '

Before long-

Hikari tried Teleport α!

KraKoo~m!

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

KraKoo~m!

Hikari skidded to a stop in front of the Moriya Shrine. Quickly, she swung open the front door.

Kanako and Suwako eyed her curiously.

The taller goddess began speaking. "...What was-"

"Hi." Hikari loudly introduced herself, walking through the shrine until she got to the opposite door. "Bye."

Click. She left through the opposite door.

…

Kanako sighed. "Oh, alright, then."

Suwako snickered.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Hikari barged into Sanae's room.

Sanae wasn't paying any attention, however.

"No, no, go to the left!" She yelled abruptly.

Hikari flinched from the sudden shout. "What's gotten into you…?"

"Defuse the C4! C'mo~n…!" Sanae leaned over her keyboard, staring at the screen desperately.

...Hikari stared at her dryly. "Hello?"

Whatever Sanae was doing, she couldn't hear Hikari.

…

Hikari moved over to her, and gingerly removed the ear muffs.

"Ha-hyaa~?" Sanae shot backwards, tipping the chair over and knocking down Hikari. along with herself. The 'ear muffs' clattered against the floor nearby.

' _Ugh… chairs do not go well with guts._ ' Hikari noted.

"Hnnh…" Sanae moaned, clumsily rolling from her chair and landing on her stomach. "Wha-what happened…?"

Hikari sat up, looking at her. "Me."

"O-oh, Hikari!" She smiles, albeit forced. "I thought you left just yesterday…?"

"I did." Hikari told her. "Unfortunately, my party was wiped out by a rather mean band of generic wolfmen."

Sanae gasped, cupping her hands over her mouth. "Wha- re- really!? That's… horrible!"

Hikari instantly half-regretted her joke. ' _...I didn't expect her to freak out._ '

Abruptly, Sanae pulled Hikari into a hug. "I-I'm so sorry!"

"...It-it's alright?" Hikari was now feeling very awkward.

The two sat silently in the hug, before Sanae broke it, looking to the floor with a sorrowful expression.

"...I actually need something." Hikari smiled.

Sanae shot up. "Y-yes! Anything!"

"A new gohei." Hikari held up her old one, which was snapped in two.

Sanae's jaw dropped. "What co-could have… Right away, Hikari! I'll make you the bes- well… a good gohei."

' _...That last part makes me question my judgement._ '

Sanae leaves the room, and Hikari follows.

After only two doors, they arrived at a ritual room in the backrooms of the shrine.

"Here we are!" Sanae beamed. "This is where I do all the blessing things!"

' _Mom always did it in the main room… or wherever there was room, basically. All you need is papers and chalk…_ '

...Hikari paused, and mulled over her sentence. ' _B-by 'did it', I mean… nevermind…_ '

Sanae began laying out candles, and small, blue, paper talismans.

' _...This is new, though. She probably does things differently from my mother…_ '

As the miko laid out the talismans, she glanced at Hikari. "...Sorry if my form is really bad. I'm still getting the hang of these rituals and stuff. I'm also looking for a good substitute for amulets, 'cause I figured that was kinda Reimu's thing, and um…" She trailed off, sensing that she was rambling.

Hikari stared at her vainly.

' _It's going to take a miracle for this to actually turn out well._ '

After a few moments, a circle was set up. Sanae sat in the center, as it began glowing a soft blue, as she crafted a new gohei from a dark brown stick, and using some talisman paper.

"This… isn't quite how it's supposed to be done…" Sanae furrows her brows, but smiles. "I think it'll still work."

' _That talisman paper's going to screw everything up._ ' Hikari frowned. ' _I might just go to Mom's after this…_ '

After Sanae crafted the gohei, she let the ambient holy energy flow into it, applying the strengthening and the holy attributes. Streaks of light softly flowed from the candles and talismans along the border of the circle she'd laid out.

The finished gohei… didn't look any different.

Sanae smiled apprehensively. "Well… It'll do, I-"

The border of the enchantment circle suddenly shot to life with vibrant, rainbow-colored, energy.

"A-ah!?" Sanae stood up, glancing around in surprise.

Beams from the candles suddenly shot forth, connecting with the gohei.

Sanae, mystified, watched the gohei glow brightly.

Once the beams ended, the gohei was left with a vibrant, rainbow sheen throughout, and the talisman paper was lit up.

"...W-wow…" With an intent stare on the gohei, Sanae swung it around a bit. "...C-can I keep it?"

"No." Hikari walked up to her, and plucked it from her hand.

' _W-woah…_ ' Hikari felt energy travel from the gohei, into her.

 _Hikari obtained Miracle Gohei!_

...Hikari swung it around. Small after images of rainbow energy were left in the air as she did so.

' _Awesome!_ ' She grinned like a kid on christmas morning. ' _So this is the power of miracles…_ '

"Awwh…" Sanae pouted. "That was the best one I made yet, though… I-I'll trade you my old one!" She held up her gohei, which had a flat paper on it, as opposed to the zigzag design she tried to replicate with the talisman paper.

"...No, thanks." Hikari shook her head. "Not my style."

With that, Hikari began to move out of the room. "Thanks for the gohei."

Sanae watched her go, looking conflicted.

Hikari moved through the main room of the shrine.

Kanako was standing, waiting for her. "If you think you can just walk into our shrine-"

"Hi." Hikari began moving past her.

Surprised, the wind goddess moved to grapple her, but Hikari ran past her. Applying wind to herself, Hikari began running from the front door of the shrine.

"Get back here!" Kanako began flying after her.

"B-bye!" Hikari managed, gradually picking up speed.

Bounding down the mountain path, she began thinking of the dim hall her friends would likely be in…

"Oo~h?" Kanako flew up behind her. "Impressive application of wind magic… for a rookie."

Hikari didn't pay her any mind.

The wind goddess smirked. "However, I'm going to have to put a stop to this, Hakurei. I need to have a word with you."

Hikari continued accelerating, still ignoring her.

"...I said-"

Hikari tried Teleport α!

KraKoo~m!

Flinching, Kanako scanned the area for the miko. She then let a small squall of wind flow outward from her, searching the entire mountain's surface for her…

"...Gone?" She was bemused. "...Hakurei are mysterious, indeed."

...Suwako poked her head out from under a nearby rock. "Was it everything you expected, and more?"

Kanako scowled at her.

She grinned back.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

KraKoo~m!

Hikari found herself in the dark halls of Nitori's labs once again. She tried to skid to a stop, but the metal proved a weirder substance than she thought, and she slid to her butt.

"Oof…"

...Looking around, she was at a loss.

' _Dim lighting, along with all these halls looking the same, really doesn't help…_ '

One of the doors ahead opened, and Nitori rushed out, holding a gun of some description.

Vrrrrr~!

She shot a laser into the room she came from.

"Gwaa~rgh!"

Eyes widening, Nitori slammed the door shut.

…

Boom!

The door bulged.

…

"...Phew." Nitori backed up, and leaned against the wall on the opposite side of the hall. Looking around, she noticed Hikari. "...A-ah! What are you doing outside the room?"

"Exploring." Hikari shrugged.

' _Not really, because it'd be a terrible idea here._ '

"You really shouldn't." Nitori frowns. "I'd feel really guilty if something blew you up…"

' _I'd feel really_ dead _if something blew me up._ ' Hikari mentally countered. ' _There's a slight difference in severity, here…_ '

"Are you lost?" Nitori asks. "Here, I'll lead you back to the room…"

Following behind, they eventually arrived back at the bedroom. Nitori opened the door, and walked inside…

Osamu was jumping on one of the beds, Hiyori was meditating on one, and Marigold seemed to have taken one of the windows off the wall and was examining the dim lights on the other side.

"..." Nitori smiled awkwardly. "I see you're all awake…"

Osamu's attention was suddenly garnered. "Hikari! Where the hell've you been?"

Hikari held up her glowing, new gohei.

His eyes light up. "Dude, sweet!"

Marigold trots over from her project nearby. "That looks pretty potent. Where'd you get that from?"

"I would figure the kappa made it." Hiyori guessed.

Hikari shook her head. "I teleported back to the Moriya Shrine, and had Sanae make me a new gohei. I told her you all died gruesomely, so she was happy to help."

Osamu guffawed. "Aa~hahahaha~!"

"...Thanks for the vote of confidence." Marigold scoffed.

Hiyori shook her head. "I don't entirely approve of that, but I suppose nothing can be done, now."

' _Lighten up, you._ ' Hikari didn't feel like it was worth commenting on.

Soon, there was silence. Nitori sensed it, and capitalized.

"...Do you guys wanna go now, or do you wanna see some of my stuff?" She tilted her head.

"Yeah- uhm… no." Osamu declined.

Marigold glanced at him. "...Sorry about him. I would be-"

"Let's not." Hikari decided.

' _That scene I just saw convinced me that there's nothing I need to see here._ '

Hiyori didn't comment, indifferent.

Nitori shrugged. "That's all right. I'll show you guys my latest stuff next time you come by!"

' _I'm not sure what to make of that._ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

The elevator ride up was a lot slower.

"So…" Nitori began conversation, sensing more silence. "Do you do any incident solving yet, friend?"

Hikari blinked. "...Technically."

Nitori nodded. "...Well, I might have a job for you, then…"

The elevator hit the surface... and all around the party was the tattered remains of robots, along with puddles of oil and other magical fluids.

Osamu's jaw dropped.

Hiyori's eyes widened slightly. "...It seems there was a battle up here."

"Yea~h…" Marigold walked off the elevator, and gingerly scanned the wreckage around them. "Uhm…"

Nitori pulled out a watch from one of her pockets, and put it on. She pressed a few buttons, and a large shovel extended from it. Then, she began scooping some of the fallen robots out of the way.

' _Oh, okay._ '

"We had visitors and stuff, last night." Nitori begins, "My sentries made short work of them, but _da~ng._ You guys shoulda been up and with me when I watched the cameras. It was like one of those world war things I heard the outside has!"

' _That's reassuring…_ '

"They all came fro~m…" Nitori pauses, and point to the right. "About around that way. Tengu are supposed to be dealing with it, but, you know…" She raises a hand, and tilts it back and forth. "You might wanna check it out. These sentries only have so many rounds."

"Definitely." Hikari nods. "Let's go, guys."

She began moving in the direction Nitori gave.

Nitori tilted her head. "...Already? Didn't you guys just wake up?"

Osamu paused, slowly grinning. "...When ya put it like that…"

Hiyori began pulling him by his robe. "We'll be alright. Fare travels, Nitori."

"You too!" Nitori smiles as she waves back, the party departing for the woods ahead.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Hikari and her party kept a low profile as they progressed into the woods.

"Tapdancing fuck monkeys." Osamu gaped at the chaos before them.

Autumn leaves and clumps of snow caked the ground, accompanied by-

Boom!

-exploding robot parts, and the blood of enraged tengu patrol guards.

"Aim!"

A decorated tengu guard, clad in multiple shields, held his arm out. Lasers flew at him from nearby UFOs, but he simply stood and took it.

Agile crow tengu darted from behind trees, aiming their bows at the impending machines.

The arrows whirled through the air, and stuck into the sides of multiple whirling robots and flying saucers. A few whirled to the floor, exploding on contact. Afterward, wolf tengu descended from above, and engaged the remaining robots with their swords.

Hiyori, however, was more offput by Osamu's crude expression. "Genuinely…"

"Look…" Marigold pointed to the sky.

A band of pink saucers flew in from seemingly nowhere, flanking the tengu guards.

The decorated tengu captain grinned. "They're flanking us, men! Send out the signal!"

A few archers with ribbons around their arms aimed up at the sky, and sent glowing arrows straight up, which promptly exploded into harmless blasts of magic in the sky.

Then, a group of tengu archers and swordsmen flew in from the woods below and engaged the incoming flank party, flanking them.

To their dismay, even more soaring discs came from the clouds above, flanking the flank party who was supposed to flank the flanking team.

"We got triple flanked! Damn it!" The captain grimaced, tightening his fists.

"...Let's _not_ get involved in that." Hikari quietly looks to her party.

"Agreed…" Marigold nods.

"I don't know what just happened... but I think we should get the fuck up outta here." Osamu fearfully watched the chaotic battle commence, devolving into a mix of explosions and blood splatters.

Carefully minding their steps, the four progress through the brush towards the general direction the robots came from…

The bushes shimmered violently in front of them. A tengu landed in it, knocked from the air.

"Oh, damn!" Osamu freezes. "Du~de… That almost hit us!"

A quick glance-over revealed the blonde tengu had seen better days, deep gashes running along her entire body, the light in her hazel eyes fading.

"U-uhk…" She let out a gurgle, jaw shaking.

Hikari looks slightly concerned. "...I don't think she's okay."

Hiyori tried Lifeup ß!

Over the course of a minute, the tengu guard began looking more awake, and alert. "Hwaa~h…"

She sat up, and looked around. She looked at the party…

...Hikari gave her an awkward smile.

She furrowed her brows. "What… are you four doing here? This-"

"We healed you." Marigold interrupted her.

She blinked. "...Fr-from what?"

Marigold pointed up.

The tengu looked up, and her eyes were filled with the ongoing battle. "O-oh, shit! The fight! I can't believe I forgot! What was I even doing…?"

She shot up from the brush, moving to engage again.

"...I don't think she remembered getting hit and falling." Marigold stared curiously as the tengu left.

Hiyori shrugged. "She must have suppressed it."

' _That's probably not very good. Especially if she gets shot up and actually dies, this time._ ' Hikari sighs. ' _There's not a lot I can do about a battle this massive, though…_ '

Continuing, the party eventually escapes the sounds and visuals of active combat, using the woods to traverse the path ahead, as well as avoid the incoming robots waves.

"So many…" Marigold marveled. "Where did all of these resources come from?"

' _...That's a good question._ '

Exploration coupled with darting around mounds of dirt-caked mud eventually delivered the party to the outer walls of a large, metallic facility.

"...Here we are." Hikari sighs.

The party scans the walls, and see various catwalks and paths on the upper portions. Additionally, they sight numerous doors and windows along the ground floor…

"We have options." Marigold announces.

"We're gonna bring back the big bang disaster!" Osamu cracks his knuckles. "Screw robots!"

' _...How can we bring it back, if it never existed to begin with?_ '

"...Should we just walk into a side door?" Marigold considers.

Hikari shrugs. "We could try."

' _We might as well. I'm having flashbacks to when I had to break into the school…_ '

That course of action was what they did. Until, of course, they reached the side door, and discovered it was locked.

' _We have ways of dealing with locked doors, now…_ '

Hikari struck the solid, metal door with her glowing gohei.

Bo~ng!

...Marigold just gave her a strained scoff.

Hikari shrugged.

Hiyori walked up to the door, and knocked on it.

Osamu chuckled. "Dude, they're fuckin' robots. They're not just gonna open up 'cause you rang the doorbell. Actually…"

Osamu tried Offense Up α!

Hikari froze. As great as the welling strength felt... "No. We're _not_ doing that."

He folded his arms.

Hiyori punched the door.

Bam!

...It vibrated, and a dent was left.

Hiyori blinked. "...Stronger than I anticipated."

Bam! Bam! Boom!

After enough abuse, she punched a hole in the metal door. However, it was only big enough for her arm, so she began to expand it. She used her arms to rip and tear into it, stretching the gap…

"Hrrgh…" She grunted. "Wh-what is this made out of…?"

Osamu tried Offense Up α!

Suddenly, the task got far easier, and her arms pushed the metal out of the way with more ease than before.

"...Ah. Thanks." She recognized Osamu's effort.

"That's what they call magic, baby! Yea~h!" He pumped his fist in the air.

Hikari gingerly steps inside, and looks around…

The door lead to an empty, but expansive, store room. Crates, cranes, and other such objects littered the factory floor, not currently in use. The noise of mechanical activity, and the hefty push and pull of machines could be heard coming from beyond the far wall, however.

To the party, though, this all may as well have been pretty decor.

"Du~de…" Osamu looked around, smiling. "Do you think they store giant meats in here!?"

Hiyori grinned. "...To rephrase your statement from earlier, 'they're robots'."

"Not just robots." Marigold held up a finger. " _'Fucking'_ robots, as it were. Pardon my french, but… that would explain many things."

' _Pffft…_ ' Hikari can't help but grin, herself.

Inside the factory, the four move aimlessly through the walkways and aisles of the seemingly abandoned storeroom.

' _Seemingly. Also, I wouldn't exactly call it 'abandoned'..._ '

Cardboard boxes fell from around a corner, and a whirling robot revealed itself.

"VeeHeerVeeeHeerr…" The machine whirred, spinning in place.

' _One of_ these _things..._ '

The torso and treads of the robot spun independently of each other. Its arms moved up and down haphazardly.

"...Tactical." Marigold noted. "I'm sure we'll have trouble."

Both arms lifted, and two lasers were fired from each, directed at the party.

Hikari, having anticipated she'd be targeted, promptly moved out of the way, the laser grazing her loosely.

' _I've gotten better at getting out of the way of those beams. It's not hard, when your main focus is not getting brutally impaled._ '

Hiyori's eyes widened at the immediate display, when another laser was shot towards her, striking her in the gut.

"H-hhh…" Hiyori hissed, gritting her teeth.

Within a moment, the laser burned right through her stomach, leaving a gaping hole as it dispersed, charred flesh surrounding the gap.

Hikari's eyes widened. ' _Wo-woah!_ '

Hikari tried Lifeup ß!

Hiyori slowly fell to her knees, as her wound and inner stomach regenerated itself, gritting her teeth hard enough for the party to hear.

Osamu took offense to the robot's harassment of the party.

Osamu tried PK Thunder ß!

Thwaa~sh!

A box, somewhere in parts unknown, was completely annihilated.

Thwaa~sh!

The robot was struck by the bolt, and fizzled out, the lights on its head going dim.

"No disassembly required!" Osamu struck a pose.

Marigold put a hand on Hiyori's shoulder. "Are… you okay?"

Hiyori nods. "Yes… I was taken by surprise, is all."

' _Famous last words._ ' Hikari kept that comment to herself, however. ' _That's what a lot of warriors might say the moment after they die._ '

…

' _I've read books._ ' Hikari tried to justify her mental comment.

Overhead, large pink saucers materialized in the room's airspace. A shimmering effect slowly dissipated from the metal, hinting at some form of cloaking technology.

Faint, blue, psychic power shields were present around each of the saucers, as well.

Hikari stared up at the three saucers. "That's… not very good."

"Ho~h, shit…!" Osamu grinned up at them sheepishly. "How the fuck do they even fit in here?"

Then, the party was bombarded by lasers from above.

"Take cover!" Marigold shrilled, running for some boxes herself, diving behind them.

' _Wh-where!?_ '

Hikari's thigh was pierced by a laser, there being too many for her to dodge. "Ha- aa~h…"

' _Tsss… That sti~ngs so bad…!_ '

Osamu got pelted by two lasers, sending him to the floor.

"Ack-!" Thud.

Hiyori moved to follow Marigold's example, getting clipped in the arm as she does so. She doesn't react much, however.

After nearing some crates, she turned, and decided to go on the offense.

Hiyori tried PK Freeze ß!

KaKa-KaKaKoo~...

The icicles were all repelled by the psychic power shield, for the most part. The magic energy shot back towards Hiyori, who tried to dodge it, but it pierced her anyway.

"Hngh!"

She was sent stumbling into the boxes behind her.

' _O-Osamu…?_ '

Hikari tried Lifeup ß!

...Osamu sat up, his back caked in blood. "Holy fuck! Dude there's fuckin' _lasers!_ Shit!"

He scrambled backwards, looking for more boxes.

Marigold judged her options, unsure of how to proceed, since more of her weapons did magical damage.

She paused, and pulled out the Electric Projector.

"If this doesn't work…" She stares intently at it, as she turns the dial mid way and aims it up at the large saucers.

On activation, arrows of electricity soar towards the shield of one. The shield flickers from each impact, before it eventually falls from the concentrated electric disruption.

However, Marigold is forced to take cover as the saucers fire another storm of lasers downward.

She winces at the many, many pinging noises echoing from her metal crate cover.

Hiyori lifts one of the large metal crates, and uses it to deflect incoming lasers.

Hikari, however, wasn't so lucky, caught out in the open. She found her chest pierced, twice. "Gh-fuaagh!"

Hikari fell over onto the floor, crippling pain forcing her eyes to water.

' _Nh-no…!_ '

Once the barrage ended, Hiyori furrowed her brows, throwing the crate aside.

Hiyori tried Lifeup ß!

...Hikari sat up, wiping the tears from her eyes, as she glanced at Osamu, who was once again lying on the floor.

"Egh…" Hikari backpedalled on all four limbs, and focused on Osamu...

Hikari tried Lifeup γ!

In a flash, Osamu was up again, running in the opposite direction. "Get me the hell outta here!"

' _Everything hurts…_ ' Hikari was having a bad day.

He passed Marigold and Hiyori, the former pulling him behind cover.

Hiyori tried PK Fire ß!

Fwoo~m!

The unprotected saucer was enveloped by flames. After a few moments, it began drifting to the floor, before it slowly ceased spinning.

' _Th-that seems to have worked…_ '

Hikari got up from the floor, and began making her way to the cover, herself.

Marigold popped out from the cover to fire more electric arrows at the saucers. In moments, another shield was down.

Osamu grinned. "Y'should call that the Shield Killer! Du~de!"

Marigold stared at him dryly. "...You just nearly died twice, and _that's_ what you have to say?"

Hikari joined them behind the cover, breathing deeply.

Marigold turned to her. "...Are you okay?"

Hikari smiled. "No."

"...I wouldn't be, either." The magi scratched her cheek.

High-class UFO C tried PSI Shield α!

High-class UFO B was protected by the pale blue, psychic shield!

Hiyori narrowed her eyes, realizing she missed her chance to cast again.

Once more, a barrage of lasers was thrown at the party. This time, however, everyone had respectable cover. Hiyori still defended herself the manual way with another nearby crate.

' _So many lasers…_ '

Once the light show ended, Hiyori looked down at her crate, and threw it up at the remaining discs.

Cla~ng!

The stricken UFO wobbled in the air.

Hikari paused. '...That gives me an idea.'

Marigold dropped the power shield of high-class UFO C with sustained fire from her Shield Killer.

Running up to the team oni, Hikari made a request. "You. Toss me at them."

Hiyori blinked. "...That's implausible."

' _Ugh…_ '

Hikari glared. "I can take it!"

Taken aback by the reserved girl's outburst, Hiyori blinks again. "...As you wish, then…"

She lifted Hikari carefully, the miko's bottom resting in her palm. Then, she tossed her upward.

"A-aah!" Hikari channeled what wind she could to control her flight path up towards the slow saucers, and eventually landed on the top of one.

The lasers began again, but none of them were able to aim at Hikari.

Unable to grab any boxes in time, Hiyori ended up getting pelted in the side by two lasers.

"Guaagh!"

She fell into the pile of crates.

"Oh, shit…!" Osamu hit the crate he was propped up against. "These damn things…"

Hikari, kneeling atop a saucer, began to give it her all.

Clo~ng! Bo~ng! Cla~ng!

The gohei seemingly didn't do a terrible amount of damage outside of denting, at first. Then-

SMAAAA~SH!

The saucer's top exploded on impact, sending Hikari flying.

"Waah!"

Hikari fell onto a catwalk, striking the rail with her back.

"Eckh!"

' _O-ooww…_ '

...She stumbled forward, and grabbed the other rail.

' _This sucks…_ '

Back with the party, Marigold aimed her Shield Killer at the last remaining saucer, stripping it of its shield.

Osamu edged as close as he could get to the edge of the cover, and glared up at the saucer. "Let's see how you like being frozen!"

Osamu tried PK Freeze γ!

KaKaKa~...

The snowflake pattern of ice crystals formed once again, encasing part of the UFO.

Blam!

It was stricken by a raw blast of frosty air and ice magic, but the UFO merely wobbled in response.

"...Apparently a little." Osamu sighed.

Hiyori stumbled up to their cover, her side bleeding. "Wh-what are these attacks…?"

Hiyori tried Lifeup ß!

Her side began healing, but she felt somewhat more fatigued than before.

"Fuckin' sci-fi laser bullshit!" Osamu cursed.

Hiyori pushed the top crate of the cover off, and prepared her attack.

Hiyori tried PK Fire α!

Fwoom.

A small waft of flames erupted atop the UFO. It slowly spread, stripping it of its various processes, before it slowly hovered off into a wall.

Bam!

It exited through the wall, before exploding somewhere outside. The previously dim room was now filled with sunlight.

…

Marigold sighed. "That was… messy."

Hiyori examined her gi, and frowned at the new streams of blood on it. "Quite."

...Osamu furrowed his brows. "Where's Hikari?"

On cue, Hikari slid from one of the nearby stacks of crates, sitting on one to ride down. Although, considering the steep nature of the cube-like stacks of crates-

Thud.

-it was more like she fell down. She sat atop a crate, regardless.

"...I'm back."

Hiyori sighed. "I was worried that I would have gotten you hurt, by doing that."

"Me too." Hikari stepped off the crate. "It worked, at least…"

After that debacle, the party was on the move, again. The four teenagers- actually…

Hikari turned to Hiyori as they walked down the marginally quieter aisles of the large store room. "How old are you?"

...Caught off-guard, Hiyori paused. "...I believe… one-thousand and five, or so."

' _...Oh. Okay._ '

"Pffft…" Osamu glanced at Hiyori incredulously. "One _thousand_ and five!? Dude, you're like, old enough to be my dad's dad's… dad's dad! My _grand dad!_ "

' _...She's probably many centuries older than just your, uh, grandfather…_ '

Hiyori stared at him. "...How did human age work, again? Rather… how old are you?"

Osamu beamed. "I'm like, eighteen…! Dude, we could take you to a history museum and be like-"

"Seventeen." Marigold answered, giving Osamu a dry stare.

Hikari spoke. "Eighteen."

…

"You're all as old as infants…" Hiyori considers, vaguely surprised. "...When does old age set in?"

Marigold supplies her the information. "About sixty or seventy, for humans. From what I know, anyway. I shouldn't quite have that problem, as a mage."

The party found a door out of the room, and it opened easily enough. They proceeded into a hallway…

"Wait, how old do mages live to?" Osamu was suddenly curious.

Marigold tilted her head… "I'm… not sure, to be honest. One of my mother's is one hundred or so, I believe… but my other ones are in their forties."

"Hold on, hold on, hold on…" Osamu held up his hands. " _Who's_ a hundred, now!?"

' _You can't say we don't have variety._ '

Before long, the party arrived at a ramp, one of which went down.

Way down.

' _Way, way down…_ '

The diagonal hallway went downwards at a forty degree angle for an expansive distance. The hall itself, a rather mundane white color.

"What the hell…" Osamu glares down the immense linear path. "Who's idea was this stupid hallway?"

"Aliens." Hikari decides.

He paused. "Well… You'd _think_ they'd make less insane hallways."

"Aliens." Marigold declares.

Finally, he rolled his eyes. "Aliens probably need good architecture, too!"

' _I somehow doubt that…_ '

Before the party, two flashes of bright, artificial light stop their progression.

"Speaking of aliens…" Marigold mutters.

Two tall grey figures stand before the party, their pitch-black helmets perfectly reflecting the four's curious stares. 

Hikari recognized them. ' _Those things… they're like that strange figure the other evening._ '

She'd never forget the evening she had a talking, magic-slinging pet bee that saved her from a giant metal man-youkai thing.

' _I remember them being robots… I think. Their insides glow, and stuff._ '

"State_your_purpose." The rightmost being monotoned loudly.

Hiyori levelly stares at it. "We've come to put an end to this."

The two humanoids turned their heads, to face one another. Then, they looked out at the party again. "Hakurei_detected. We_thank_you_for_your_cooperation."

' _Um?_ '

The two ends of the hall light up, forcefields preventing entry and exit.

Then, a section of walling opened up at the hall's halfway point. From it, a giant, round robot waddled out.

The party stared at it as it slowly waddled up the ramp in an attempt to approach them.

Grey Figure A tried Teleport Ω!

Grey Figure B tried Teleport Ω!

The two humanoids vanished in blue light, a trail of smaller blue lights continuing down the hall, past the robot.

…

"Nice robot." Osamu snarks.

The robot continues to waddle towards the party, slowly.

…

After a moment, it fired a single laser towards Hikari, who was taken by surprise.

The flesh of her lower torso singed from the low power laser.

"Hgh…" She flailed her limbs as she moved away from the beam. "Ouuwhh…"

Hiyori tried Lifeup α!

Hikari felt better quickly, her burns reversing.

"Hmmm…" Hiyori hummed in a displeased manner, then drew a canteen from her gi. Popping the top off, she chugged it down.

Marigold aimed her NF Burst Gun at the robot, and fired.

Pat-patter-pat-pat-patter!

The robot lost its footing, and began rolling backwards, down towards the lower force field.

Marigold blinked. "...Oh."

"Haa~h…" Hiyori finished her canteen of water. "There we are."

The robot reached the end of the ramp, and collided with the force field.

BOOM

After an ear-piercingly loud blast, which made the party collectively jump, an immense surge of flames rushed up the shaft, towards the party.

' _Woah woah woah…!_ ' Hikari blanched at the sight, shielding herself with her arms.

"Woa-aaahhh~!" Osamu began screaming.

Osamu tried PSI Shield Σ!

The party was protected by the pale blue, psychic shield!

...It didn't necessarily do a lot to protect them from the oncoming flames, however, but every little bit helps.

Fwoom!

' _Haa~h…_ ' Hikari let her mouth open, emitting a strained breath, as the flames finally died down. The blast was brief, at the very least.

"Wh-why even…?" Marigold stuttered, clothes singed.

"Fuck. Me~. Dude…" Osamu brushed himself off. "That robot went _nuclear_ on our asses…"

Proceeding down the ramp, the grey, suited figures appeared once again.

"Auto_defense_failure_detected." The right-most one communicated again. "Commencing_manual_operation."

Hikari glared at them. ' _After that last stunt, I've already had it up to_ here _with these things…_ '

She ran towards them, making sure to approach from the side.

Hiyori decided to take the other side, unwilling to let Hikari engage the enemy in melee combat on her own.

Grey Figure B tried PSI Shield α!

Grey Figure A was protected by a pale blue psychic shield!

"Magi_identified. Commencing_mana_transfer."

Grey Figure A tried PSI Magnet α!

Blue and purple rectangles shot along the floor to Marigold, and ran up her body. They then traveled back to the grey figure.

...Marigold blinked. "...I'm not sure what that did, but I don't think I like it."

Osamu perked up, remembering something. "Dude! I can do that too!"

"...Oh, yea~h…" Marigold remembered it, too. "It's a mana stealing thing, isn't it?"

It was then, that Osamu realized what the enemy was doing. "...Oh, shit! They're tryin'a take all your magic!"

"...That's a bad thing?" Marigold half-smirked.

Osamu tried PSI Magnet α!

The rectangles stole the mana back from Grey Figure A, and brought it to Osamu.

"Yeah, fuck you." Osamu gave it the middle finger.

...The figure, in response, shot two lasers at him from each arm. His psychic shield slowed them enough to barely graze them.

"...You missed, asshole!" Osamu grinned.

Hikari and Hiyori, now having sufficiently flanked the two grey figures, turned to attack.

Hikari brought her Miracle Gohei against the inner knee of one.

Thunk.

…

' _That… was underwhelming. What are these things made out of…?_ '

Hiyori moved to punch the other one in the back-

Grey Figure B tried Teleport Ω!

-promptly hitting nothing.

"Tch…" Hiyori scowled. "Teleportation?"

"Close_combat_is_unauthorized_against_target_class_Hakurei_X_4." The figure responded, now behind Marigold and Osamu.

"Du-wah!?" Osamu flailed his limbs, whirling around. "The fuck?"

Marigold aimed her NF Burst Gun at it, and opened fire.

The bullets pelted the figure's body, doing little. Then, she focused on the figure's head, the bullets leaving glowing marks on its helmet.

"Zzzsspph!"

The figure lethargically moved its arms.

Grey Figure B tried Teleport Ω!

It appeared behind Hikari and Hiyori, who noticed right away due to the blue trail of light that traced its movement.

Hiyori stared at it, judging whether or not to attempt engaging it again…

Hikari decided to experiment again, however.

' _This should work…!_ '

Hikari leaped onto the back of the tall grey figure she attempted to attack previously, and used its rigid body to leap towards the other one, brandishing her gohei in the air.

"Hya~h!"

SMAAAA~SH!

The helmet's black screen cracked open, revealing what Hikari could only describe as machinery inside.

' _...It looks like a slot, or something._ ' She wasn't sure what to make of that, either.

"Zzzsshhshshph!"

The static-like noise emitted from the figure again. Hiyori assumed it meant some variation of panic, so she moved to punch it.

SMAAAA~SH!

A solid blow to the torso crumpled the figure, the clattering of machinery a contrast to the organic way the body lurched to the floor.

The remaining figure held a featureless arm to the air, and with a small flash of light, obtained a pill from parts unknown.

"Combat_status_critical." The figure reported.

Osamu nodded, pleased. "You _bet_ it's fuckin' critical. Your buddy's dead, dude."

The figure held the pill vaguely near where a mouth would have been on its face. A few streams of electricity met it, and then the pill was no more.

Grey Figure A is now immune to critical hits!

' _These things… what exactly are they? I know it's a weird time to truly question it, but…_ '

It was at that moment the ceiling above the rampway fell inwards.

Bam!

The party backed away from the rubble, which fell near the grey figure. The grey figure didn't react to the resulting dust and debris at all, barring the subtle shifting of its head.

" _There_ you are…!"

The battered, and somewhat singed figure of Momiji stood, her expression furious.

Hikari blinked. ' _...This place didn't look particularly easy to get into. From the front, anyway._ '

The wolf tengu warily eyed the grey figure for a moment, before glaring at it. "...Who are _you_ supposed to be, as well? Do you manage this _eyesore?"_

The figure spoke. "We_are_the_Star_Men."

…

' _That's nice._ '

"Answer my second question." Momiji demanded.

"We_are_the_Starmen."

She snarled. "Don't play stupid with me! Are you the leader, here!?"

"Classified." The Starman spoke.

Fed up with its responses, Momiji attacked at blurring speeds.

Swish-swish-swoosh!

Each slash pierced the sleek, grey suit, exposing very little but inner machinery. The machinery was damaged as well, parts dropping off from each impact.

"Zzzssspphh!"

Starman tried Teleport Ω!

It traveled further down the hall, past Hikari and Hiyori.

"You're not getting away _that_ easily!" Momiji growled.

She leaped over the two girls, then soared at the Starman.

It began raising its arms, into a guarding position, but the lethargic control of its limbs didn't do it any favors.

Shi~ng!

Thunk!

...Momiji lodged her blade in the helmet of the Starman.

"Zzsshhhh…"

Electricity cackled for a few moments, and then ceased. The Starman stopped moving.

...A few moments of staring confirmed to the tengu that the being was dead. As dead as something mechanical could be, in any case.

She leapt up, and retrieved her sword. Her glare settled on the party. Specifically, at Hiyori.

"You have a lot of nerve, oni. I had thought your species was _against_ cheap tricks."

Hiyori frowned. "I never said I wanted to fight you, either."

Momiji scoffed. "An oni, without a thirst for battle? You're a liar, too, then…"

"I've taken up Buddhism." Hiyori argued.

...

The wolf tengu stepped forward at a slow pace. "Do you know what _hell_ I've been through just to get my unit here? To be the only team who could make it past the seemingly endless waves of… _machines?_ "

She stopped, still a fair distance away. "After all of that, I find _you_ here, somehow. And you have the utter gall to tell me _jokes._ "

…

"Y'know there was a back entrance, right?" Osamu piped up. "With a, uh… hole. That we left… in… it?"

He trailed off, noticing Momiji begin stepping towards them again, holding her blade ready.

Hiyori sighed.

The tengu began power walking. "You…"

Reluctantly, Hiyori brought her hands together…

"Don't you mess with me!" Momiji barked, dashing towards the party.

The oni cracked her knuckles.

The tengu quickly closed the distance between herself and the oni. Her focus was not on the other party members in the slightest, at this moment.

Except maybe Osamu, but she didn't prioritize him, at any rate.

Hiyori shielded her face with her arms, uncaring of the rest of her body. Momiji let loose a flurry of slashes upon reaching her.

Swish-swish-swoosh!

Slices were left on Hiyori's arms, but she didn't pay them much mind.

Momiji grinned, and readied for a lunge. "This is the end!"

' _...It seems a little early to be saying that, even._ ' Hikari tilted her head. ' _You hardly even hurt her with the first attack._ '

Hiyori sidestepped, and moved to grab the blade, but Momiji retracted it too fast.

"Hmph…" The white wolf tengu grimaced. "Again."

Hikari tensed, but promptly relaxed.

' _Wait for it…_ '

Marigold glanced at Hikari. "Should… we do something? This seems pretty personal."

Osamu shrugged. "I dunno."

Swish-swish-swoosh!

Three slashes went for Hiyori's face again, and once more she blocked with both arms, receiving gashes. To an oni, however, gashes were flesh wounds.

Momiji readied to jab again. "Now!"

Hikari tried Shield α!

Hiyori was protected by the shield of light!

Momiji's jab was sidestepped again. This time, however, she was also slowed by the shield's field, allowing for Hiyori to grab the blade, and rip it from the tengu's hands with one swift pull.

"Wh-what…!?" Momiji bared her teeth. "How!?"

...She attempted to grapple it from Hiyori, which was a lost cause. The oni pushed her away, and grabbed both ends of the sword…

Realizing exactly what she was doing, Momiji had an adrenaline rush. "Don't you dare!"

Tossing her shield aside and baring her claws, she threw herself at Hiyori. Hiyori turned around, and let her back take the beastly attack.

Then, she bent the sword in half. It took only a few seconds.

...Hiyori blinked. "...Not made out of adamantite, it seems. Come to think of it, I've never seen it, either. This has to be steel, or something. I thought this would've taken longer."

She tosses the sword aside, and it bounces down the ramp slightly before coming to a stop.

Momiji paused, watching it clatter.

"...Y-you…"

' _...You know, I feel like an idiot, now._ '

Hikari tried Hypnosis α!

Energy rippled around the wolf tengu, but she merely shook it off.

' _Oh._ '

...Momiji threw herself at Hiyori again, but was quickly dissuaded by a few powerful pushes.

"Tch… I-I can't fight on, like this…" Momiji shook her head. "...This isn't over."

With that, the tengu fled through the hole she made in the ceiling.

…

Hiyori sighed.

"...Well." Marigold began walking forward. "That happened."

"...Is it really so implausible?" Hiyori wondered.

Marigold faced her. "Hmm?"

"That an oni could be peaceful?"

...Marigold shrugged. "Ee~h… It goes against most things I've heard about them, but I don't see why not. I go against a lot of things people've heard about mages."

Osamu points a thumb to his chest, smirking. "And _I'm_ -"

Hikari cuts him off. "I think the same could be said about all of us."

Osamu deflates, giving her a flat stare.

' _I think we've had enough moments where we reflected on the fact that we're all weirdoes. It should be kinda obvious by now._ '

The party pressed onward to the end of the hall, where a forcefield still stood.

Marigold brought out her Shield Killer, and tried it. The arrows of electricity were merely absorbed by the field.

"Hmph…" Marigold was displeased.

Hikari eyed the bars on the sides of the door. "...Osamu."

His attention was snagged. "You rang?"

"Do you think you can freeze those?" Hikari pointed at the bar, where the energy seemed to emit from.

Osamu shrugged. "Lemme try…"

Osamu tried PK Freeze γ!

KaKaKa~...

The snowflake pattern of ice formed in front of the bar.

Blam!

...Some of the bar was frozen, but it didn't do much. The field was simply interrupted in a few places, creating gaps too small to fit through.

' _Hmm…_ ' Hikari walked up to it, and struck the frozen bits.

Once they broke, the bar began sparking, light coursing through it. Hikari backed away…

FwZap!

The bar short circuited, the energy in it destabilized. The other bar stayed on, but the force field itself flickered out.

Marigold grinned. "Science."

' _The science of destroying things, to be exact._ '

The party continued into the room ahead, and got a good eyeful of it…

Ladders, ledges, and platforms. Everywhere.

Osamu's jaw dropped. "...Du~de."

Hikari shook her head. ' _They've discovered our one true weakness. Ladders._ '

"How big is this place!?" Marigold was taken aback.

...The party got to work navigating the maze of jagged architecture, machinery, and pristine purple floor tiles.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

It was hours later, that the party escaped that 'room'.

"G-get in, get in!" Hikari held a hefty, yet smoothly hinged steel door open.

"Nope, nope, nope!" Osamu threw himself inside, while Hiyori dragged in a frazzled Marigold, whose legs were limp.

The horde of round robots outside began striking each other with lasers.

Hikari swung the door shut, and began running.

' _Go, go go go…!_ '

…

The resulting roar drowned out the party's hearing.

Osamu looked around the room, an incredulous grin creeping up his face. He spoke, but his words were lost.

' _If I could hear him, I'm sure he'd be saying something stupid right now…_ '

Hiyori laid Marigold down on the floor, who just stared up at the ceiling dryly.

Hiyori tried Lifeup ß!

…

Marigold sat up, and lifted one of her limp legs with her arms, and shook her head.

' _Uhm…_ '

Hikari tried Lifeup γ!

…

Marigold's legs began twitching, and within the minute, she managed to stumble to her feet. She smiled, and made an 'okay' sign with her fingers.

...The roar of noise finally died down.

' _I hope we're not deaf after that…_ '

Hikari's ears were still ringing.

Hiyori spoke, but Hikari didn't hear anything.

' _...Am-am I actually deaf?_ '

Osamu stuck a finger in his ear, and twisted it.

Marigold looked around at the other two, and shrugged.

Hiyori tilted her head, and said more words.

...Hikari sighed. "We're deaf." She tells Hiyori.

...Hiyori says one word, one that was easy enough for Hikari to make out.

"Oh."

Hikari tried Healing ß!

...The ringing lessened.

"Speak again." Hikari requested.

"C- -ar m-?" Hiyori asked.

...Hikari sighed, again. ' _Ugh… There's probably a third tier to that ability, but I have a feeling it's going to be costly…_ '

It was, however, better than being deaf, she felt.

Hikari tried Healing γ!

The ringing stopped, and she blinked.

Hiyori spoke again. "Can you hear me?"

...Hikari gave a half-smile. "Crystal. That healing, though… it really takes a lot out of me."

Hiyori tilted her head. "I could probably do it…"

"Do you have the third tier yet?" Hikari inquired.

...Hiyori looked puzzled. "Tiers? There was a method to this sort of thing?"

' _...That's real nice._ '

Hikari tried Healing γ!

"Hi." Hikari waves.

Marigold blinked. "...Thank goodness. I was afraid we didn't have anything, for that one…"

' _I'm getting tired…_ '

Hikari tried Healing γ!

"H-hey…" Hikari waved at Osamu.

Osamu blinked, and stared at his hands. "...Knew it. Only took you like, a minute to cure me. Swee~t."

' _...Why were you staring at your hands? Your ears were the-... whatever._ '

Exhausted, Hikari sighs.

...It was now, that the party got to take a good look around the dark room. As a whole, the room is featureless, but in the middle sits a large protrusion that extends to the back wall. It's a sharp rectangular platform, which rose from the floor. The platform was short enough to be climbed up onto, however.

"...So's this just another one of them empty rooms?" Osamu hazarded. "...I mean, I can dig it."

"There's actually a door, over there." Hiyori points atop the platform which was home to a door which sat upon the back wall.

"Cool, cool…" Osamu begins climbing up the platform…

Two flashes of blue light appear, and Osamu falls from the platform's side in surprise. "Woah!"

Two tall figures stood, one with a bright, golden suit. The other's suit was grey, but had spikes, seemingly without rhyme or reason to their positioning.

' _Starmen…_ ' Hikari narrowed her eyes. ' _There wasn't much but generic spinny bots and those exploding maniacs on the way here. We did face an occasional Starman, though, but they usually weren't a big problem._ '

She examined their suits. ' _...I don't know if different colored suits means anything, though._ '

"Starman_ _Deluxe_ _reporting. Hakurei_obtained." The spiky one spoke.

' _I don't feel like being obtained today, thank you._ '

"...A little early, to be saying things like that." Marigold props her hands on her hips. "It'd do you things good to know the concept of risk versus reward."

The yellow one communicated next. "Oh,_we_do! If_our_calculations_are_correct,_then_our_objectives_have_just_been_complete~d."

' _That yellow one seems more life-like._ ' Hikari noted. ' _...I feel like the one I saw back then was life-like, too._ '

"What would those objectives be?" Hiyori furrowed her brows at the tall, suited Starmen.

"Annihilation_of_the_chosen_one." Starman Deluxe stated. "Parameter_ordered_by_entity_zero-zero-zero-zero-zero:_Master_Giygas."

"...He_means_you." The yellow Starman pointed at Hikari.

"...I figured." Hikari huffed.

...A blue, psychic power shield formed around the two Starmen.

Osamu rolled his eyes. "Well, two can play this whole objective-shmejective game!"

Osamu tried PSI Shield Σ!

The party was protected by pale blue psychic shields!

"Uhhh- breaker breaker! Zero one thirteen! Over!" Osamu danced in place.

Marigold snorts. "That's- that's not even how it goes…"

Starman Deluxe raised its spiky arms, and aimed at the party, firing two intense beams. The shields slowed the beams enough to allow for grazes from Marigold and Hikari.

Marigold aimed her Shield Killer at it. "That's not going to work!"

The arrows of electricity stripped it of its power shield.

"Starman_Super_reporting. They're_hostile,_send_backup_immediately!" Starman Super, the one clad in yellow, called for backup.

Another stock-standard Starman appears in the room to assist the two.

"They're callin' for more!" Osamu glares at the yellow one. "Let's fuck 'em up!"

Hiyori moves to engage the Starman Super, but before she even got ready to attack, it evaded.

Starman Super tried Teleport Ω!

It moved across the room.

...Hiyori, then, tries to go for the one that just arrived next to it.

Starman tried Teleport Ω!

"...How irritating." She turned to the regular Starman, which was now also across the room.

Hiyori tried PK Freeze ß!

KaKa-KaKaKoo…

A pattern of icicles formed outside its suit, freezing and thawing rapidly.

Kra~ck!

The final blast clears the icicles from the Starman, exposing various deformities that occurred in the suit.

"Temperature_status_critical. Commencing_homeostasis."

The Starman didn't do anything, visibly.

Starman Super turned to it. "Operation_homeostasis_cancel. I've_got_something_better…"

Starman Super tried Healing Ω!

"Temperature_status_normal." It reports.

' _It seems like they have some kind of healing ability of their own…_ '

Marigold turns, and fires arrows of electricity at Starman Super. Quickly, the power shield is destroyed.

"Power_shield_failure_detected." Starman Super acknowledges the absence of defenses.

Starman Super tried PSI Shield ß!

Starman Super was protected by the blue psychic power shield!

While it generated, Hiyori threw herself at the figure, and punched it in the thigh.

"Zzssphh…" Starman Super jitters from the impact, before standing straight again. Energy rippled around it, and Hiyori was slowly pushed away.

"Now_zzzspph_now…" Sparks shoot from the spot Hiyori struck. "We_can't-can't_have_tha-that…"

Marigold focuses fire on the shield again. Promptly, a beam from the Starman Deluxe strikes her from behind. "Huu~aaagh!"

The shield falls, and she drops to her knees.

"Enough with the fuckin' shields!" Osamu threw his arms into the air.

Osamu tried PK Thunder ß!

Thwaa~sh!

The bolt struck the Starman Super, forcing all the reflective materials on its body to shatter.

Thwaa~sh!

Another bolt struck the Starman Deluxe, which seemingly wasn't nearly as affected by the attack.

Bam!

Starman Super exploded, electricity bouncing to the ceiling.

Hikari stared at Marigold tiredly.

' _Uu~gh…_ '

Hikari tried Lifeup α!

...Marigold sat up from her lying position on the floor. "Th-thanks…" She gave her thanks to no one in particular, unsure of who healed her.

Starman tried Teleport Ω!

Despite being unprovoked, it moved across the room.

' _I just want to sleep, now…_ '

Marigold pulled out her NF Burst Gun, and fired at the Starman Deluxe. Unlike her previous attack on the regular Starman, the bullets simply fizzled out on impact.

"Hmph…" Marigold frowned.

"Commencing_attack." Starman Deluxe announced.

Osamu stared at it dryly. "What _else_ could you be doin'? Countin' the floor tiles?"

Starman Deluxe tried PK Starstorm α!

Before the party knew it, the entire room was alight like a danmaku duel.

Vibrant, yellow stars poured in from seemingly nowhere, homing in on the party members. Other, white stars, simply crashed into the ground, and shook the room.

' _Wo-wooa~h!_ '

Hikari brought up her gohei to defend herself, but they passed through it and struck her.

"Aa-aa~gh!"

Osamu attempted running from them, but they struck him in the back.

"Holy _shi~t!_ "

Marigold dropped her gun, but was stricken before she could attempt running.

"Haa~hh!"

Hiyori attempted to punch the incoming stars, which didn't work out very well, either.

"Guh…"

With the series of non-elemental, colorful explosions said and done, the party was in a state of disrepair.

' _It hurts, it hurts, it hurts…_ ' Hikari whimpered, lying on the floor, her body jittering and convulsing from the raw mana wracking through it.

Sitting up from the floor, Marigold dusted herself off. "...Th-that was… certainly something."

"Oo~h…" Osamu began to stand again, wobbling. "We-we're supposed to _fight_ that…?"

Hikari and Hiyori both lethargically clambered to their own feet, bodies still shaking from the force of the magical energy.

' _I-I just want to go home…_ ' Hikari was mentally drained from the day's events.

...Hiyori sloppily ran at the Starman Deluxe.

Starman Deluxe tried Teleport Ω!

It appeared on the other side of the room. Marigold slid off her backpack…

"This sh-should do it..." From the backpack, she drew a Big Bottle Rocket. Kneeling, she began twisting the cap on the bottom…

Hiyori turned, and began running at the Starman Deluxe again. She stumbled and tripped, but got back up just as quickly.

The bottle rocket flies from Marigold's arms, spiralling towards the Starman Deluxe.

Fwwssshh- Boom!

The blast of danmaku forces the party to shield themselves. Hiyori, however, runs through it, closing in on the Starman Deluxe.

Osamu cheered. "Yeah! Fuck 'em- oof!" A danmaku bullet beaned him in the head.

Osamu tried Defense Down α!

The expanding burst of star-shaped danmaku spread to reveal the Starman Deluxe, cackling with magical energy coursing across its suit.

Hiyori leapt through the remaining danmaku, and punched it in the face.

"Zzsspphshhpshhh-"

Boom!

Hiyori was thrown back by the blast, rolling across the floor back towards the party.

Osamu clapped. "Yea~h! Screw those star people!"

...His clapping slowed as he turned to face the remaining, regular Starman.

The party stared at it, as well.

…

Starman tried Teleport Ω!

With a flash of blue light, the Starman teleported out of the room.

...Hikari let out a sigh of relief.

' _Thank goodness that's over… I think. If that wasn't the leader, I'll eat my ribbon._ '

"S'what I thought." Osamu nodded, grinning.

Marigold stretched her neck, cracking it slightly. "...I think that was it. We still need to shut this place down, though."

' _Come to think of it, we didn't see any assembly lines, or anything. We certainly heard them, though…_ '

...The party moved to the room's door. Hikari attempted to swing it open again, but it was stuck.

"Welded." Marigold observed, grinning ironically. "...That blast probably did it."

"We could always teleport." Hiyori suggested.

' _Oh, yeah. I can't believe I almost forgot that._ '

Banging was heard at the door.

"...I heard talking in there! Open up!"

It was the voice of that tengu captain from before. "By the orders of Lord Tenma, this facility is being shut down! Hey, get out here!"

Bang, bang, bang.

"...Let's just teleport." Hiyori decided.

"Ye-yeah…" Hikari managed.

Everyone forms a conga-line behind Hiyori.

Hiyori tried Teleport ß!

The group begins to slide along the floor in a circle, Hiyori's mana dragging herself around the room, with the party in tow. They very quickly sped up to blinding speed.

KraKoo~m!

...Bang, bang, bang!

"We're busting in, then! In three, two…!"

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

KraKoo~m!

Touching down in the kappa village, the party skidded to a hall. Hiyori once again stomped into the floor, and the others just squished into her.

' _Oof…_ '

...They all peeled themselves from each other's backs.

Marigold stretched. "Aa~h… Th-that magic left me so stiff…"

"I know, right?" Osamu articulated his limbs, frowning. "Stuff's annoying. What even was that…?"

' _I'm tired, and sad._ ' Hikari sighed, her worn expression scanning the party.

Hiyori panned her head around, observing the party. With a solemn expression, she folded her arms.

…

' _Hngh…_ '

"That was my fault."

The three turned to Hiyori.

"It was my fault that we had such difficulty with the enemy facility." Hiyori declared. "...If I am to serve by your side against an unknown threat, I am going to need to prepare."

' _Wh-what…?_ '

Osamu tilted his head. "...What's that mean?"

"I have to go. I need to train." She explains. "If I'm not my sharpest in the coming weeks, I feel, then more might be in peril than just myself. I cannot allow that to happen."

Marigold immediately got defensive. "What? But- you're so powerful as it is! And what if- what if another factory pops up, or something?"

Hiyori shook her head. "If I was powerful enough, the three of you wouldn't have gotten bombarded nearly the entire time. I also doubt anything major could crop up in the short time period I will be away. It will only be days to a week at the most, I feel."

' _...What kind of training only takes a week?_ '

With that, Hiyori began walking off. "I'm going underground. Don't worry- I'll find you three. I swear on it."

Hiyori tried Teleport ß!

She began spinning around, and as the diameter of her circle widened-

KraKoo~m!

She was gone.

…

"...We~ll, that's just great." Osamu folds his arms. "Hottest girl- oni person, _ever_ , and she jets! What a bummer…"

Marigold shrugs. "Mmm. She's coming back, though."

He rolls his eyes. "Please. That's what they all say."

' _...About who, oni? Wait… yeah, she's an oni. Osamu's just being stupid, again, then._ '

Marigold picked up on that, too. "...She's an oni. Oni live up to their promises."

"Says who?" Osamu turns to her.

"...Says the oni." Marigold shrugs. "...And, by extension, my mother, who taught me about oni."

He relented. "Oh. Well. Okay."

' _Good job._ '

…

"What do you guys say we find a nice bench to sleep on tonight?" Osamu grinned, rubbing his hands together.

He turned to Hikari, who looked very drained.

"...Geesh. Whose funeral is it?" He rose an eyebrow. "Yer not lookin' so hot, Hikari."

' _Ah…_ '

"I-I suppose I wouldn't be…" She admitted, giving a half-smile.

Marigold was puzzled. "...Over what, exactly? Is it about Hiyori?"

Osamu nodded. "Oh, you _bet_ it's about Hiyori. Why wouldn't-"

"I just… really want to go home." Hikari stared at the floor.

' _Did I really say that out loud…?_ ' She blushed, as well. ' _Oh, no…_ '

…

Marigold kicks Osamu in the shin.

He clutches it. "Yeeooo~wch! What the hell's that for!?"

Marigold sighs. "I need to have a word with you. Alone."

She brings her arm around Osamu's neck, and pulls him away from Hikari, a few feet away.

"What's the big deal!?" Osamu speaks in a hushed tone.

"Quiet." Marigold brings a finger to her lip. "Look- I think I know what's wrong with Hikari…"

Osamu pauses at the latter information.

"...I think she's homesick." Marigold diagnoses.

Osamu jerks his head back. "Homesick? That's a _thing?_ "

Marigold stares at him dryly. "I've had it, before. It's hard to explain. I mean, I don't get it so much, now, bu~t…" She glances back at Hikari, who had decided the clouds were very interesting today.

"...She's been on this adventure longer than the both of us have." Marigold stated.

Osamu paused. "...But we've been there before?"

"We didn't stay there awhile." Marigold countered. "Hardly a day, in full. What she probably needs is just a day to unwind."

...He nods. "I guess so. That'd be sweet."

The two broke, and approached Hikari again.

"...Hey." Hikari glances at them.

' _What were they talking about…?_ '

"He~y!" Osamu smiles widely. "Boy, I sure wish I could see the Hakurei Shrine again! I would love to go there and spend my time- uh, drinking- the soda! Yeah!"

…

Marigold elbowed him.

"Would you knock that off!?" He snapped, recoiling from the jab.

Ignoring him, Marigold continued. "We think you need to take a day, Hikari." She decided. "While Hiyori uses this time to train, we should use this time to get ready, too."

' _...That's not a bad idea, I guess._ ' Hikari nods in agreeance.

…

"We goin' now?" Osamu looks between the two girls.

"Yes." Hikari eagerly steps to the middle of the path. "...Everyone, hang onto me. We're doing this the old fashioned way."

Marigold grins. "Oh, boy. Knee splints, here we come."

The two teenagers move up next to her, and she positions her arms around their shoulders. Eying the path ahead, she decides it's clear enough.

' _I'm sure the kappa will steer clear._ '

...She hopes, at least.

"...Three." Hikari began.

The others readied, tensing themselves up.

"Two."

Wind whirled around the party.

"...Go!"

The party broke into a sprint. A very lopsided, awkward sprint, but still a sprint.

' _Hey hey hey…_ ' Hikari had to apply force to her left arm, to keep Osamu from falling behind.

"Bridge!" Marigold cautioned with a shout.

The party swerved slightly to meet the uneven bridge. Eventually, they came to a downhill…

' _Here we go…_ '

The party quickly accelerated, their sprint quickly turning into unfortunate sliding.

' _A-aah!_ '

Hikari tried Teleport α!

KraKoo~m!

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

END OF CHAPTER 17

Protagonist: Hikari Hakurei, Disciple of Paradise

-Inventory-

Weapon: Magical Gohei - Ability to whack stuff really hard. Amplifies whacking power, too! Able to deal magical damage. Critical hits enabled.

Arms: Iconic Hakurei Arm Sleeves - Keeps arms warm. A Hakurei tradition. How they stay on is a Hakurei family secret.

Body: Combat Miko Outfit - A black leotard and hakama combination worn by the previous-previous Hakurei miko. Designed to be suitable for excessive physical activity and close combat, it slightly improves physical combat prowess. Now with less sideboob!

Misc: Royal Red Ribbon - A ribbon made with rich materials, with a floral pattern.

-Skills-

Attack: Quickly! Swing your gohei at them for massive damage!

PK Fantasy α, β - Bombards the enemy with pain in the form of flashing colors. Deals magical damage. Heavy mental strain that increases with each tier.

PK Flash α, ß - A bright flash that distributes very random status effects to enemies. Usually makes people cry. Higher tiers increase chances, and introduce possibilities of fainting or dispel.

Hypnosis α, Ω - Puts weak enemies to sleep for a short time. Works better on tired or exhausted foes. Can also be used in a far more costly form that works on multiple opponents.

Shield α, ß - Halves damage the target takes. Only works against physical attacks, and enough strikes, or powerful strikes, will dispel it. Higher tier turns it into a power-shield that protects even better and even reflects a fraction of protected damage.

Lifeup α, ß - Heals target a little. Higher tiers heal more grievous wounds, like bone fractures.

Healing α, ß - Heals basic status ailments. Higher tiers can cure more dire effects, like burning alive.

Teleport α - Allows instant transport to the general location of an area remembered by oneself or one's party members. Requires a long, fast run-up to execute, however.

Ofuda Toss - Throw a holy ofuda that does massive holy elemental damage to youkai and dark elemental foes. Effect lessens the more holy the thing you're attacking is, to the point of healing holy things. Only works if you actually have ofuda, though.

β-β-β-β

Mage: Osamu Katsumi, the Wannabe Mage

-Inventory-

Weapon: Fisticuffs!

Arms: Nothing

Body: Dated Village Magician Robes - An old robe from the days when the village respected the medium of magic. Now actually looks navy blue, instead of black!

Misc: Yukkuri Beanie - Resembles a really tacky tablecloth, made in the Yukkuri theme. Lime green and has tons of fun yukkuri decals!

-Skills-

PK Thunder α, ß - Very random thunder attack that deals limited damage. Higher tiers increase number of bolts, and sometimes power.

PK Hydro α, β, γ - Gets everyone wet. Usefulness with PK Thunder and PK Freeze depends on whether you hit yourself or not! Creates whirling water spirals at higher tiers.

PK Freeze α, β, γ - Generates ice crystals at the target's location. Medium damage and effect; may freeze some targets, especially wet ones.

Fireball - Manipulate mana to make a shoddy fireball. Low damage and effect.

Static Hands - Not a real spell. Result of a very undercharged PK Thunder that can accidentally go off.

PSI Telepathy α - Speak to friends you haven't met yet! Unstable connection and only works if they have the skill or are asleep.

PSI Shield α, Σ - Halves damage from magical and psychic attacks. Thunder spells fry it instantly, and harder blows dispel it. Second tier applies basic shield to entire party at higher mana expense.

PSI Magnet α - Costs no mana to use, and steals a very tiny amount of mana from the enemy. Enemy has to have mana in the first place for it to work, though.

Offense Up α - Get pissed! Boosts strength and confidence depending on caster's power and receiver's power.

Defense Down α - Throw the enemy off their game. Makes them slightly more vulnerable to physical attacks.

β-β-β-β

Inventor: Marigold Knowledge, the Tri-Magi Love Child

-Inventory-

Weapon: Microwave Gun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Constructed with a controlled flame crystal and metal parts, it fires a beam of sustained microwave energy that cooks biological foes alive. Fire-elemental at its core, it's also very inefficient against machines.

Arms: Nothing

Body: Custom Adventure Dress - A custom dress made by Alice. Provides slight defense against magical and psychic attacks. Now allows freer movement with a shorter skirt, and a more flexible material.

Misc: Swirly Glasses - Lets Marigold not be blind.

Backpack - Allows extended inventory. Aged relic from the Kourindou.

Unnamed Lock Opening Device - Opens locks very precariously. Made with steel, burnt cloth, packaging peanuts, thumbtacks, string, and wooden wheels. Don't even ask…

Ruler - Lets you measure the world around you!

Protractor - Lets you find the angles of anything ever. Totally overpowered.

Deck of Cards - Allows Marigold to play Strip Poker with the party. Just kidding… or am I?

Electric Projector - Electrical device used to subdue harassers. Has settings ranging from Tickle Torture to Arse Blaster. Fires electrical projectiles, of unknown power.

Air Gun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Uses air to propel moderately powered danmaku particles at high speeds. Bland, but efficient. Filled with foil chip bags to conduct the mana, and it is transmitted into a wind stone. Recently upgraded to draw mana from a simple wooden block filled with immense magic reserves, giving it virtually unlimited ammo.

NF Burst Gun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Uses a Pop Gun as the base, but amplifies its power with an array of random batteries jammed into the base with the Pop Gun. The more batteries, the better, but the typical yield is about five bullets per trigger. Spamming the trigger doesn't make it go any faster, unfortunately. Has no foreseeable ammo limit, and the batteries are only there for mana circulation, meaning their power is really inconsequential.

Holmes Brand Designer Hat - Village swag! A retro village hat that ceased production ten years ago. Sells for a pretty penny nowadays, but it's pretty useless otherwise.

Slime Generator - A bulky box that shoots a small splat of slime. Doesn't seem good for much.

Counter-PSI Device - A weird device Marigold found from a flying saucer. Works in strange ways, and seems to disrupt everyone's concentration. Marigold is immune to its effects.

Charm of Sleep - Grants immunity to sleep while equipped. Can be equipped to Arms or Misc.

-Skills-

Teleprompter - Except with chalk boards.

Pinches the Cheeks of Fluffles - I can't blame her, dude. They're sniffable.

Is Surrounded by Idiots - Maybe… maybe…

Super Smart Genius Person Science Girl - Not a Cirno!

Bumpable - Like, right?

Is A 3D Printer - Actually, are magicians technically 3D printers? It'd make _sense_...

β-β-β-β

Fighter: Hiyori Hashimoto, the Buddhist Oni

-Inventory-

Weapon: Fisticuffs!

Arms: Shackle of Devas - The first of the four treasures held by the Devas of the Mountain. Grants immunity to sleep-inducing magic. Grants fifty percent resistance to wind and thunder magic.

Body: Runed Gi - Enchanted to not get blown away by battle damage.

Misc: Nothing

-Skills-

PK Fire α, ß - Creates an igniting blast of flames at the target's location. Most impact comes with higher tiers.

PK Freeze α, β - Generates ice crystals at the target's location. Medium damage and effect; may freeze some targets, especially wet ones.

Shield α, ß, Σ - Halves damage the target takes. Only works against physical attacks, and enough strikes, or powerful strikes, will dispel it. Higher tier turns it into a power-shield that protects even better and even reflects a fraction of protected damage. Highest tier applies a basic shield to the entire party.

Lifeup α, ß - Heals target a little. Higher tiers heal more grievous wounds, like bone fractures.

Healing α, ß - Heals basic status ailments. Higher tiers can cure more dire effects, like burning alive.

Teleport α, ß - Allows instant transport to the general location of an area remembered by oneself or one's party members. Requires a long, fast run-up to execute, however. Higher tier is largely automatic and requires little room to execute.

Martial Arts - Skilled in hand-to-hand combat.

β-β-β-β

Author's Note:

well this was one of those trudgeon-along kinda chapters; mostly 'cause i didn't feel particularly inspired at all for most of it and was somewhat disinterested by the general setting this area offered, but i felt it fitting regardless

definitely something that'd be better to watch or play than read (or at least write) in my opinion

i suppose my main gripe for this chapter is that a majority of the combat doesn't come off quite so novel or interesting; just kinda generic-ish, this being a random enemy base and all and not a particularly grueling one or anything; the bit with momiji was a breath of fresh air though

it might be because there's no fresh characters thrown into anything for awhile, and the combat isn't so meaningful to the party as a whole

i dunno

part of me going slow is also SUMMER. it MAKES A MAN LAZY. i've got NO EXCUSES THERE.

fee~d me…

…feedback, that is!

as always, see you all next time!


	18. Heart of Hakurei

KraKoo~m!

The three teenagers slid to a stop on the path just outside the Hakurei Shrine.

"I've got dirt in my _robe!_ " Osamu stands, shaking himself rapidly to rid himself of the dirt.

Marigold stood, too. "I've got dirt in places I'd rather not mention."

...Osamu grins at her.

She sighs. "Not _those_ places. Dang it…"

' _A day to relax, huh…?_ ' Hikari slowly rose from the dirt path, herself. ' _...I think I needed this._ '

She brushed herself off, and looked around at her surroundings…

' _...Giant stairs. They're probably the only thing I don't feel nostalgic over._ ' Hikari glared at the stairs.

Marigold noticed, and nodded in agreeance.

Only a moment later, Reimu floated over the apex of the staircase. "What _is_ that noise!?"

...She saw her daughter, and began to float down to meet her.

"Hi." Reimu casually greets her, slowly lowering until she's barely above the floor.

Hikari waves. "Hey, Mom."

...Reimu's eyes scanned the party's worn state. "...So, what'd you guys do? You look like you got swarmed by fairies…"

' _That actually happened, but probably not in the way my mother thinks it happened…_ '

Hikari shrugs. "More or less."

Reimu floated around them, and noticed the blood on Osamu's back. "...Who attacked you three?"

Hikari paused at the tone of her voice. ' _...She's ready to rumble._ '

Osamu grinned. "Well- y'see, there was this big, uhm… fairy?"

...Marigold scoffed at him. "We destroyed the robot factory on Youkai Mountain, and got banged up a little in the process."

Hikari grins. While her mother processes Marigold's information, she elaborates. "A little? You lost the use of your legs, almost."

The mage giggled sheepishly. "Ahah… Yeah. That was kinda scary. What's life without a few risks, though?"

...Reimu sighed. "You're sounding a little like a certain someone, there."

Marigold jerked her head back. "...Who?"

Reimu used her hands to define the outline of a witch hat.

Marigold blinked. "...Re-really?"

Osamu nodded. "I think I see what she means. Like, it's the whole 'bold' thing."

"We-well, I can't help it!" Marigold pouted. "There's nothing wrong with being bold."

Reimu smiled. "I never said there was. Come on, I'll make us some tea…"

She floated up, and began floating up the stairs.

"Hey." Hikari raised her voice.

Reimu paused. "...Yeah?"

"Walk with us." Hikari demanded.

...Reluctantly, Reimu complied. "Want me to suffer with you?"

"Yes." She grinned.

' _Feel the wrath of our stairs. Only then will you truly appreciate them._ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

The three sat around the kotatsu. Reimu walked in with a tray of tea…

Osamu's arms were folded. "Ma~n. Soda would be great after after that long climb up the stairs… Maybe even better than tea!"

...Reimu stared at him dryly. "We're out. You drank it all, last time."

He blinked. "Oh. Wow."

"Yeah. Wow." Reimu sat at the kotatsu, herself.

Hikari took a sip from her tea.

…

' _I like orange juice better. Can't complain, though._ '

"I was just about to go check out those robots, myself." Reimu admitted. "What was going on up there, anyway?"

"Pain." Hikari nodded.

…

Reimu snorted. "I figured. I guess the details aren't important."

' _Long story that involves us getting impaled multiple times. It wouldn't be particularly exciting, to be honest._ '

…

Marigold sipped from her tea.

…

"I still can't believe you do this, everyday." Hikari reflects.

"Hmm?" Reimu gives her a questioning stare.

"Just sit here for hours, drinking tea." Hikari smiled.

…

"You get used to it." Reimu decided. "Besides, you'd be grateful for these respites, too, if you solved incidents."

' _Yeah, uh…_ ' Hikari's smile became ironic. ' _A little on the nose, there._ '

Reimu sipped her tea. "...I still don't know what possessed you to wear my mother's outfit. It looks like it fits, for some reason…"

Marigold was curious, despite knowing why it fit better now. "Why shouldn't it?"

"Well, my mother was a lot taller, for one thing." Reimu described. "She was also a bit, uhm… fuller, so to speak."

' _I figured as much._ ' Hikari noticed there was _way_ too much girth given for the chest area. Marigold's mother had made it better, though, so she didn't have to stuff a good portion of the material into her hakama anymore.

Osamu gulps down all his tea in a few swigs. "Hnnh… hot, hot, hot!" He starts breathing hard, to cool his mouth down.

Reimu shook her head, grinning. "You're supposed to _drink_ the tea, not inhale it."

…

' _Wow. This got boring, fast._ ' Hikari had become used to the rush of running everywhere and fighting things. ' _I almost want to check out the under-shrine for fun, again._ '

"What d'you guys do for fun, around here?" Osamu questions, smirking.

"This." Reimu pats the kotatsu.

…

"Oh." Osamu looks disappointed. "That's... great."

"Hikari reads a lot." Reimu shrugs.

Hikari joins the discussion. "It's one of the few things we have to do, around here."

"Don'cha guys have like, a frisbee, or somethin'?" Osamu makes a tossing motion. "Or, like… Hopscotch?"

Reimu nods. "Yeah, we did those, before. It was more like criticizing the games, rather than actually playing them."

...Hikari snorts. "I still don't see the point of Hopscotch, myself."

Osamu's eyes widen. "Pffft! Don't see the point of Hopscotch!? Dude, I used to play that, like, all the time, back in the village! We'd gather around this small tiled floor, and we'd like, set it all up, and we'd bet money."

"You'd bet _money._ " Reimu furrowed her brows, amused. "On Hopscotch."

"Hell yeah." Osamu smiles, appearing proud. "I wasn't ever great at it, but some dudes, dude. There'd even be fights! I _swear_ someone died at one point. Actually, that may've been why we had to stop…" He looked away, appearing questioning...

…

"Wh-what…" Reimu began chuckling. "What's wrong with that village…?"

Osamu snorts. "I dunno, dude, and I grew up there. I never thought anything of it, though. Like… didn't you guys do shit like that when you were younger?"

...Reimu put a finger to her lips. "Ahh… hmm…"

' _I didn't hear very much about mother's early childhood, actually. I assume it was as uneventful as mine..._ '

"Well, I went to hell and fought a fallen angel, and I didn't know how to use my yin-yang orbs, yet…" Reimu considered. "There was also that oni I beat up, and a few other people I think were vampires…"

' _...Oh. Wait…_ '

"How old were you, Mom?" Hikari questioned.

Reimu paused. "About twelve, or so."

…

' _What._ '

Osamu nodded. "See? Children are violent!"

Marigold shook her head. "I… I guess so."

' _...I guess I was just particularly passive as a child._ '

Reimu noticed the incredulity around the room. "...Well, you don't need to believe me. Though, with the stuff I've seen you do, my stories probably aren't that far off, huh?"

' _...What?_ '

She grinned. "I saw that lightshow you pulled back when we fought Mima. I didn't just forget about it."

Hikari blinked. "O-oh, right…"

"It was pretty impressive stuff. It wasn't danmaku, though, was it?" Reimu observed.

"Well… yeah." Hikari gave a half-smile. "I'm… not really sure how I do it."

Reimu shrugged. "...Fair enough, I guess. You _really_ should try and find out more about your powers, though."

' _Hnnh… I know…_ ' Hikari wasn't sure where to begin, however…

Marigold voiced Hikari's concern. "Where would she even start? Is there even any proper documentation of the Hakurei clan?"

Reimu furrowed her brows at Marigold, but then relaxed. "...Actually, now that I think about it, there doesn't seem to be. Not with me, anyway. Akyuu probably knows more than even I do." Reimu sipped from her tea, again. "...There might be something beneath the shrine, though. In those old halls, and stuff."

' _...She's right._ ' Hikari got up.

"Hmm?" Reimu watched her daughter get up. "Checking it out, already?"

She nodded. "Yeah. I'm curious, myself."

Hikari began leaving the room…

…

Reimu turned to the other two. "Go with her. It's not entirely safe, down there."

"A-ah, right…" Marigold got up, and began to follow Hikari…

Osamu stood, and stretched. "Ma~n… Dark caves, dude…!"

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

The three teenagers casually walked around the dark halls of the under-shrine. They all had PSI shields powered up, as well.

Vengeful Spirit J tried PK Freeze α!

KaKa-KaKaKoo…

A pattern of ice began slowly forming around Hikari, before thawing again…

Hikari frowned, and ran towards the vengeful spirit…

SMAAAA~SH!

The figure of Vengeful Spirit J was erased by the miraculous gohei strike.

Osamu was grinning. "You'd _think_ they'd get the memo after, like, the tenth guy…"

' _I know, right?_ ' Hikari snorted.

"What is their _plan…?_ " Marigold was bemused. "To just throw themselves at Hikari like that…"

"I don't even know…" Osamu shook his head. "They suck at their job, though."

The party came up to the bedroom, again. The dresser was already looted by Hikari previously.

' _I feel less creeped out down here, now. Probably because we're stronger than we were before…_ '

The three looked around the dark room. Unfortunately, Hikari couldn't find any forms of documentation- papers, scrolls, tablets, anything.

"Hmm…" She shook her head. "This room's got nothing."

"Seems like it…" Marigold was waving the taser around, shooting the electric arrows at the walls to produce dim light.

The party navigated across the under-shrine, passing through the seal room again, and into the unexplored right wing.

They eventually came to a room with a kotatsu lying in the center of it. The blanket was torn up, and the wooden top was disheveled.

"...Huh." Osamu's expression was neutral. "Looks like the main room."

' _Yeah…_ '

Hikari caught sight of a gohei lying on the floor, next to the kotatsu. It was black. Very black.

...She cautiously walked up to it, and kneeled to inspect it. "What… is this…?"

Marigold and Osamu moved around her to look at it with her. Marigold shot electric arrows at it to light it up, but it still remained a dark, deep black. The papers, the handle, everything about it was eerily, unnaturally dark.

' _...It's like… it's like it just ignores light. Weird…_ '

"It's probably cursed." Marigold notes. "No doubt about it."

Osamu gives her a cocky grin. "Yeah, well Hikari here's a shrine maiden. 'Sides, you see all them other ghosts? Weak as shit, dude."

' _Hmm…_ '

"Just saying." Marigold advised. "I might be careful around it."

"...I could just bring it up to Mom." Hikari considered aloud. She moved to lift the gohei with her other, open hand.

...Picking it up, she stood up.

' _...Wh-what?'_ She shook her arm, a tingling sensation running up it. ' _Okay, drop it, drop it, drop it- it's not dropping!_ ' Hikari felt her hand begin to itch, and refuse to obey her.

Marigold noticed Hikari's panic. "Hikari, is it doing something? What's wrong?"

Osamu's expression tenses. "Oh, shit! Hikari!"

' _A-ah… Ev-everything…_ '

Hikari's vision blurs, and she begins to fall. Marigold and Osamu move to hold her up.

"-et Re-u!" Osamu's words were lost on Hikari.

Marigold exclaimed something, but her vision drifted shut, and her hearing went silent…

' _N-no…_ '

==== BLOODLINES BEQUEATHED ====

Hikari came to, lying on a flat, solid surface. Staring into the sky, she saw the ceiling. It had yin-yang patterned tiles running across it. Panning her head, she saw the ceiling went on for as far as her eyes could see…

' _Th-the gohei…_ '

She lifted her off hand, and saw the gohei was missing. Her Miracle Gohei was right where it always was, in her left hand, though.

' _...Where am I?_ '

She sat up. The floor had the same design as the ceiling. As for the walls… there were none. In every direction Hikari looked, there were simply images of the Hakurei Shrine, the hill, and the stairs around it. They shifted and turned, appearing unreal, and infinitely far away.

' _Looking around has_ not _helped me get my bearings, in any way._ '

"Hey."

' _Huh…?_ '

Hikari looks away from the many images along the edges of the strange plane, and her eyes meet a woman…

Dressed in a black leotard and red hakama, the woman was crouched. She rose to a standing position, spinning the jet black gohei around in her right hand until it rested on her shoulder. Her hair was long, and black, in a hime-cut.

"...Nice clothes." She spoke.

Hikari blinked. "A-ah… Th-thanks?"

...She smirked. "...You're not Reimu, are you?"

Hikari shook her head.

"...You're her daughter, then?"

Hikari nodded.

...The woman smiled. "Heh. Tell me your name…"

"...Hikari."

…

"Good." The woman folded her arms. "...My name is unimportant. I'll tell you right now, however, that I am a Hakurei miko. What was the phrase, again…? 'Sendai Hakurei No Miko'. The miko who came before, or something like that..."

Hikari wasn't sure what to make of that. ' _Those clothes… Is she…?_ '

"...But that's not the reason you're here, right?" She raises the jet black gohei from her shoulder, and looks at it. "You want this."

Hikari blinks. ' _...Not particularly, to be honest. Maybe I do?_ '

The miko who came before sighed. "...You're gonna have to fight me for it."

…

' _Hu-huh?_ '

The miko noticed Hikari's confusion. "Now, don't get me wrong, there're no hard feelings. I just wanna check up, 'n' see if you're up to snuff, and all that."

"...A-ah." Hikari nodded slowly.

"Besides," She turned around, and tossed the gohei away into the distance. "...I never liked using that old thing, anyway."

' _Oh. Okay._ '

The miko faced Hikari again, and cracked her knuckles. "Don't worry about getting your ass kicked, or anything, yeah? Any wounds you suffer in here will be superficial. I'll also let you fight me as many times as you want, 'cause I'm _nice_. It didn't help your mother any, I'll tell you that much."

' _What?_ ' Hikari readied herself, as best she could. ' _Mom couldn't handle her?... She's bluffing, I'm sure._ '

Hikari tried Shield ß!

Hikari was protected by the power shield of light!

Sendai's expression became stern. "Hmph!"

She threw a barrage of three ofuda towards Hikari, which flew towards her as fast as lighting.

"Eep!" Hikari couldn't even bring her ofuda to protect herself. The ofuda traveled through the light shield, and stuck onto her, burning her skin. "Ackh!"

' _Wa~h! That stings…_ '

Hikari glared at the tall miko, who began running towards her.

' _Sh-she's like a bear…!_ ' Hikari suddenly began looking for ways to evade her…

"Hoh!" The miko punched towards her, her fist imbued with dark power. Hikari dived out of the way, the power shield of light slowing the fist and reflecting some of the power back at Sendai, who barely even moved from taking half of her own punch.

' _Woa~h!_ '

Sendai frowned. "Crutches like those won't get you anywhere."

She pulled a bottle filled with blue liquid from her sleeves. Then, she leapt into the air. "Here!"

She tossed it down, and Hikari smacked it with her gohei, shattering it.

The resulting liquid turned into flames immediately, and stuck to Hikari's shield, burning it away.

"Wh-wha~!?" Hikari's eyes widened.

Sendai stomped down into the floor in front of Hikari, surprising her further.

Hikari flailed her limbs and got her gohei into a guarding position, when Sendai punched forward again.

Bam.

"Ghk…!" The punch to the gut immobilized Hikari. Blood flew out of her mouth, landing on the sleeve of the previous Hakurei miko.

Then, she was launched. Hikari tumbled many feet away, rolling on the patterned floor.

Sendai scoffed. "...Weak. That was _one_ punch. _One._ "

...Hikari stumbled to her feet, glaring. "I-I'm not through, yet…"

Hikari tried Lifeup γ!

Her stomach began to feel much better…

Sendai sighed. "If I had a yen for every time someone said that…"

With that, she leaped into the air again. "Here!" From her pocket, she pulled a small Yin-Yang orb, and enlarged it. Then, she threw it to the floor.

Hikari leaped backwards to avoid it, and it slammed the floor. As it bounced through the air, Hikari had to unexpectedly change her trajectory to avoid it, and she landed awkwardly on her sandals.

' _I-I'm not sure that's how you're supposed to use a- waa~h!_ '

She brought her gohei to a defensive position, as Sendai slid on her hip the moment she landed, sliding towards Hikari. Hikari used her wind affinities to throw herself out of the way, while Sendai rocketed past her, her kick sending her off the floor and into the air.

From there, Sendai landed on her sandals, and turned to face Hikari. "Come on! Show me what you're made of! I'm going _easy_ on you, right now!"

' _Ea-easy…!?_ ' Hikari gritted her teeth. ' _I'll have to go all-out, then…_ '

Hikari tried PK Fantasy ß!

She decided to show the miko who came before her mental bombardment.

Fizzle!

Technicolor bullets slammed into the miko from above, washing her in flowing colors.

Fizzle!

She was unprepared for the next barrage of particles, writhing as the colors assaulted her abruptly and relentlessly.

Hikari threw her right arm forward.

FwOwOw!

A polygon of colorful energy struck the miko, who flinched back from the blow.

FwOwOw!

She punched the second polygon, shattering it with her fist.

Hikari focused on Sendai Hakurei No Miko…

Bwaa~sh!

The raw blast of psychic energy flew her into the air...

' _Did… did I do it?_ ' Hikari sighed, fatigue from using her strongest ability panging at her.

...Sendai did a backflip in mid air, and landed on her sandals again.

She was grinning widely. "... _Da~mn!_ Now that's what I'm talking about! Just keep doing that, and you'll bloody me in no time!"

' _I-I don't think I can just spam that, though…_ ' Hikari smiled sheepishly.

"...If you can throw attacks like _that_ , how about some of _this!?_ "

The miko slid her hands into her pockets. The pockets began glowing…

" _Thousand Talismans!_ "

Like a machinegun, Sendai's arms moved like the wind as she threw a continuous stream of talismans at Hikari, all as fast as her first barrage.

' _Woah-oah-wow! Wow, wow, wow! Waaa~h!_ ' Hikari's jaw hung open as she frantically tried to dodge the spread of bullet-fast paper talismans. She felt all her limbs get pelted by many talismans, along with a few striking her face, and her torso.

' _It-it burns so much…_ ' Hikari begins to kneel, wincing…

Hikari tried Lifeup γ!

…

But it failed!

' _Wh-what…? C-c'mon…!_ '

Hikari tried Healing γ!

...The talismans began dropping from her, but Sendai was already ready to attack again.

"You _fool!_ "

Sendai threw herself at Hikari, who was just getting up.

"Wh-aao~!" Hikari tried desperately to shield herself, but the resulting knee to the torso from Sendai sent her rolling away.

' _S-so dizzy…_ '

Hikari laid on the floor, her world spinning…

...Sendai walked up to her, and loomed over her. "...Uh~... Really?"

Hikari could do little but tiredly stare up at her. She began to crawl away, using all four limbs to back up...

"...Oo~kay. Maybe I went a little _too_ hard on you, right off the bat. Still… I didn't think talismans would even _work._ " Sendai scratched the back of her head.

...Hikari leaped to her feet. "Here…!"

Hikari tried Hypnosis α!

…

Sendai shook her head, and sighed. "... _Another_ crutch? I'm starting to wonder what my daughter taught you…"

Hikari grimaced. ' _You…_ '

Hikari tried PK Flash ß!

...The miko blinked, and rubbed her eyes. "...What was that? Are… are you just _throwing_ holy magic at me, now?"

' _What…?_ ' Hikari was at a loss.

Sendai shook her head. "...I guess I'll end this swiftly, then."

She threw herself towards Hikari. Hikari leaped into the air above her, and-

SMAAAA~SH!

...She landed behind Sendai, after landing a solid blow to the top of her head.

' _How'd you like that!?_ '

Hikari turned around…

Bam.

"Ghk!?"

Sendai's fist met Hikari's gut.

"...Nice strike." She complimented. "It was nowhere near enough, though."

' _N-no…_ '

Hikari stumbled away, her eyes unfocusing…

' _I-I can't lose, here! N-not even to my… mom's mom?_ _Grandmom!?_ ' Hikari was slightly perplexed by the realization.

Hikari tried PK Fantasy α!

Sendai was surprised by the rainbow bullets of energy.

Fizzle!

She guarded against the next wave.

Fizzle!

Hikari's eyes focused on her, again…

Bwaa~sh!

Sendai wasn't even thrown into the air this time, instead simply flinching violently.

"...That was weaker, that time."

' _...N-no…_ '

The miko who came before smiled. "...If we want this to end with a bang, though, I'll show you somethin' fancy."

She lifted her hands into the air, and Hakurei Amulets flew from her pockets. They met around her hands, and eventually, they formed an axe.

' _An axe… out of amulets._ ' Hikari paled. ' _She-she's going to…_ '

"See this?" She smirked. "It's the Hakurei Axe."

…

"No such thing exists, I know. I crafted it out of amulets. Pretty cool, right? It even works as well as one, too."

She lifts it over head, and slams it down into the floor in front of her.

Shink!

It stuck in the floor, cracking it. Then, it dissipated, the amulets fluttering to the floor.

"...But that's not what I wanted to show you." Sendai gave a toothy smile. Then, she arched back, floating into the air…

" _Thousand Blades!_ "

Amulets flowed from her pockets and sleeves like a river, forming an orbiting ring of axes around her.

' _O-oh, no…_ ' Hikari was filled with dread at the sight. ' _Why…?_ '

Then, once they were all formed, the axes began rotating quickly, expanding outward as they spun.

' _I-I'm sorry, Mom…_ ' Hikari closed her eyes as the axes neared her, finding herself unable to move…

Shi-shi-shink!

…

Step, step, step.

"...Come back anytime, you hear? Always got more where that came from."

...

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Hikari's eyes shot open.

"Haa~h, haa~h, haa~h…!"

She was hyperventilating, lying on the floor of the Hakurei Shrine. Around her, Osamu and Marigold were sitting, concern on their faces.

The jet black gohei clattered to the floor nearby.

' _M-my body…!_ ' In a cold sweat, Hikari examined her various extremities, making sure everything was still there.

Marigold looked unsettled. "Hi-Hikari…? Are you okay? Speak to us…"

Hikari nodded.

...Marigold's eyes widened.

' _...Oo~h, right. She said speak…_ '

Hikari giggled. "Ye-yeah, I'm fine…"

Osamu immediately fell back onto the floor from his kneeling position. "God _damn_ , I nearly had a heart attack, dude…"

...Reimu was drinking tea at the kotatsu, nearby. "So, how'd it go?"

Hikari sighed. "...I got chopped up by a whirling vortex of axes."

Reimu blinked. "...You got _that_ far? Wow. That's pretty good, for your first try."

' _...My first try?_ '

...Marigold stood up, glaring at Reimu. "...You knew about this?"

Reimu nodded, sipping from her tea. "Mmhmm."

"...Would it have hurt you to _tell_ us?" She huffed.

...Reimu shook her head. "You figured it out, eventually. A little worry does you good."

Marigold pouts. "...I _guess._ "

Osamu waved it off. "Aa~h, yeah. My dad was tellin' me the same thing. Like, it's the difference between whether or not ya punch a dude and go to jail 'cause a guard's lookin', o~r ya notice the guard, and just give 'em a firm shoulder squeeze."

…

"... Not… quite what I had in mind…" Reimu's brow twitched.

Hikari stood from the floor, steadying herself. "...First try?"

...Reimu nodded. "Mmm. She told you about the whole 'keep trying' thing, right?"

"...Yeah." Hikari scratched her cheek.

"I'd wait, personally." Reimu advised. "Even if you got that far, she's got stupid stamina in that thing. You're going to need to be able to deal consistent damage. I'm not sure how you did any damage at all, now that I think about it…"

"Wait, so, Grandma's trapped in a gohei?" Hikari was confused.

"...No." Reimu smiled. "That's just the memory of her infused into the gohei. I think. It's weird, because she never used it, apparently, but… yeah. It was to teach me, even after she died. She was smart." She appeared nostalgic.

Marigold moved to the kotatsu, again. "Did you do something similar?"

...Reimu stared at her dryly.

"...Y'know, just incase?" Marigold grinned sheepishly. "Not to imply, um-"

"Yes, actually. I did it to _this_ one, though." Reimu held up her gohei. "...If Hikari wants to spar with me, though, I'm right here, so there's no real point to it."

' _Even if it's pretty safe with my healing abilities, I'd rather not. Pain is still pain, after all, and I'm pretty sure I'd be the one eating most of it._ '

Osamu holds up the jet black gohei. "Dude- I wanna try!"

...He fell to the floor with a thud, the gohei in his hands.

Reimu snorted. "Have fun."

...Marigold turned to Hikari. "What's his chances of winning?"

Hikari shook her head. "He's going to get _massacred._ "

…

"How long did it take you to beat her, Mom?" Hikari tilted her head.

"Awhile." Reimu stated. "She's tough."

…

"Huuaa~h!" Osamu sat up. "What the fuck!?"

' _As expected…_ '

"My ass just got sealed _shut_ , dude!" He flailed his limbs, distancing himself from the gohei. "Damn!"

"As expected." Reimu monotoned.

' _He~y…_ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

The four of them stood outside, around the shrine's main stone pathway.

Reimu stood from it, sliding the holy chalk back into her pocket. "There…"

' _Holy chalk._ ' Hikari wasn't certain if it was actually holy, or if her mother just called it that.

Osamu clapped his hands. "Dude, now we just need the gamb- _betting_ pot, and we'll be all set!"

Hikari sighed. "Again… we share the _same funds._ "

"Wh- _so?_ " He folded his arms. "Can we at least pretend!?"

Marigold walks from the shrine, holding a basket of crackers. "If we bet, we bet in snacks."

Hikari nodded. ' _This, I can get behind._ '

…

' _I still don't know how to play Hopscotch._ '

Reimu brushes her hands off on themselves, ridding them of chalk. "...How did Hopscotch go again?"

Osamu blinked. "...Alright, what ya gotta do is like, hop from one side of the place, to the other. I think certain squares can have like, taxes and bonuses for jumpin' on them."

"Taxes." Reimu looked skeptical.

"Like penalties, for easy ones!" Osamu stressed. "You gotta get to the other side by hoppin' the hardest path. Them check marks I had ya draw, that's the hardest path."

Reimu positioned herself at the start. "O~kay…?"

"Alright, go, go, go!" He danced in place.

…

He slowly stopped dancing. "Start hoppin'!"

Reimu floated into the air, and touched a foot down into each correct box as she slowly floated over them, before landing on the final box.

…

"She woulda just won fifty thousand yen." Osamu sat down, aghast. "Fifty. Thousand. Yen."

Hikari furrowed her brows. "...This game seems stupid." ' _Even I could do that, with my wind abilities…_ '

"It's probably not balanced around flight." Marigold observed.

Reimu ran her eyes across the chalk boxes again. "...Even so, this game seems… a little easy."

Osamu rolled his eyes. "Yeah, okay. Do it _backwards_ , and without flying. I dare ya."

Reimu did so, executing a series of short hops to leap across all the correct boxes.

…

"You know, you should have just had me build an obstacle course, instead." She declared. "That would've made more sense than, uhm… this."

Osamu laid down on the grass. "I don't even know, dude… I don't even know."

' _I think frisbee would be better. If only to see if my mother could actually throw it from here to the mansion in one toss._ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIYORI'S VIEW ====

Miles under the Earth's surface, a city of stone stood, tall and proud.

Bam!

' _Only tall on Tuesdays. That's when the rebuilding from Monday finishes._ '

Hiyori walked around the outskirts of the oni city, while buildings crumbled and oni threw themselves at one another.

For Hiyori, however, it was another Wednesday.

' _...Or maybe Friday, if it's a good week._ '

"Gruuh…!"

A tall, male oni was thrown across the ground ahead of her. A different, tall, flame-haired oni soared from a nearby wall and kicked the downed oni, sending him soaring off onto a decline.

Bam!

"Grooah!"

He tumbled down the incline...

The oni turned, and eyed Hiyori.

Hiyori stared back with a neutral expression.

...The oni leaped onto the decline, and slid down after the other one.

' _There's typically a lot more boasting, however. Everyone seems bored, for some reason._ ' She noted that the populace wasn't acting quite as it should be. ' _...I shouldn't stick around here for too long, anyway. My business is in the outskirts._ '

Kaboo~m!

Hiyori turned to watch a building fly up into the air. Then, it was shattered.

"That _all_ you rocks fer brains have!?"

Yuugi Hoshiguma floated in the air, the cloud of dust from the building she obliterated dissipating. Then, numerous more oni threw themselves up at her from the surface.

' _...I considered fighting her today. Then, I considered myself stupid._ ' Hiyori grinned. ' _...I'll have to fight her eventually, though, I'm sure. That can come in time._ '

Vibrations rocked the outskirts of the oni city, as Hiyori moved to exit it.

' _I can even feel them all the way out here. It's been awhile since the rumbling got this intense…_ '

…

Even in the wasteland-esque, barren plains of the underground caverns, oni were there, and were angry with each other.

The flame-haired oni woman was currently grappling the impulsive male oni.

' _Not that oni aren't impulsive, it's just, this guy doesn't even seem to be using his head. If he is, it's the wrong one._ '

She punched him in the face-

Bam!

"Grranhh…"

Elbowed him in the stomach-

Thud.

"Hrgh…"

Then, sent him to the floor with a roundhouse kick.

Bam!

"Graa~h!"

He stumbled over, dropping to the floor.

' _That was rather one-sided._ '

...The flame-haired woman started stepping towards Hiyori, glaring.

' _...Great._ '

Hiyori rose a hand. "Uu~h, I'd… rather not. You see, It's against my faith, and-"

"You _lie_."

...Hiyori blinks. "Excuse me?"

"You're not doing _anything_." The flame-haired oni folds her arms.

"...Right." Hiyori nods. "So that means we don't have to fight."

"It means we do." The woman insists. "You're obviously behind the brainwashed ones, if you're not fighting any, yourself."

' _Brainwashed ones?_ ' Hiyori's eyes widen as she looks around. '... _That's not any different than usual, I guess._ '

Bam!

Hiyori slid back, a punch connecting itself with her chest. "Hmmph!"

"Fighting's not about thinking!" The flame-haired woman gives a wide smile. "Fighting's about fighting!"

' _That's what you think…_ '

Hiyori tried PK Freeze ß!

KaKa-KaKaKling!

The rapidly freezing and thawing pattern of ice crystals formed around the oni, who ignored them.

Kra~ck!

The final blast of frozen air made her frown.

' _...To be fair, I guess I was never good at magic in the first place._ '

Hiyori ducked out of the way of a face-bound punch, before she proceeded to leap away to a avoid an incoming knee.

She took a page from the other oni's book, and roundhouse kicked her to the back of the head.

Bam!

The oni flew into the decline they had gone down, and her head was smashed into the rocky ground.

' _Now, before she gets free…!_ '

Hiyori ran, making sure to stomp excessively, lifted a boulder, and tossed it. Then, she ducked behind a different, nearby boulder.

The oni broke from the rock, and looked around…

The boulder made a thud in the distance.

"...Don't even try to run away!"

She sprinted off in the direction of the boulder. In a few seconds, the oni was out of sight.

' _What was that about fighting and thinking, again?_ '

...Hiyori shook off her smugness. ' _I've really got to get a move on, though…_ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

The outskirts of the underworld's large cavern were barren. From them, you could see a fragment of the oni city, but otherwise it was a fairly deserted experience.

Tall stalagmites, high walls, and a myriad of ridges. The barren plains were uneven, and rugged. One could also see the cavern's walls up close and personal, and even make out a few major ridges that made up the walling.

Hiyori walked along a sporadically consistent stone path, which lead up to some purple ruins.

' _Cheeky color scheme, for this one…_ '

Ruins of various structures scattered the underground. Hiyori wasn't quite sure why they were there, herself. All she knew was that the denizens of old Hell had put them there…

' _...They also had questionable choices in colors, for some of these. Quality varies greatly between each one._ '

At the center of the purple ruins, there was a brown door.

Hiyori knocked on it.

…

' _Hmm. No one's home._ '

Then, she punched it.

Bam!

…

' _That's not a wooden door._ ' Hiyori noted. ' _Infact, I'm probably not even getting it open…_ '

She turned from the door, and took to the barren underground plains again.

Oni were few and far between, this far out. She saw random, scrappy youkai more often than not.

...Before her, a shimmering, black image, took form.

"Hhhrreeaaa-a-a-a…"

With a humanoid body, the shimmering phantom turned its two arms into equally shady and translucent scythe ends.

' _...Too edgy for me._ '

"Hooohhh-o-o-o-o…" Its voice echoed as it approached Hiyori, its red eyes blaring…

Hiyori tried PK Freeze ß!

KaKa-KaKaKling!

Ice froze and thawed at the ghost's base, forcing the flickering of its form to slow…

"Bo-o-o-o… Shaa-sha-sha!"

It began to move towards Hiyori-

Kra~ck!

The cool blast chilled the core of the ghost, freezing some of it in ice crystals, and stabilizing its image. It now no longer flickered.

' _There…_ '

Hiyori ran at it. As the ghost raised its scythes eagerly in anticipation to strike, Hiyori threw her fist at the frozen chest of the phantom.

Ba-Crack!

The torso shattered, and the ghost's form was eradicated, becoming little more than a whirling mass of red lights and black energy, which then dispersed back into the ambient mana of the underground.

' _Stupid ghosts. Now I can finally get rid of them._ ' Normally, oni who ventured this far out would just have to deal with them before they got back into town, or would have to come prepared with holy instruments to shake at them.

Magic seems to work just fine, however. ' _Perks of learning magic, it seems._ '

Hiyori pulled her water canteen from her gi, and drank from it.

…

"Haa~h…"

' _I can feel my strength return, already…_ '

Before long, Hiyori came to a temple she recognized…

' _Nightshade Temple. I have some fond memories, here…_ '

She walked up to the dilapidated structure. The small, one-room building housed a few books, ones Hiyori remembered being the first she really read about magic.

' _I couldn't really do any of the spells, and they were dark or fire spells, anyway. Nothing particularly useful…_ '

The room was dark, until Hiyori opened the door into it. Tiny, tiny windows were mounted on the top edges of the walls, letting very little ambient light in. Not that the underground had much to offer, anyway.

' _This place was what kickstarted my interest in magic._ '

...The room's desks and various random torture instruments were more scattered than she remembered them, being. Books were strewn about on the floors, but that much was normal.

' _I'm not the only random beast that comes around this place. Any number of phantoms could have made it their creative exercise for a day. Or more._ '

…

She sighed. ' _I shouldn't spend too long reminiscing, here. There's no way the fourth deva would just be down here…_ '

Walking out into the cavern, Hiyori looked around, again…

' _I never really knew anything about the fourth deva, now that I think about it… I didn't know a lot about the devas, period, until recently. I knew they were a thing, and all, but I was never interested. I know their names, though._ '

Stepping forward, Hiyori paused when she noticed the air shimmer ahead of her…

' _Another phantom?_ '

...The cascading, red ripples of energy hung in the air. If one wished to describe what Hiyori saw, it would be something akin to the water's surface. Only the bright shimmers of light shone, the waves themselves nonexistent. The red shapes were slanted and jagged, as if being blown by the wind…

They expanded, moving downward slowly. As they did so, a figure made itself apparent.

An oni, holding a large, sleek, red katana. She had a sharp, red horn on her forehead.

Her black hair was done up simply, a red ribbon keeping it together. She had red robes on.

The shimmering effect lowered, but only half of the oni's body was exposed to the air. She broke the pose she held, and stood as straight as a half-shimmering person could.

"My name… is Konngara." The woman spoke loudly.

' _More sociable than everyone else up until this point, today…_ '

"Hiyori."

…

' _Wait… Konngara!_ ' She recognized the name. ' _She's…!_ '

"What is an oni…" Konngara questioned, "doing out here?"

Hiyori took a deep breath. "...I am searching for the fourth deva of the mountain. That is you."

Konngara frowned. "I had thought my name lost to history. Tell me… who told you?"

"An oni." Hiyori smiled. "I'm here because the world is in peril. I need your treasure."

...Konngara's frown held. "Peril? I… do not sense it. You lie."

' _The one thing bad about being interested in diplomacy? Everyone calls you a liar._ ' Her facial expression quickly soured.

"I do not wish to fight you." Hiyori states.

"...I do not appreciate lies." Konngara twirled her blade into a combat position. "If you truly wish for the treasure… then you shall express your resolve in actions, not words. Words are a construct… but events are nature."

Hiyori blinked. ' _...I don't entirely agree with that. Both actions and words are communication… but actions_ do _speak louder than words._ '

The two stared at each other.

"...The first move is mine." Konngara declares.

Hiyori stares at her intently, as she waves her sword around…

' _What is she doing…?_ '

In the midst of her blade twirling, she abruptly pauses…

Hiyori's eyes widen. ' _Strong, telegraphed move, incoming…!_ '

Konngara sends out a clean, perfectly horizontal slash.

Shi~ng!

Hiyori jumped into the air, letting out a sigh of relief.

...Despite how wide the slash was, Hiyori looked around, and saw nothing was struck.

"...Where was _that_ going?" Hiyori grinned. "With how tele-"

Thud.

...She heard a rock that had slid straight off of its base. Her eyes locked back on Konngara.

' _Nevermind me. I know nothing about swords._ '

Konngara held her sword at the hip.

' _She's charging!_ '

Hiyori leaped into the air as Konngara suddenly accelerated. The shimmers of her lower body seemed to drop further, allowing her legs to exist. It showed that she was infact running, and not just sliding around inside of her 'shimmer dimension', if there was such a thing.

Hiyori considered kicking, but after noticing the other oni's speed was like lightning, she thought against it.

' _Horn plus ankle. I'll let the math speak for itself._ '

When she landed, Konngara was in front of her again, appearing out of the shimmering effect.

' _What is that?_ '

...Hiyori decided to ask. "What _is_ that thing? The shimmering effect…"

Konngara's posture and manner didn't change, but she complied. "It is the… how do I describe this simply…?"

She tilted her head. "I suppose one may call it… the 'flow of the world', so to speak. Mastery of the method with which all objects move."

…

' _She mastered the art of existing, basically._ ' Hiyori nodded. ' _That's not terribly reassuring._ '

"I suppose I have my own skills, to display, then…" Hiyori readies her hands, and cracks her knuckles.

"Show me something new." Konngara's expression didn't change.

Hiyori tried PK Freeze ß!

KaKa-KaKaKling!

The rapid freezing and thawing of ice crystals had no visible effect, Konngara fading from existence in the places the crystals materialized.

Kra~ck!

The final blast of frozen air was completely ignored.

' _...I tried._ ' Hiyori sighed.

"I've overcome any sort of weakness to magic the oni may have held." Konngara unexpressively boasts. "Mana manipulation is very telegraphed, and brutishly direct in the manner of which it realizes matter and mobilizes it."

' _...You know, when people talk like that, it makes me wonder what I've spent my last thousand years doing._ ' Hiyori felt completely out of sync with the jargon Konngara was throwing around.

"Mana…" The oni held her blade out in front of herself. "...I'll show you true manipulation of mana."

' _Uh oh._ ' Hiyori began backing for the bisected rock…

"All life returns to the nature from whence it came!"

Hiyori hid behind the rock.

…

Bwaa~sh!

Everything vibrated violently, and rocks began falling from the nearest cavern wall.

The rippling shimmers around Konngara grew out of control, expanding outwards in a spiral pattern, seemingly tearing the matter around it asunder. It was like an explosion, but it wasn't a mana bomb. It was a reality bomb.

As fast as it began, it ended, leaving a hole in the rocky terrain that she hovered over.

The vibrations ceased.

' _Incredible…_ ' Hiyori looked around her rock, and saw that half of it was missing. ' _That was a spell…!?_ '

She looked back at Konngara, who was gone.

' _Surprise attack._ '

Hiyori jumped into the air.

Swoosh!

A blade passed under her.

"Good." Konngara stated. Hiyori attempted to land on her head, but just as quickly as she was beside Hiyori, she was gone.

' _Where is she…?_ '

Briefly scanning the area, Hiyori paused when she saw the other oni's figure materialize before her, holding her blade at the ready.

"With the strength of the Earth…!" Konngara leaped into the air, her rippling shimmers completely absent.

Hiyori huffed, and leaped towards her- but just under her.

"Hmm?"

She kicked Konngara in the back.

...The oni still connected her blow with the floor.

Boom!

The floor in a ten foot radius around her was turned from solid rock to chunky boulders upon impact.

...Landing, Hiyori turned to look at Konngara…

If she was affected by the kick, she wasn't showing it. However, her ripples were only slowly coming back, consuming her legs gradually…

' _Wait, this could be-!_ '

Konngara didn't give her time to think, sprinting towards her without warning.

Hiyori tensed up. ' _-My chance!_ '

Hiyori tried PK Freeze γ!

KaKaKa~...

A large snowflake pattern formed in front of Konngara, who ended up running into it, plowing through it.

Blam!

"Ghh…"

Sub-zero air washed over her, but she did her best to completely and utterly ignore it.

' _O-ooh…!_ ' Hiyori moved to block with her arms, knowing it was all she could do, at this point.

Konngara slashed down, and Hiyori could feel the cut slide right into the bone of her right arm.

"Grr-aaaahh~gh!" Hiyori's expression flared, her arm taking the entire impact of the blade. With her other arm, she sent a powerful punch to Konngara's stomach.

Bam!

Konngara staggered back, and leapt away. "Foolish. Your wound will end you."

' _Well, if you're not gonna play fair…_ '

Hiyori tried Lifeup ß!

She felt her cut close up, and her aching joints regain their strength…

"Wounds are not a boundary." Hiyori decided to play Konngara's 'stoic powerhouse' game. "They are superficial."

"Words of a fool." Konngara frowned. "Challenging me was a mistake..."

...She reeled her sword back, behind her head. "Now, let me drill the skill of terror into you!"

Hiyori tried Shield ß!

Hiyori was protected by the power shield of light!

' _Not if I can help it! If your strategy is just letting me bleed out, here, then you have another thing coming._ '

Konngara brought her sword back around, and Hiyori was blinded by the flurry of slashes that emanated from her.

' _Woah!_ '

She blocked and held her head low to protect it, as she felt her skin get sliced up by the adamantite blade the oni sported. Wind whirled wildly, as the oni's slashes ignored windforce to give Hiyori a constant, stinging, bombardment of cuts.

Then, it ended, Konngara slowly returning to a prone position, her legs and lower torso shimmering out of existence…

To her surprise, a beam shot from Hiyori. As it moved towards her, she parried it, but it split into multiple smaller ones, and hit her anyway.

"Hngh!" She flinched back. "Th-that force…"

…

Hiyori tried Lifeup ß!

The many tiny cuts on her body began to heal…

' _I'm starting to get the feeling that healing magic makes things just a little stinted._ '

"You returned half the damage of my skill." Konngara annotated. "Remarkable holy magic."

Then, she shifted her stance. "However, my blade cuts through time, space, and reason…"

' _She's making that motion from the start of the fight…_ '

Hiyori jumped.

Shi~ng!

...The bottoms of Hiyori's sandals became just a little shorter.

' _How annoying…_ '

"Come get me!" Hiyori boasted.

' _That shimmering effect, it protects her from most magic. If I can get her to exhaust herself, I can hit her with magic._ '

"My adamantite sword will end you."

Konngara vanished in her ripples.

' _When in doubt, jump wildly._ '

Hiyori leaped.

…

At the apex of her jump, Konngara appeared next to her.

' _What!?_ '

She sliced wide, cutting into Hiyori's side.

"Gh-aa~h!"

Then, she kicked Hiyori with her leg.

Bam!

"Ghh…"

Hiyori tumbled to the ground below, leaving a small crater where she struck. A beam shot from her shield of light, homing in on Konngara.

' _I-I…_ '

Konngara began falling to the floor, parrying the beam's every attempt of striking her with deadly accuracy.

Hiyori tried Lifeup ß!

' _I-I didn't…_ '

She found the strength to raise her head from the floor. Then, she held her hand outwards.

' _I didn't anticipate that._ '

Hiyori tried PK Freeze γ!

Konngara landed fully, having vanquished the reflected beam. "It is done."

KaKaKa~...

A snowflake formed around her, trapping her momentarily.

"Wha-"

Blam!

...Konngara stumbled a bit, after that. "Th-that… was most unexpected. I am impressed."

' _About time…_ ' Hiyori leaped to her feet, again. ' _...I-I need water…_ '

She reached for her empty canteen, and froze.

' _...O-oh, no…_ '

Konngara began floating, her lower half shimmering once again. "I will finish you with the skill I realized only a few nights ago. A skill that masterfully blends mana manipulation and art, resulting in a beautiful cataclysm."

' _I'm not sure whether I should be unnerved or impressed that a fellow oni could be this flowery…_ '

…

' _I-in any case, I need to run and find a spring, or something…!_ '

Konngara tried PK Starstorm α!

Out of the cavern's dark brown 'sky', stars began descending. Large, yellow stars homed in on Hiyori, whirling down…

Realizing the attack, Hiyori began sprinting.

' _W-water, water, water…!_ '

White stars rained down across the rocky surface of the land's outskirts, sending echoes of magical energy across the land wherever they crashed.

Hiyori was forced to weave past the numerous crashing stars, tumbling rocks, and other assorted underground hazards in her fast-paced search for a body of water.

"Hhhoo-a-a-a-h…"

A scythe-armed phantom sprinted from behind some nearby rocks, moving for Hiyori.

' _Hello, friend._ '

Hiyori leaped over it. It swung for the air, and then attempted to fly the oni, only for a white star to crash into it and destroy it.

Bink!

"Hrooaa-a-ah…"

' _Goodbye, friend._ '

Minutes of running eventually greeted Hiyori with a river. A murky underground river, but an underground river nonetheless. She dove into it.

Sploosh…

…

' _Dark…_ ' She had her breath held. ' _And deep…_ '

…

The stars phased through the walls of the water-filled cave.

' _This wasn't a river- it was a water reservoir!_ '

The stars struck into her, and forced her to gasp in pain.

"Hhh-guha-hckh-nhgh-huaa~h…"

Battered, with her mouth wide open, she flailed her limbs wildly, propelling herself to the surface of the water. She hit an unfortunate ledge in the way, and-

Bam!

-tore right through it, proceeding to the surface.

Sploosh!

"Haa~h!" Hiyori took a deep breath.

' _Ev-everything… blurry…_ '

Hiyori tried Lifeup ß!

...She felt herself dip beneath the water again. She also felt her energy returning to her muscles…

She surfaced the water again, with a few splashes. Then, she leaped out.

"Hmph…" Landing on the reserve's banks, she looked around…

Shink!

A blade slid into her side. On reflex, she jumped, slamming her arm into Konngara.

Bam!

Konngara flew to the side, and landed on the vertical side of a rock. "How do you find the strength to carry on…?"

...Hiyori turns to her, and grins. "Wounds are superficial. I told you."

…

Konngara shakes her head. "You lie."

' _...?_ '

"...Healing magic." The oni swordswoman looks up at her. "I've known since the first cast."

Hiyori froze. ' _A-ah…!_ '

"Did you lie, because you believed I would disapprove?... I cannot say I blame you." Konngara shrugged. "Most oni regard magic as 'cheating', anyway. They simply do not understand…"

' _..._ ' Hiyori stared at her.

…

Konngara's ripples returned. "How about we finish this, then? I feel as if we've shown off enough."

She tosses her katana aside.

Hiyori's shield flickers out. "...You know what? Why not?"

The two onis stepped towards each other.

Konngara reeled her fist back.

Hiyori reeled her fist back.

Then, they both moved to punch one another in the _face_.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIKARI'S VIEW ====

Outside the Hakurei Shrine, the three teenagers stood. It was now morning, again.

' _I remembered to bring ofuda, this time!_ ' Hikari grinned. ' _...Considering how well it works for grandma, it really stuck out._ '

"Don't get into too much trouble, out there." Reimu saw them off. "Unlike in that gohei, you won't get second chances, out here… unless it's danmaku, anyway. Still, make every fight count."

Hikari smiled. "Thanks, Mom. I'll remember that."

The three teenagers began walking towards the stairs. Hikari looked around at the open, blue sky, taking a deep breath.

...Marigold turned to her. "Do you think we could stop by the kappa village? With that many eggheads, sprucing up my weapons couldn't be easier, I'm sure."

"They better have snacks." Osamu stressed. "Else I'll make 'em _invent_ snacks."

' _I wonder when Hiyori's going to get back. I guess it_ has _just been a day._ '

"I'd like to see you _make_ anyone do anything." Marigold smirked.

"...I can make bad guys stop moving!" He grinned back.

...She huffed. "Fair enough."

They reached the bottom of the stairs. Wind blew softly through nearby trees, as Hikari readied herself…

She spread her arms out. "We're gonna need to teleport. Get around me, everyone."

"Is that so~?"

' _Hmm?_ '

...Rumia floated out of the bushes, and blocked the path ahead. Her arms were spread wide, and she was smiling.

…

"Move." Hikari instructed her.

Rumia began stepping closer.

"Flee. Shoo, shoo." Hikari began waving her gohei around.

...Rumia stepped out of the way, but kept moving along the side of the path. "Whatcha' doin'?"

Osamu stepped back. "She… she's tryin'a talk with us?"

' _Seems like it._ '

"Teleporting." Marigold explained. "Which we'll be doing, soon."

"Ooo~h…" Rumia nodded. "...I remember her teleporting." She pointed at Hikari.

' _Uhm?_ '

…

"That's cool." Hikari nods.

"Why arent'cha eating us!?" Osamu blurted, diving behind Hikari.

Freezing, Marigold turned to Osamu. "Must you insult _everyone_ we come across?"

Unoffended, Rumia shrugs. "I'm not hungry."

' _...Oh._ '

...Osamu relaxed. "Oh. Huh. Well, don't you kill people just 'cause they taste good?"

Nodding, Rumia smiled. "...They're yummy~!"

...He backed behind Hikari again.

Sensing a discrepancy, Hikari provided input. "They're yummy, but you only eat when you're hungry?"

Rumia nods.

' _Oo~h. Maybe she's not a bad person, then._ '

Hikari smiles. "...You _need_ to eat people, don't you?"

...Rumia shakes her head.

' _...Nevermind._ '

"Can we just go, already!?" Osamu wraps his arm around Hikari. "Rumia gives me the creeps, dude…"

"Might as well." Hikari agreed. "C'mere, Marigold."

She complied, moving to Hikari's other side.

Rumia beamed. "That looks coo~l… Can I come?"

...Osamu rapidly shook his head.

"You know what?" Hikari grinned. "Follow behind us. You can _try_."

...Osamu nodded in compromise, okay with the situation.

' _Now…_ ' "In three…"

Everyone tensed as wind began whirling around them. Rumia hovered into the air…

"Two…"

The party braced themselves to move. Rumia hovered to their side.

"One." Hikari took a deep breath.

"Go!"

With a gust of air, the party bolted from their spot, picking up most of their needed speed quickly. Rumia's eyes widened from the display of speed acquisition, before she took off after them. Her orb of darkness began expanding and increasing in intensity as she picked up speed…

' _Why must this be so uncomfortably fast?_ ' Hikari felt her legs begin aching, trees passing by them in a blur, when…

Hikari tried Teleport α!

KraKoo~m!

The three of them were gone.

…

Rumia continued to speed down the path, unable to see that the party had vanished due to her orb of darkness.

"Woo~!"

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

KraKoo~m!

The party promptly sped forward into a small, in-town creek.

Sploosh!

' _Aa~h!_ '

…

' _O-ouch…_ '

Hikari raised her face from the creekside gravel…

' _I-I think one got in my eye…_ '

Hikari tried Lifeup α!

' _...Better._ '

Osamu sloshed from the creek bed. "Du~de… I'm like, soaked to the _bone_."

Marigold stumbled up and out of the water. "A-auh… I-I think I-"

Hikari tried Lifeup α!

"-cut… my…" She trailed off, rubbing her cheek. "Thanks, Hikari."

' _Healing magic will never get old._ '

Clambering out of the creek with haste, the party glanced around the kappa village once more. None of the kappa really batted an eye at their display.

' _...Some even appear annoyed._ ' Hikari caught one glaring at her. ' _Guess weird is just par for the course, in a village of inventors._ '

"...We _should_ be able to find some good materials, here." Marigold parted her wet hair from her eyes.

The door of a nearby, metal house opened. A short kappa with dark blue hair stepped outside, carrying a large chunk of metal.

"Hmph…" He dropped it on the mat next to his house.

...Marigold walked up to him. "Hey. Say, I was wondering, uh, if you could recommend some parts, to me?"

The kappa glanced at her, and began walking away.

"Hey, hey, I was talking to you…" Marigold moved to get in front of him. "At least give me an answer…"

The kappa looked up at her. "No."

' _...Wow. That was pretty straightforward._ '

Osamu moved to intervene. "Hey- look! All we want is a few measly sentences outta ya! Or, y'know, a few moments of yer time…?"

The kappa got frustrated. "I'm _very_ busy! What do the three of you know about thermos launchers, hmm? You give me advice on thermos launchers, I give you- I give you whatever. Stop wasting my time."

He power walked back inside his house, and slammed the door shut.

' _...At least they're not kicking us out._ ' Hikari looked on the bright side.

"Hnngh…" Marigold seethed. Then, she knocked on the door. "I-I know a lot about thermos launchers!"

' _What's a thermos launcher?_ '

…

The door opened. "...You do? Buncha humans?"

"I'm a magician, thank you very much." Marigold emphasized. "Bit of a difference."

The kappa's eyes widened. "Oh, you're cool, then. And, uh… bring your lackeys with you, if you want. They can't touch anything, though."

' _If the place is anything like Nitori's, I'm not planning on it._ '

The party stepped into the tiny metal house, which turned out to be a lot bigger on the inside.

' _Wha~t…?_ '

Osamu gaped. "Holy… Where'd this all come from!?"

The kappa scoffed. "Think hammerspace. We just apply it to our houses instead of our backpacks. It's… a project, but we managed to do it for houses on main street. Only so we could easily duck in and test stuff, you know. That's the only reason it's even worth it."

' _...I see._ '

Marigold was awed. "How did you get the catalysts for enchantments of this caliber…?"

The kappa shrugged. "I dunno. It was a long time ago. We mostly just rent these spaces out to each other, nowadays. They've been here awhile."

The party passed a very big lightbulb…

"See this?" The kappa grinned. " _This_ is an industrial grade night-light."

' _An industrial what._ ' It was big enough for someone to hug.

"Okay, so, imagine an oni enters a really big, really dark cavern, say, five by five miles wide." The kappa stretches his arms out. "Then, imagine they're scared of the dark."

' _Do those even exist? Both of those things. Five mile wide caverns, and_ _oni that are afraid of the dark._ '

"They would use this night light." The kappa nodded proudly. "Wanna see?"

' _Uhm…_ '

Marigold grinned. "Ahah… I don't think that's a very good idea."

"You mean a very… _bright_ … idea." Osamu wears a shit-eating grin.

…

Hikari facepalmed.

"Can I shoot him?" The kappa volunteers.

"No, no… he's enough of a danger to himself as it is." Marigold appears crestfallen.

"Ah~hahahaha~!" Osamu clutches his stomach, laughing away.

"...A~nyway, my thermos launcher…" The navy-blue haired kappa moved across the room, and stopped at a box. The box had a pipe sticking out of the top.

Everyone gathered around it.

"What's a thermos launcher?" Marigold questioned.

...The kappa slowly turned to look at her. "...You said you _knew_."

Marigold froze… and shook her head. "I-I mean, talk to me as if I _didn't_ know. So I could… see where you're coming from?"

"...Right. Well. Since you're a magician, I'll let it slide…" He sighed. "A thermos is, like… a metal can that normally holds soup and water, and stuff. It was an outside world invention. I was thinking… what if we could fill them with nitro and shoot them?" He spread his arms out in a shrug. "...Right? Right?"

' _...Basically, a rocket._ '

"Why?" Marigold furrowed her brows.

"I need a defense system." The kappa stated. "...It's also cool."

Marigold nodded. "I see. What do you need help with?"

"Well- ah, here…" The kappa flipped open the side of the box. "This panel. The full bridge rectifier doesn't work. Like… alright, maybe if I…"

' _The what? Aa~h, this is already out of my territory…_ '

The kappa hovered his hand over the circuit board, moving it near it, before making a move. He touched it…

The circuit board shone brightly and made a loud pop.

Hikari flinched back. ' _Woah!_ '

"Oouch! Geh…!" Expression flaring in alarm, the kappa pulled his arm back, shaking his hand. "Shhh…!"

Osamu blinked. "Looks like your rectifier ain't rectifyin'."

The kappa turned to him, gritting his teeth. "You're about to _lose_ a rectifier, you dunderheaded runt!"

Marigold moved to salvage the situation before Osamu could frustrate the kappa further. "What's wrong with the, uhm… full bridge rectifier?"

He glanced at her. "Ah, right… The voltage isn't traveling through right. Long story short, thermos goes in, thermos doesn't come back out."

"...Wiring problem?" Marigold grinned. "U~m… Did you try checking the inside for the thermos?"

The kappa nodded. "It eats it. I have to buy a new one, every time."

"Say what?" Marigold blinked. "That's _not_ a wiring problem, then…"

Hikari began looking around the room…

"Wha- how!?" The kappa became frustrated. "Of _course_ it's a wiring problem!"

' _Industrial grade night light, huh…?_ '

Hikari stepped up to it, growing bored of the engaging wiring discussion going on behind her.

She covered her eyes, and reached for the large button on it. ' _Can't be that bad, right?_ '

Fwaa~sh!

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: MARIGOLD'S VIEW ====

The three stood outside the doors of the small metal house.

"If I see you three in here again," The kappa smiled, "I'm gonna need a new cleaning bot. So, let me save us both some time, and tell you to _never come back here again_."

Slam.

' _...That didn't go so well._ ' Marigold sighed…

Osamu held up something triangular. "...He kicked me out before I could put this down. Check it."

Hikari and Marigold leaned over to stare at it…

"Stop moving your hand." Marigold snatched it.

"Hey!" Osamu moved to try to grab it again, before giving up. "Ah, whatever. Look, we can sell it…"

' _A prism, huh?_ ' She rotated it, the light shining through it and producing subtle colors.

"It's pretty." Hikari observed.

"I think I can use it, for something…" Marigold stated. "Like, maybe I can upgrade one of my guns, with it…"

Osamu nodded. "That'd be rad, too."

' _But… what would I upgrade?_ '

The three eventually came to a solid metal bench that was rooted in the floor, and set up shop at it.

"Scorch marks." Hikari noted.

Marigold grinned. "We'll be fine. I doubt-"

Kaboo~m!

A nearby tree burst into flames, and shot into the air. Hikari whimpered, and shielded herself with her arms.

' _Woa~h… When was Hikari_ that _skittish?_ '

"Holy crap!" Osamu also shielded himself, which was par for the course.

"...Are you okay, Hikari?" Marigold neared her.

"A-ah…" Hikari nodded. "Just… some bad memories. Nuclear trees…"

Osamu turned to her in realization. "Oh, yeah! Fuckin' nuclear trees, dude."

' _...I don't want to know._ '

...Various pops and bangs were heard in the distance, as the afternoon sun hung high in the sky.

"Let's, uh, make this quick…" Marigold grinned, pulling out her weapons and placing them on the bench…

' _Ground zero, huh? I don't wanna be around here when the testing starts, I'm sure…_ '

She gazed over her Microwave Gun, NF Burst Gun, and Air Gun.

' _I don't find terrible use for the Air Gun, nowadays._ ' Marigold reflected.

She held up her Air Gun, and looked over it. ' _How could a prism improve this? I assume the gun's danmaku should do something good, to it…_ '

"Dude, you're like, a walking armory…" Osamu smiled. "How many guns're ya gonna need?"

"I'll carry as many as I can before the backpack crushes me." Marigold jests. "...Which might be soon, actually. It's starting to get pretty heavy…"

Osamu shrugged. "You could always have _me_ carry it…"

' _Su~re…_ '

Marigold held up her Microwave Gun. "Hold this."

He grinned. "Don't mind if I- woaa~h!"

Stumbling around, Osamu fell onto his bottom, surprised by the weight of the gun. "...I-I take back that last offer…"

' _Mmm._ '

Hikari stepped over, and lifted the Microwave Gun off Osamu. "...I'd carry it, but I don't want to." She set it back down on the bench.

Marigold shrugged. She moved the prism over the gun's barrel, and placed it on it…

' _Doesn't fit, not like it would. Hmm…_ '

...She moved up to another door, and knocked on it. Hikari followed her, while Osamu stuck around at the bench, guarding the guns.

The door swung open, and a blonde kappa waved her hand. "Hi~!"

Marigold held up the Air Gun, and her prism. "Danmaku rifle. Prism. Help."

The kappa girl deflated. "...Whatever. Here…"

She walked behind the door, and came back with some things. She tossed them into Marigold's arms, who fumbled to catch them.

"Tape, battery, and a one-way ticket to go-the-hell-away… ville." She scowled at the party.

Slam.

' _...Oh. Everyone's so rude around here!_ '

Marigold obtained Scotch Tape!

Marigold obtained Double-A Battery!

Marigold obtained Ticket!

...Marigold took the ticket, and threw it away. ' _Screw her._ '

"I'm waiting for the door that just has a kappa with a shotgun behind it." Hikari predicted. "You _know_ it's going to happen."

' _That'd suck._ ' Marigold paled. "...No more, uh… knocking on doors, then."

She moved back to the bench with Hikari, and examined the other goods…

Pulling a piece of tape out, she felt her fingers stick to the bottom…

' _Adhesive! That'll work… It's so clear, too…_ '

She pulled the tape, and struggled to remove it…

"How does this… oh." She succeeded in using the plastic spikes to cut the tape.

From there, she placed the prism on the barrel of the gun, and used the tape to hold it in place.

' _Alright…_ '

Marigold aimed it up into the sky, and pulled the trigger.

FwiChoo~m!

Seven bullets flew out, in a widespread, filling the air.

Osamu gaped. "Duu~de!"

However, displeasure covered Marigold's face. ' _That's lame, even for a shotgun. What if I…_ '

Flipping the gun over, she examined the cheap plastic handle. She took the battery…

' _I have no idea what this is. Let's put it inside! I mean… it can't get any worse._ '

Marigold slide the battery in through the cheap trigger, which one would actually be able to see the chip bags inside through.

...Shaking the gun a bit, Marigold could feel the battery rattle around. "Alright…"

...Aiming straight up, she pulled the trigger down again.

Fwoom.

Seven beams shot from the prism, at the same wide angles.

' _...Hmph. A little better, but still terrible._ '

Hikari rose a brow. "...Flashy."

Marigold tried holding the trigger down.

Fwooo~...

The beams shot from the gun, producing a dazzling array of rainbow lasers. They slowly rotated as Marigold's hands shook, the light revolving as the way it was shined upon changed.

' _Wo-woah…!_ ' Both of her hands clasped the Air Gun, and she tried to stabilize herself. Hearing a sizzling sound from inside her gun, she watched as the beams revolved faster, and faster…

Hikari and Osamu backed away, staring agape.

Fwoomm-oom-oom-oom…!

The beams began revolving faster, nearing each other to form a more precise spread, before they finally began to near…

Marigold dug her heels into the dirt below her, as the gun's force pushed her back down the dirt path…

' _S-so… much… recoil!_ '

Before long, the somewhat thin beams convened into one, rainbow-colored central beam.

Vrrrrr~!

"Aaa-aaaa~h!"

Marigold flew back, the beam's force sending her flying.

"Oh, shit!" Osamu dove off the dirt path, while Hikari used her wind to leap from it, as the beam lowered due to Marigold's control over the gun failing.

The beam struck the sides of multiple kappa houses, none of which were worse for wear after it passed. The metal was visibly heated after each encounter, but all of the houses were built for sustained abuse.

Bam!

Marigold slid into a tree, and her hand was removed from the grip, forcing her to release the trigger.

The gun stopped, and the beam went out, fading quickly.

…

Whistles were heard from around the kappa village.

' _W-wow…!_ ' Marigold looked down at her gun, and hugged it. ' _I made a rainbow laser cannon thing!_ '

...Hikari and Osamu half-sprinted down the path of the kappa village, catching up with Marigold…

"Dude." Osamu hold his hands up, beaming. "That was fuckin' _awesome!_ "

"I-I know, right!?" Marigold gushed.

Hikari smiled.

' _What am I going to call it…?_ ' Marigold gave it a good look…

' _It involves a spectrum of light… and it's basically a shotgun, so…_ '

Osamu grinned. "So, what's it called, now? Rainbow Gun?"

Marigold's face lit up, but she paused. ' _...My mother said I should be more original, and I think I agree. So~..._ '

"Spectrum Shotgun." Marigold posed.

' _...It's better._ '

Osamu nodded. "Alright, that's actually pretty cool."

' _I wish I could pump it like an actual shotgun, though. That can come later…_ '

Satisfied, Marigold slung her Spectrum Shotgun over her shoulder, slowly walking onto the path…

…

' _I left my guns back at that bench. I, uh, should go grab them…_ '

She ran off after them, Osamu and Hikari following slowly behind.

…

"I was gonna suggest Light Gun." Hikari smugly adds.

"Pffft." Osamu shakes his head.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

END OF CHAPTER 18

Protagonist: Hikari Hakurei, Disciple of Paradise

-Inventory-

Weapon: Miracle Gohei - Ability to whack stuff really hard. Amplifies whacking power, too! Able to deal magical damage. Adds an increased chance to deal critical hits.

Arms: Iconic Hakurei Arm Sleeves - Keeps arms warm. A Hakurei tradition. How they stay on is a Hakurei family secret.

Body: Combat Miko Outfit - A black leotard and hakama combination worn by the previous-previous Hakurei miko. Designed to be suitable for excessive physical activity and close combat, it slightly improves physical combat prowess. Now with less sideboob!

Misc: Royal Red Ribbon - A ribbon made with rich materials, with a floral pattern.

-Skills-

Attack: Quickly! Swing your gohei at them for massive damage!

PK Fantasy α, β - Bombards the enemy with pain in the form of flashing colors. Deals magical damage. Heavy mental strain that increases with each tier.

PK Flash α, ß - A bright flash that distributes very random status effects to enemies. Usually makes people cry. Higher tiers increase chances, and introduce possibilities of fainting or dispel.

Hypnosis α, Ω - Puts weak enemies to sleep for a short time. Works better on tired or exhausted foes. Can also be used in a far more costly form that works on multiple opponents.

Shield α, ß - Halves damage the target takes. Only works against physical attacks, and enough strikes, or powerful strikes, will dispel it. Higher tier turns it into a power-shield that protects even better and even reflects a fraction of protected damage.

Lifeup α, ß, γ - Heals target a little. Higher tiers heal more grievous wounds, like bone fractures.

Healing α, ß, γ - Heals basic status ailments. Higher tiers can cure more dire effects, like burning alive.

Teleport α - Allows instant transport to the general location of an area remembered by oneself or one's party members. Requires a long, fast run-up to execute, however.

Ofuda Toss - Throw a holy ofuda that does massive holy elemental damage to youkai and dark elemental foes. Effect lessens the more holy the thing you're attacking is, to the point of healing holy things. Only works if you actually have ofuda, though.

β-β-β-β

Mage: Osamu Katsumi, the Wannabe Mage

-Inventory-

Weapon: Fisticuffs!

Arms: Nothing

Body: Dated Village Magician Robes - An old robe from the days when the village respected the medium of magic. Now actually looks navy blue, instead of black!

Misc: Yukkuri Beanie - Resembles a really tacky tablecloth, made in the Yukkuri theme. Lime green and has tons of fun yukkuri decals!

-Skills-

PK Thunder α, ß - Very random thunder attack that deals limited damage. Higher tiers increase number of bolts, and sometimes power.

PK Hydro α, β, γ - Gets everyone wet. Usefulness with PK Thunder and PK Freeze depends on whether you hit yourself or not! Creates whirling water spirals at higher tiers.

PK Freeze α, β, γ - Generates ice crystals at the target's location. Medium damage and effect; may freeze some targets, especially wet ones.

Fireball - Manipulate mana to make a shoddy fireball. Low damage and effect.

Static Hands - Not a real spell. Result of a very undercharged PK Thunder that can accidentally go off.

PSI Telepathy α - Speak to friends you haven't met yet! Unstable connection and only works if they have the skill or are asleep.

PSI Shield α, Σ - Halves damage from magical and psychic attacks. Thunder spells fry it instantly, and harder blows dispel it. Second tier applies basic shield to entire party at higher mana expense.

PSI Magnet α - Costs no mana to use, and steals a very tiny amount of mana from the enemy. Enemy has to have mana in the first place for it to work, though.

Offense Up α - Get pissed! Boosts strength and confidence depending on caster's power and receiver's power.

Defense Down α - Throw the enemy off their game. Makes them slightly more vulnerable to physical attacks.

β-β-β-β

Inventor: Marigold Knowledge, the Tri-Magi Love Child

-Inventory-

Weapon: Microwave Gun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Constructed with a controlled flame crystal and metal parts, it fires a beam of sustained microwave energy that cooks biological foes alive. Fire-elemental at its core, it's also very inefficient against machines.

Arms: Nothing

Body: Custom Adventure Dress - A custom dress made by Alice. Provides slight defense against magical and psychic attacks. Now allows freer movement with a shorter skirt, and a more flexible material.

Misc: Swirly Glasses - Lets Marigold not be blind.

Backpack - Allows extended inventory. Aged relic from the Kourindou.

Unnamed Lock Opening Device - Opens locks very precariously. Made with steel, burnt cloth, packaging peanuts, thumbtacks, string, and wooden wheels. Don't even ask…

Ruler - Lets you measure the world around you!

Protractor - Lets you find the angles of anything ever. Totally overpowered.

Scotch Tape - Transparent adhesive from the outside world. Weak, but handy!

Deck of Cards - Allows Marigold to play Strip Poker with the party. Just kidding… or am I?

Shield Killer - Electrical device used to subdue harassers. Has settings ranging from Tickle Torture to Arse Blaster. Fires electrical projectiles, of unknown power.

Spectrum Shotgun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Filled with foil chip bags to conduct the mana, and it is transmitted into a wind stone. Upgraded to draw mana from a simple wooden block filled with immense magic reserves, giving it virtually unlimited ammo. The addition of a battery and a prism allow it to fire seven rainbow colored beams at a wide spread, which deal non-elemental damage. Firing long enough allows them to focus and deal incredible damage, at the cost of insane recoil and instability.

NF Burst Gun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Uses a Pop Gun as the base, but amplifies its power with an array of random batteries jammed into the base with the Pop Gun. The more batteries, the better, but the typical yield is about five bullets per trigger. Spamming the trigger doesn't make it go any faster, unfortunately. Has no foreseeable ammo limit, and the batteries are only there for mana circulation, meaning their power is really inconsequential.

Holmes Brand Designer Hat - Village swag! A retro village hat that ceased production ten years ago. Sells for a pretty penny nowadays, but it's pretty useless otherwise.

Slime Generator - A bulky box that shoots a small splat of slime. Doesn't seem good for much.

Counter-PSI Device - A weird device Marigold found from a flying saucer. Works in strange ways, and seems to disrupt everyone's concentration. Marigold is immune to its effects.

Charm of Sleep - Grants immunity to sleep while equipped. Can be equipped to Arms or Misc.

-Skills-

A Member of the Crystal Gems - Despite being named after a flower, instead. Trust us.

Very Good at Adventure Games - She probably would be, too.

Doesn't Know How to Fix Full Bridge Rectifiers - Advanced wiring is advanced.

Invented the Printing Press - It's a device that prints presses.

Is A Raging Barbarian - S'gonna bring back the big bang disaster!

β-β-β-β

Fighter: Hiyori Hashimoto, the Buddhist Oni

-Inventory-

Weapon: Fisticuffs!

Arms: Shackle of Devas - The first of the four treasures held by the Devas of the Mountain. Grants immunity to sleep-inducing magic. Grants fifty percent resistance to wind and thunder magic.

Body: Runed Gi - Enchanted to not get blown away by battle damage.

Misc: Nothing

-Skills-

PK Fire α, ß - Creates an igniting blast of flames at the target's location. Most impact comes with higher tiers.

PK Freeze α, β, γ - Generates ice crystals at the target's location. Medium damage and effect; may freeze some targets, especially wet ones.

Shield α, ß, Σ - Halves damage the target takes. Only works against physical attacks, and enough strikes, or powerful strikes, will dispel it. Higher tier turns it into a power-shield that protects even better and even reflects a fraction of protected damage. Highest tier applies a basic shield to the entire party.

Lifeup α, ß - Heals target a little. Higher tiers heal more grievous wounds, like bone fractures.

Healing α, ß - Heals basic status ailments. Higher tiers can cure more dire effects, like burning alive.

Teleport α, ß - Allows instant transport to the general location of an area remembered by oneself or one's party members. Requires a long, fast run-up to execute, however. Higher tier is largely automatic and requires little room to execute.

Martial Arts - Skilled in hand-to-hand combat.

β-β-β-β

Author's Note:

if last chapter had numerous DISCREPANCIES with the after-chapter skillcheck, they should be FIXED HERE; sorry 'bout all that yo

in any case, get HYPE for DEVA FIGHTS and SENDAI HAKUREI NO MIKO~ yo

fluff nugget fever, in any case

also that good ol spectrum beam, yo~. it's based on the Last Prism from Terraria. numerous of Konngara's skills come from MONSTER GIRL QUEST.

i'll just let that SINK IN

...also yeah sendai hakurei no miko is based off of RICHTER BELMONT from Castlevania, to extents, here (though she still keeps that darkness motif most fanworks give her)

she doesn't use no holy crosses, though; she uses YIN-YANG ORBS… and not as boomerangs, as pinballs.

they make mean pinballs

as always, see you all next time!


	19. Hakurei on the Rocks

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIYORI'S VIEW ====

Sitting upon a block of stone, Hiyori had her arms folded…

' _In the end, it was pretty much a stalemate._ '

In front of her was a larger block of stone, and across it, sat Konngara, who had a similarly sized block to Hiyori's to sit on.

"...You showed resolve." Konngara was satisfied. "...I suppose such skill is more than I could have asked, from an oni without note."

' _...Even if that's kind of what I was going for, that still feels like an insult._ ' Hiyori took a small, generic band-aid from the depths of her gi, and placed it on her cheek.

…

"You said the world was in trouble?" Konngara stared at Hiyori, expression stoic.

Hiyori nods. "Yes. From what I've seen-"

"There is no need for words." Konngara interrupts her. "Those skills you displayed… They weren't just any magic, were they?"

' _Hmm?_ ' Hiyori pauses.

Konngara waits.

…

Then, she nods. "You don't know, then… I see."

"What are you talking about, exactly?" Hiyori pressed. "What do I not know?"

Konngara smiles. "Your magic. It is not fueled by knowledge, exactly, is it?"

' _She's not wrong. There's still much I don't know._ '

...Hiyori nods. "I'd say I struggled for it, but it was not acquired through knowledge. I seek to learn, though."

"Good stance." Konngara approves. "I believe your abilities to be mental, however. Powered by will, and not by the manual use of magical energy."

' _I see…_ ' Hiyori looks down at the block table. ' _I still have a lot to learn, then…_ '

"I, too, have realized a will-based spell of my own." Konngara informs the fellow oni. "Magic by such a method still drain one's willpower, however, perhaps even more than methodic magic."

Hiyori processes the information. "...Is it a bad thing, then?"

"Not at all." Konngara shakes her head. "I know not what brings it about, as it seems to be a rather unique skill. It is likely no coincidence that we've met. I'm willing to believe the world is in peril, and as such, I am willing to grant you one of my treasures…"

Hiyori perks up, making eye contact with Konngara again. "R-really? We stalemated, after all…"

...Konngara sighs. "Unfortunately, I do not have my treasure to give."

…

"What!?" Hiyori stood up, slamming her hands on the stone block table-

Bam!

-and cracking it.

' _Is she lying to me!? Or-or did she really get beaten previously? Is this why she's been hiding?_ '

After a period of silence, Hiyori speaks. "...How?"

"It was on the surface. I was careless during the Hakurei involvement in the war, and misplaced it. I know not where it is, now, but it is likely with some treasure collector."

' _Oh. Darn…_ '

"...In my opinion, however, I have something better for you."

Hiyori rose a brow. ' _What could be better than a Deva's treasure?_ '

Konngara grinned. "I shall see if I can pass down my spell to you. The spell powered by will."

"...Which one was that?" Hiyori questions.

"I believe it is called Starstorm. That should tell you everything." Konngara explains.

' _...It's that spell that keeps giving me trouble._ ' Hiyori blinks. ' _That would actually be immensely useful._ '

"Shall we begin?" Konngara offers.

Hiyori smiles, "Definitely."

The two oni stand up, and begin walking into the dark subterranean plains nearby.

"Where do we begin?" Hiyori wonders aloud.

Konngara takes a moment to respond. "...It will be a learning experience, for the both of us."

' _Oh. This might take awhile, huh…?_ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

The two stood near a luminous corridor in the walling adjacent to the plains. The amber light from the tunnel nearby provided a shred of consistent light for the two as they trained.

"I understand it requires an immense amount of mana. As such, it will likely be difficult for you to grasp quickly…"

The two focused on a stalagmite that lied ahead. It was sizable, larger than an average humanoid.

' _It's been about an hour…_ ' Hiyori sighed. ' _Hopefully this doesn't take longer than a year. I'm not sure how long that is, to a human._ '

Konngara floats into the air…

Konngara tried PK Starstorm α!

The dazzling array of stars flew from the dark sky of the underground cavern, and soared into the stalagmite ahead.

Bam-Boom! Ba-Bam! Boom! Boom!

A short rain of white and yellow stars, the latter of which spiraled into the stalagmite, reducing it largely to dust.

' _...All I can tell is that that uses a lot of mana…_ '

...Konngara lands next to Hiyori. "Now, you try."

' _Here we go again…_ ' Hiyori sighed.

Closing her eyes, she focused on the stump of the stalagmite…

Hiyori tried PK Starstorm α!

…

But it failed!

"Urh…" She stumbled a bit, taking a deep breath. "...No good."

Konngara attempts to instruct her. "I might suggest visualizing it. Not that it should do anything, but sometimes, in more novice formats of will-based magic, it helps channel in the same manner as a wand, staff, or other focus. It's more crude as a whole, however."

' _...I guess._ '

They turn their attention to a large block of stone a few feet away from where the stalagmite used to be.

Konngara floated into the air…

Konngara tried PK Starstorm α!

The rain of stars began again, lighting up the faux sky…

Ba-Boom! Bang, blam, bam!

The block shifted loudly from the first few impacts, until the latter stars outright drilled into it.

When the dust settled, the block was half gone.

"Now, you try." Konngara floated down, and stepped back, again.

Hiyori takes a deep breath, and closes her eyes. ' _I should focus, this time…_ '

She focused…

' _Stars… star shaped bullets… projectiles..._ ' She focused pretty hard. ' _Projectiles with star shapes… Projectiles with… star-esque properties? Star shaped stars?_ '

She focused too hard, maybe.

Hiyori tried PK Starstorm α!

…

But it failed!

' _Really…? I-I mean, it was to be expected..._ '

Hiyori let out a gasp, and stumbled a bit again, her mana throwing itself around.

Konngara addressed the failure. "I see it didn't work. Perhaps, then, I didn't know what I was talking about…"

"Maybe…" Hiyori huffed. ' _That mana backlash was even greater than last time…_ '

...Their progress stagnated.

Hiyori turned to Konngara, curious. "Are you going to…?"

"...It seems very trying on my reserves." Konngara notes. "I cannot feasibly use it more."

' _Oh. I guess no more observation, then._ '

With that, Konngara folds her arms, looking neutral.

…

After a few moments of rest, Hiyori feels her balance and concentration return to her. She pulls her canteen of water, and drinks from it…

' _Magic makes me really thirsty…_ '

"I've also noticed, that it seems your willpower is restored upon drinking water." Konngara observes. "That's the reason you ran into the water reserve during our fight, wasn't it?"

' _How does she…?_ '

Hiyori nods. "Mmm. Water helps with a lot of things, I find…"

"You don't drink?"

...Hiyori glances at her questioningly.

"Normally, oni do that to a far lesser extent with alcohol." Konngara explains. "I found it interesting that you managed to do it with water."

"I don't drink alcohol." Hiyori states. "I'm a Buddhist."

…

Konngara smiles. "Interesting."

' _Interesting won't help me learn this faster, though…_ '

Ahead of the two oni, black forms swirl about in the air, raising from the floor…

Hiyori glares at them. ' _More phantoms. Guess they'll make good target practice…_ '

Konngara takes note of them. "...I'll dispose of them."

"No, no…" Hiyori reaches out a hand towards her. "I can use them."

Taking Hiyori's word for it, the oni swordswoman relaxes, and steps back. "Very well."

' _The worst they can do is weak magic, anyway._ '

The ghosts were similar to the scythe-wielding apparition from before, except they had no blade hands. Instead, their arms were formless, and their eyes were blue.

Hiyori stretched her neck, and began focusing, again…

' _Stars… The night sky. Bright, shining stars… Yellow, white, and blue..._ '

Hiyori tried PK Starstorm α!

…

But it failed!

' _Wh-wh…_ '

Hiyori's vision went fuzzy momentarily, and she caught herself before she fell over.

' _I-I'm getting beaten up, by this…_ '

Magus Phantom A tried PK Fire α!

Fwoo~m…

Flames licked past Hiyori, who shrugged it off. What parts of her began burning were easily remedied by patting herself, or waving her arms around.

' _Fire does not work well on oni. That's something I've learned well from being underground for so long. I'm pretty sure a lot more of us would have died gruesomely, otherwise._ '

Magus Phantom B tried PK Thunder ß!

Thwaa~sh!

Hiyori brought her arm up to defend herself from the bolt on reflex, and as the lightning struck her and passed through her body, the Shackle of Devas glowed, drawing electricity to itself.

'Hegugh…" Hiyori jittered a bit.

' _El-Electricity's just awful, though… Did the shackle protect me?_ '

Thwaa~sh!

Konngara raised her sword, and deflected the lightning bolt, which struck the floor nearby, instead.

Bam!

"Are you injured?" She locked her gaze on Hiyori, who jittered with electricity, still…

"N-no." Hiyori's focus was on the phantoms before her. "Just a little static…"

' _I'm thinking that shackle protected me…_ '

"...If you are certain." Konngara takes a spectator stance once again.

Hiyori focused on the phantoms before her…

' _I've hardly taken a good look at the night sky. Not since the time we got sealed- which was fairly recent, in my lifespan- but, you tend to forget things after a hundred years. We weren't remembered for our mental capacity._ '

The phantom's cores swirled around, as they readied to cast more magic…

' _...I remember the projectiles that struck me quite vividly. Five points, angular, dazzlingly bright…_ '

Hiyori tried PK Starstorm α!

The dazzling array of stars spiraled down from the dark, artificial sky once more…

Bam! Kabla-Boom! Bam! Bang! Boom!

Both the magical phantoms were overwhelmed by the magical energy that soared into them. Stars hurdled and spiraled into them, quickly dissipating their ethereal bodies and erasing their presence from the vicinity.

…

Hiyori dropped to her knees. "A-ah…"

Konngara stared down at her. "...Excellent progress. Now, you must learn to optimize it."

...Hiyori flopped over on her side, consciousness fading…

' _S-so… tired…_ '

Thud.

…

"Once you wake up, that is." Konngara sighs.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIKARI'S VIEW ====

The three trudged down the steep mountainside…

' _It's not as steep as the higher portions of the mountain._ ' Hikari mentally annotates. ' _We were practically sliding down, up there. This is… actually pretty good, as long as you don't go off the beaten trails._ '

Easily, and with pep to their steps, the party moved.

"We're totally gonna get _jumped_ by a tengu." Osamu expresses his woe. "And it's gonna be that one we pissed off. And we don't have _Hiyori!_ "

"I don't care." Marigold grins. "I've got a laser cannon."

"But-..." Osamu trails off. "Actually, I dunno. That might _actually_ stop her…"

' _I could alway use my flashy, fantastic attack if any tengu bother us. It'd suck, but I might need to._ '

"It's a _laser cannon._ " Marigold stresses. "It's _gonna_ stop her."

"If she even engages us." Hikari argues.

' _She might._ '

"As if she _wouldn't_." Osamu folds his arms. "I don't know, dude…"

The bushes rustled ahead.

Marigold readied her Spectrum Shotgun. "I-it's her!"

Hikari tensed up. "A-ah…!"

"Oh, shit!" Osamu fell back, to hide behind Hikari. "I fuckin' toldja so!"

Further rustling left the party pensive.

…

A cat strutted from the bushes.

"Holy fuck!" Osamu flinched violently.

Osamu tried PK Thunder ß!

Thwaa~sh!

The cat sprinted out of the way of the bolt, which struck the dirt where it was.

Thwaa~sh!

"Aa-aaa~h!"

...Surprised, the party turned to face some other bushes to the side of the trail. Nitori stumbled out, and for whatever reason, seemed to be blinking in and out of existence.

"...Hi." Hikari greeted her.

"M-my optical camouflage!" Nitori whined, patting a grey disc on her back. As she struck it, she flickered in and out of existence with more intensity.

Then, it dropped off of Nitori's back entirely-

Boom.

-and exploded. It was a quaint, miniature explosion. Despite this, the device rested in pieces.

Nitori, now fully visible, blushes. "Th-that electricity… Wh-where did that even come from? Did… did my device do that? Did it…" She looked at the party. "Oh. Hey…"

Hikari simply stares at her.

"...Why were you using a cloaking spell?" Marigold questioned immediately, finding it suspicious.

"Spell?" Nitori jerked her head back. "It's optical camouflage. There may be magic involved, but it's not the device's focus, at all."

"...So it was cloaking." Marigold deadpanned. "Why were you cloaking?"

...Nitori nervously smiled. "A-oh. Right… Well, you see, I, kinda wanted to know about that laser cannon you got going, there…"

Marigold beamed. "You want to see!?"

Nitori twitches in surprise. "A-a, yes! Please!"

Eagerly, Marigold zoomed up to Nitori, and began discussing the weapon with her…

"So, to make it work, I basically taped a prism to the end- for the laser part anyway- and I make it power through a block in the center-" She takes a breath. "-and that block is, like, magically charged, and-"

"Why don't you just start from, uh, the beginning…?" Nitori smiles patiently, if a bit awkwardly.

Marigold began repeating the construction process, detailing how she stuffed the gun full of chip bags and fairy fingers…

Hikari tuned out the conversation, and looked at the cat on the path ahead. It sat, and stared at the party.

' _Kitty…_ '

The black, two-tailed cat warily watched Hikari approach…

' _Wait, two tails?_ '

...Hikari shrugged it off. She crouched down to lift the cat, but it simply began walking away.

"Hhn…" Hikari huffs, following it.

Osamu looks between the two girls, but resolves to follow Hikari.

The cat doesn't walk far before it begins sprinting through the brush.

' _You won't get away from me!_ '

As it darts into the brush, Hikari darts along with it, clipping branches, brush, and rocks on her scrambled pursuit of the furry feline.

' _C'mo~n…!_ ' She used her wind to guide herself towards the cat. After a back-and-forth chase through the brush, Hikari clutched the cat, and whisked it off the floor.

" _Caught_ you…" Hikari nuzzled the fur along its flank...

' _Who ever said black cats were bad luck? 'Cause I don't believe it..._ '

...Osamu walks up, carefully stepping through the scattered snow and other forest hazards on his way to his friend. "Dude, the hell's a cat doin' up here?"

"We're outside." Hikari's words were muffled by the fur. The cat wiggles helplessly.

"And?" Osamu takes a closer look at the cat. He moves to pet it, but it tries to bite him, forcing him to retract his hand quickly. "Killjoy…"

...Hikari stroked the cat, and it meowed.

' _Awwh…_ ' Hikari moved to nuzzle it again...

A sudden poof of smoke from her arms caused Hikari to tense up, and let go.

' _Wh-what!?_ '

Thud. "Nya~aaah!"

...When the smoke dissipated, the cat was no longer a cat, but a woman.

A red-haired, twin-tailed cat girl dressed in black, with red hair, that was also done up in two twin-tails.

' _Not the same kind of tails, mind you. You should know…_ '

Osamu double-took, bewildered by the sudden .

...The girl leaped back up. "That was ru~de… I told ya to put me down, not slam me to the floor…"

"Gravity doesn't listen to those kinds of requests." Hikari counters. "I would know. I've tried."

' _Broken legs are not fun. You also didn't tell me anything, earlier. Unless it was that meowing… I don't speak cat.'_

Dusting herself off, the cat girl looks closer at Hikari… "You came to check out all the dead bodies, too, Reimu?"

Hikari jerked her head back. ' _...There are multiple things wrong with that sentence._ '

"...What?" She smiled sheepishly. Then, she shielded herself with her arms. "It-it wasn't me, Reimu, I swear!"

"Can I pet you?" Osamu suddenly blurts. "I-I mean… yeah."

...She gives Osamu a blank stare. "Only if you want me to bite you."

...He shrugs. "Par for the course."

Moving up to the cat girl, he lifts his hand towards her forehead…

She did, infact, move to bite it.

"Yeeoo~w! H-holy fuck… Is it bleeding? Aw, shit, I think it's bleeding…" He backs away, nursing his hand…

' _...Ah. Good job._ '

...The cat girl turns to Hikari. "...Yer being awfully quiet, Reimu. I guess it's all the dead bodies."

"I'm not Reimu." Hikari folded her arms, staring at the cat girl dryly. "I'm her _daughter._ "

…

"Pfft-hahahaha~!" She shook her head, looking mirthful. "G'one, Reimu. As if _you'd_ ever hit it up with anybody."

Hikari's jaw dropped. ' _Wha~t!?'_

The cat girl covered her mouth. "Oops!… d-don't blast me for that, kay? I was joking..."

' _At least my mother's reputation is as sturdy as ever._ '

"Ahahahaha~!" Osamu got a kick out of it, even as he nursed his hand. 

..."Just who's this goon?" The cat girl stared at Osamu, brows furrowing.

"This 'goon' is an extre~mely handsome man…" He attempts to flex, but his muscles only slightly raise.

…

"So, Reimu! About them corpses, nya…?" She turned to Hikari.

' _What corpses…?_ ' Hikari tilted her head.

…

"Do-do you not know…?" Her eyes lit up. "Then- yeah! Uhm… I never said anything. See ya Reimu, I got a- uhm, dinner date! By the way, snazzy new outfit! Is that, uh, leotard rubber, latex, or what?"

' _Actually, wait…_ ' Hikari holds out a hand. "Hold on."

"Eee~p!" The cat hugs herself.

"Would you know how to get to the cavern that leads underground?" Hikari asks. "I know something like that exists, but…"

' _Hiyori went to the underground, right? We'll just go find her, then._ '

…

"You feelin' alright, Reimu?" The cat blinked, looking somewhat concerned.

Hikari expression fell. "I told you. I'm her daughter."

The cat nodded slowly, appearing slightly weirded out. "Ri~ght… Well, um… If you go down the mountain trail, and to the right a bit- on another trail- there'll be the cave. Y'can't miss it."

Hikari smiled. "Thanks."

"...Hope you feel better, Reimu."

With a poof of smoke, the cat girl was once again a cat, and she leapt into the brush.

' _I wasn't even dressed like her. I can't look_ that _similar…_ '

...She turned to Osamu, who was licking his new wounds.

He notices Hikari staring. "Do you think this counts as an indirect kiss?"

…

Hikari turns around, and goes to find Marigold.

"Hahaha~!"

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

The four pressed on towards the supposed location of the cavern entrance. Hikari led the party, taking the the teenagers- mostly teenagers, actually- in the direction she was told.

' _I don't actually know how old Nitori is. I won't ask, either. It's rude, I think._ '

"What's a full bridge rectifier?" Marigold questions Nitori.

"Well," Nitori thoughtfully scratches the back of her head. "A full bridge rectifier is actually just called a bridge rectifier."

Marigold furrowed her brows. "...Why do they call it a full bridge rectifier, then?"

' _At least the conversation came back into understandable territory… even if it's gotten objectively more useless._ '

"I just realized…" Osamu sullenly began, "I forgot to ask 'em for snacks back the village…"

Hikari snorted. "You think they'd give you any?"

"... Good point."

' _Now… she said I couldn't miss the cavern entrance…_ '

To Hikari's right was steep, rocky mountainside, which spanned a sizable incline.

' _I don't really see anything._ '

They continued on the path, when a few rocks tumbled from the rocky incline to the right.

' _Huh…? Is it a rock slide?_ '

Hikari turned, and her eyes widened.

Shi~ng!

Leaping backwards, and landing on her bum, Hikari felt adrenaline rush into her veins.

' _Te-tengu!_ '

Momiji pointed her sword at Hikari, who backed away on the floor. "Hakurei. I told you and your oni to go home."

Chi-chick.

Nitori pointed a boxy gun at the wolf tengu.

Marigold aimed her Spectrum Shotgun at her, as well.

"I knew-! uh…" Osamu experienced a range of emotions in rapid succession, including smugness and fear.

…

"Why are you hostile, kappa?" Momiji sternly addressed Nitori.

"Wh-what do you mean? You're threatening my friend…" She spoke unsteadily. "Why don't we ju-just talk this out…?"

Momiji, from the corner of her eye, glanced at her. "...Nitori, she-"

"No!"

Nitori marched towards her, and poked her with the barrel of her gun. "St-stop…"

…

Momiji lowered her sword. "...This is just-"

Then, Momiji noticed it was a gun pointed at her. Her eyes widened.

…

' _This went well._ ' Hikari slowly, carefully rose from the floor, being careful as to not draw much of Momiji's attention…

"...These friends must mean an _awful_ lot for you, to be pointing a gun at _me._ " She growls.

"I-I guess they do." Nitori holds a stern face, as she aims at the tengu. "They're actually going to the caves, right now."

"Oh?" Momiji looks around. "And where is that oni?"

Nitori blinks. "...Oni?"

...Momiji's eyes suddenly glare at Hikari.

' _A-ah…_ ' "W-wh-..."

...Hikari clears her throat.

' _Good. Real good._ '

"She's underground, right now." Hikari finally managed. "As you said. She didn't even use the mountain to do it."

' _I omitted the word 'well' from that sentence. I had enough time to think it over, after all…_ '

…

"Really. How did she do it, then?" Momiji grins.

"Uhm…" Hikari wasn't sure how to elaborate.

Osamu was, however. "She teleported, dude!"

...Momiji slowly, stiffly twists her neck to narrow her eyes at Osamu.

He chuckled incredulously. "F-for real! Serious! Don't hurt me!" He took a page from the cat girl's book, and shielded himself with his arms.

"He's telling the truth." Marigold found solace in the fact she was pointing a laser cannon at her.

"Mmm." Hikari hummed, less confident about her proximity to the tengu.

Momiji looked around at the three of them. "...I'm not willing to believe some _oni_ has _teleportation!_ "

Flinching from the yell, Nitori backed up. "I-I teleported her!"

"...Oh." Momiji deflated. "...Uhm, right. Kappa tech."

…

"You didn't teleport them, why?" Momiji gestured to the party.

"It blew up." Nitori shrugged.

The wolf tengu smiled awkwardly. "Right… Well, yeah. See ya."

' _That de-escalated quicker than I expected._ '

With that, Momiji leaped back up the mountainside.

"...The nerve of her." Nitori shook her head. "I hate lying, too. Why'd you guys go with _teleportation_ of all things? I don't think many things can even do that…"

"Sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction." Hikari stated aloud.

Osamu put it less elegantly. "She really can! Dude…"

"Al-alright…" Nitori clams up. "If-if you say so…"

...Hikari turns to Osamu, and frowns. He shrugs sheepishly.

Marigold elbows him. He rubs his gut… "I need, like, a chestplate, or somethin'..."

' _That cave entrance…_ '

Continuing forward, down the rocky trail at the mountain's side, the party eventually comes across a rather large, wood-framed cave opening.

' _This looks like it._ '

"You three better be careful, down there…" Nitori cautions them. "There's lots of earth spirits, and… I'm pretty sure your mother told you, right?" She looks at Hikari. "About everything?"

' _Uuh…_ '

"Yeah."

Nitori smiles. "Great, great. I don't need to tell you anything, then. I-I mean, you took out those robots, and everything… I'm sure you guys'll be just fine."

She begins walking away. "See you later, friends!"

…

' _I shouldn't have agreed. Now we're going in blind…_ '

The party began proceeding into the dark, spooky cave.

' _I think she's right, though. We can probably deal with anything we find._ '

"Uu~gh, this place better not be as stupid as the last cave…" Osamu complained. "I'm startin' to hate caves."

Marigold seems indifferent. "It's nowhere near as muggy and damp as that last cave. It should be fine… until we go deeper, anyway."

No one really found it spooky, though.

Marigold drew her Shield Killer from her backpack, and began using it to illuminate the cave ahead. Dim lanterns hung from the walls, most of which were dark.

The wooden framing quickly ran out shortly into the cave, as well, leaving the party surrounded by dirt and rock.

"Seems relaxed enough." Hikari decided.

The path became a jagged, janky decline downwards, softly leading into the Earth's crust.

"Wo-woa~h!"

Thud. Osamu landed on his side, losing his footing on the uneven rocks.

' _Maybe not so soft. This path wasn't made for people. There are lanterns, though, so someone obviously means it to be traversed…_ '

The caves ahead deviated at multiple points, leading to smaller side caves with different tints of lantern adorning them.

' _...This might be a problem._ '

Marigold looked around the caves, as well. "...This might be a problem."

' _I just thought that._ ' Hikari scoffed, visible to only herself.

"Rocks suck..." Osamu declares, brushing some pebbles off his robe. "Rocks suck, and I hate them."

Before them, some rocks began floating…

' _Pffft…_ ' Hikari grinned. "Looks like the rocks hate you, too."

The rocks all convened around a central, immensely smooth sphere of an unknown, yellow metal. Smoothly, they revolved around the sphere.

Marigold was seemingly unsure. "What do you think a rock elemental would be weakest against…?"

Osamu grinned. "Ice!"

Osamu tried PK Freeze γ!

KaKaKa~...

A pattern of ice crystals in a snowflake shape formed around the rock elemental.

Boom!

The icy blast disrupted the rocks, launching them from the core. Slowly, more rocks began to join the elemental again…

"...I was gonna say laser cannons." Marigold stared at Osamu blankly. "Everyone likes laser cannons."

She aimed the Spectrum Shotgun at the rock elemental. "Everyone!"

The trigger was pulled, and lasers of light shot out of the gun at seven different angles, none of them at the rock elemental before them. She began getting pushed back, the immense rainbow-colored light filling the cave, until she was shoved into a wall by the recoil.

"A-ahn!" She flinched, and released the trigger, dissipating the beams.

...Hikari walked up to the rock elemental as it was regenerating, and smacked the core with her gohei.

SMAAAA~SH!

It thunked to the floor.

…

"Sometimes," Hikari turned to her party, smirking. "you just need a little less force."

Osamu rolled his eyes. "Yeah, 'cause you hit that thing real soft. That's why it's like, embedded in the floor."

...Hikari shrugged.

With the action over, Hikari had choices…

' _I once again regret telling Nitori that we knew where we were going. We never do._ '

…

Hikari turned left, and went for the cave with yellow lights. "This way."

"Thoughtful selection." Marigold complimented. "Definitely the right path."

Osamu grinned, following them.

Unlike the other caves, this one didn't decline as much, which, to Hikari, was a blessing.

' _Wooden sandals, meet uneven rocks._ '

As they progressed into the cave, things got noticeably more cramped as the rocks along it were lined with spider webs. At first, Hikari just swung through the single big string that stood in their way, but before long, everyone had to carefully traverse around large, intricate patterns on the floors. The walls had similar patterns, forming fancy pentagons around the wall's yellow lanterns, all of which were lit.

Eventually, the party came to a large web that blocked the entire cave's width.

"System_error. Please_see_operating_manual_version_E-70_for_help."

A Starman sat in the midst, its arms propped to its sides as usual. It didn't do anything, however.

"...Somethin' tells me this ain't the right cave." Osamu appeared tensive.

A loud voice suddenly roused everyone's attention. "You mean the _right_ cave!"

Hikari jumped, stepping back a bit. "A-above us…"

Everyone backed up, as a blonde-haired, brown-dressed woman descended from the ceiling. She hung upside down, from a web which extended from under her dress. To prevent the dress from falling down, it was all tightly wound up with a yellow bow strand, it seemed.

Osamu appeared fearful at first, but then noticed the bow strand around her dress. "It's… huh."

The woman hung in front of them, grinning. "Two humans, and a surface youka~i. How unusual to see down here…"

' _Sounds like she wants to munch us, or something._ '

While the girls held their sentiments about the statement, Osamu had immediate qualms. "What's unusual is that dress, there, lady. S'it to make you more aerodynamic, or somethin'?"

…

"It's so it doesn't fall on my face." She looked displeased. "I don't know if you noticed, but I'm a spider youkai."

"Why don'cha just wear shorts?" Osamu counters. "Y'wouldn't need ribbons for shorts. I think."

"Well, maybe I _like_ wearing dresses." She frowns. "I've not seen a spider youkai wear shorts. Ever."

Hikari turns to Osamu, but he holds a hand up. "Hey, hey, wait… How many spider youkai do ya see on a regular basis?"

...She sighs. "Unfortunately few. Those I _do_ see are the inept surface kind."

"We~ll…" Osamu props his arms to his sides. "Lemme tell you, as an official woman's man extraordinaire, that there's a _lot_ of appeal in shorts!"

…

"I said I saw few." She states. "I didn't say they don't exist. I dwell here by choice."

"Wha- and?" Osamu's expression falters. "I bet they like shorts."

The spider girl's frown became a grimace. "Can we just skip to the part where I eat you?"

Osamu furrowed his brows. "Wait, what?"

She moves to leap at him, but Hikari was already at his side. Her impending whack towards him was instead aimed at an entirely different person.

SMAAAA~SH!

The spider woman's momentum was halted, but she wasn't much worse for wear. "Ghh… You think a blow like that's gonna slow me down?"

Hikari grinned. "Yes."

Hikari tried Hypnosis α!

Energy rippled around the spider woman…

…

But nothing happened.

"...No." Hikari looked solemn.

Marigold held up her Spectrum Shotgun. "Not another move."

The spider woman smirked. "Oh? Very well, then…" She held up both her hands…

' _Huh. That worked._ '

…

' _I guess I should start asking her-_ '

Then, she leapt into the air, so that the small opening in her dress at the bottom was facing Marigold. Then, she fired a web from that position.

Marigold's eyes widened, and she pulled the trigger.

The immense, colorful lasers began tearing up web and rock alike as they slowly began revolving. Hikari and Osamu vacated the immediate premises, letting the wide spread of lasers do their thing.

Marigold was pushed back into some webbing, which held her as the beam began to concentrate. The web the spider woman shot flew into the central prism, which promptly cooked it into nonexistence.

Correcting herself into an upright position, the spider woman continued to float in the air. "Hmm? Those are some slo~w lasers…"

She promptly weaved through the revolving lasers, grinning.

Hikari blinked. ' _I-I kinda forgot flying was a thing. Again._ '

"Let's make this _easy_. Trap Sign, Capture Web!"

Marigold's lasers gradually began speeding up as they neared their combined form…

A web of danmaku bullets generated outward from the spider's position. It was a simple web, but now the party was mostly separated by swaths of bullets.

"Holy shit!" Osamu was reminded that danmaku was a thing. "Get that _away_ from me!"

Osamu tried PSI Shield Σ!

The party was protected by the psychic shield of energy!

Marigold's rainbow beam was finally complete, uniting all seven colors of the rainbow in one deadly stream…

It wasn't hitting anything except the cave walls at the moment, unfortunately. The webs Marigold were pushed into began to give in and let her back into the cave wall.

Marigold felt uncomfortable from the jagged rock poking her in the back, but continued. "N-now…"

She tried to aim it at the spider, only for it to almost fly at out of her hands at the angle shift. "Wo-woah!"

Her erratic movements made the laser erratically slice across the cave walls. Surprised, the spider darted out of the way of it as it neared her. "O-oh? A surprise attack, is it? Here!"

All at once, the danmaku bullets she spread out slowly began flowing through the air freely, moving in a clockwise pattern.

' _Hnnh…_ ' Hikari braced herself as a few pinged into her. The shield she had on removed most of their effect, however, leaving her only slightly uncomfortable.

"Screw your bullets!" Osamu yells. "We've got shields!"

Eyes widening, the spider girl quickly huffs. "Oh, so we're cheating, then? If that's how this is gonna be…"

She throws an arm into the air. "Miasma! Unexplained Fever!"

Three large orbs of energy generated in the air. Then, they expanded outward, seas of red and pink danmaku washing over the party.

' _That spell card name…_ ' Hikari's eyes narrowed. ' _I might have to heal us, soon._ '

The density of the oncoming danmaku was far more aggressive and painful than the trickles she sent out previously.

"A-ah…" Hikari gritted her teeth, as she could do little except for tank the danmaku waves outright.

"What the fuck…" Osamu flailed his arms at the danmaku, because that helped. "Uu~gh!"

Osamu tried PK Freeze γ!

KaKaKa~...

Icicle formed around the spider woman, locking her in a snowflake pattern. She realized she was snared, and began struggling-

Boom!

"Huaah!"

She twirled through the air, before righting herself. "Th-that _sucked_ …"

...The rainbow beam inched near her, but she darted away. "St-stupid exterminators! Leave…!"

Bullets were no longer generated, and after a moment, dissipated.

Hikari began sprinting towards her. ' _Now's my chance!_ '

The spider noticed, and turned to Hikari. Frowning, she lifted her hand, and pushed it towards her.

Hikari braced herself, but nothing came…

' _Hmm?_ '

...Then, Hikari felt her knees give in, and she dropped onto them. "Uhn…"

' _Wh-what…_ '

After an unsure moment, she had an innocently rising feeling in her gut…

' _I feel…_ '

She realized it wasn't so innocent.

"Buua~gh!"

Liquid stained the cave floor ahead of her, and her eyes watered.

Osamu's jaw dropped. "Oh, fuck!"

Marigold warily stared from her position against the cave wall.

' _N-no…_ '

Hikari tried Healing γ!

...Wiping the residual vomit off her lips and chin, she stood, albeit shakily.

The spider woman blinked, somewhat curious. "...Are you still well?"

Hikari looked up at her, and glared. "Ye-yeah. I am."

...Intrigued, the spider held up her hand, and made the same motion again.

Alarmed, Hikari's eyes widened. ' _No, no, not again!_ '

Her legs wobbled again, but she fought to stay up. Her stomach churned…

Hikari tried Healing γ!

' _...Better._ ' Hikari sighed in relief.

"Huh." The spider was genuinely surprised. "Are you… immune to my-"

After immense struggle, Marigold managed to jerk the beam to connect with the spider.

"Ahhuaagh!"

Bam! She was immediately rocketed into the cave wall behind her.

After a sustained second of fire, Marigold released the trigger.

…

The spider girl drops from the cave wall, and lands on the floor, face planting.

"System_error. Please_see_operating_manual_version_E-70_for_help." Despite being free of the web, the Starman seemed to have expired.

Osamu moved across the floor to reach Hikari. For a moment, his foot got stuck in a small web, but then he pulled it free.

Upon reaching her, he laid a hand on her back, surprising her. ' _Eh-hah?_ '

"Dude, are you alright?" He asked, genuinely concerned.

"Mmm…" Hikari hums, not looking away from the spider girl. "She can inflict sickness, apparently. I healed it off, though."

…

"Hey, uh… I'm stuck." Marigold was plastered to the cave wall by the webbing she tore through.

Hikari walked up to her. "Here." She held out her gohei.

...Marigold grabbed onto it, and Hikari began pulling.

"Hnn~gh…"

…

"Hnnnn~gh!..."

…

' _Sh-she's in there good…_ ' Hikari took a deep breath.

"Yo." Osamu snapped his fingers.

Osamu tried Offense Up α!

Hikari felt strength building in her muscles…

' _This is a welcome sensation._ ' She appreciated the difference, due to the weakness she felt earlier. ' _Very jarring, but welcome._ '

She tried again. "Huunh…!"

' _Woah…_ '

Osamu tried Offense Up α!

' _I would never be able to do this without strength ups, I think._ '

Hikari let her strength accumulate again, and she pulled…

"Haa~h!"

Plop!

Marigold flew from the sticky, webby goop on the walls, and crashed into Hikari. "Oof!"

Hikari just stood there, gingerly gazing down at Marigold as she landed on her bum.

"...You half ripped my arm off, there." Marigold stood, brushing herself off. "...Is my back okay?"

She turned around, revealing to the others that her back was matted in white, gooified webs. Her hair was matted to her back, as well.

' _Uh…_ ' "It's fine." Hikari decided.

"A little sticky." Osamu grinned.

Marigold turned to him, scoffing. "I'm sure…"

"Ooo~h…"

The party turned to the spider girl, who was meekly trying to get back up…

Hikari approached her, and poked her with her gohei.

She glared up at Hikari. "...Go...g-go ahead."

"I would." Hikari takes another look around. "I don't know where, though. I'm trying to get underground."

"Like, _really_ underground." Osamu helps her elaborate.

…

"Wh-what…?" She appears confused.

"...Should I heal her?" Hikari seeked second opinions.

"Hmm~..." Marigold wasn't sure about that.

Osamu shrugged. "As long as she don't try to eat us."

Pleased with that outlook, Hikari kneeled in front of the spider woman, bending her legs to look at her more closely… "Do you promise not to eat us, if I heal you?"

…

"U-uhm…" She seemed awkward about the situation. "...Sure."

' _Good enough._ '

Hikari tried Lifeup α!

…

Reluctantly, the spider girl stood… "Really?"

Hikari backs away from her a little.

"You're just gonna trust me, like that?" She grins. "Hahaha~!"

Whack!

"Auh…" She reeled to the side, clenching her jaw. "I-I wash johking! Da~hmn…"

Marigold huffed. "It wasn't funny."

After a moment of nursing her jaw, the spider girl continues. "Well, you three wanna go deeper? How far?"

"Far." Hikari detailed in a grandiose manner.

…

"You three don't even know how deep these caves go, do you?" She stared at the three blankly.

"Not at all." Hikari smiled. "Help."

She sighed. "Alri~ght, alright… I'll point you in the right direction, at the least. C'mere."

The spider navigates them out of the cave, back through the way the party came. They stopped once they reached the central tunnel, where the dim, white lanterns were.

"...Looks like those robots stopped showing up." She noted aloud.

"We killed them." Hikari added.

"Sure you did." The spider girl absently ignores her. "Take the cave with the white lanterns the whole way. Seriously, it's not rocket science."

"...Oh." Marigold blinks. "Oo~h. Wow."

"Before you three head off, what're your names?" She asks. "Just 'cause you kinda kicked my ass back there. Not just anybody can do that, y'know."

"Hikari." Hikari introduced herself. "Hakurei."

Marigold introduced herself similarly. "Marigold."

"Name's Osamu." Osamu holds his hand out for a handshake.

…

After a moment of nothing, he lowers it. "...I _still_ think you'd look good in shorts."

"Shut up." The spider girl gives him a displeased stare. "...I'm Yamame. See ya around, if you don't die down here."

' _That's pleasant._ '

She begins to travel back into her yellow-tinted cave. "If you plan on getting gobbled up by anything, let me do it."

With that, she skittered away, offering the party one final grin.

' _As much as a woman with two legs can skitter, anyway. That dress definitely didn't let her move her legs a lot, but she seems to have no trouble walking around these caves..._ '

The party looked down the steep cave trail ahead.

Osamu sighed. "Wow, hey, look. More rocks."

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

"Do ya think rocks are edible?"

Minutes passed as they descended into the shaft, and already they were getting tired of the steep, jagged nature of the tunnel.

"Why don't you check?" Marigold was becoming frustrated.

' _It's like the cave itself is trying to impale you. This place is an obstacle course…_ '

As they scaled the treacherous decline, shadowy figures emerged from the ceiling ahead.

Red orbs, with black, translucent rings of something that appeared to be either shade, smog, or fog.

' _Not so much a figure, then, is it?_ '

Marigold noticed them. "Ceiling demons!"

Osamu perked up. "What the fuck!? Ceiling demons!? Oh, shit!"

Marigold aimed up with her Spectrum Shotgun. "Lights! Camera…!"

' _Here we go…_ ' Hikari now knew what it was like to be on the spectator end of one of her own light shows.

"Action!"

Seven differently colored beams of energy shot out into the cave's ceiling. The beams missed most of the ring-esque creatures, but one was struck right in its red core.

"Huuooo~h…"

The ring solidified, into stone, and fell…

Crack. It broke to pieces, and said pieces continued to tumble down the decline.

' _They're weak to light, then._ '

As Marigold let herself be pushed back into the rock behind her, the revolving beams slowly sped up as they got closer and closer…

One of the inner ring-shaped ghosts glowed a faint blue, and shot bright blue rings towards her. They expanded, the borders of the rings missing her entirely, as she was in the middle of them all.

Osamu grinned. "What the hell kinda attack was that?"

Then, Marigold let go of the trigger on her Spectrum Shotgun.

' _Hmm? Odd time to stop it. I think I have a good spell for this moment, though..._ '

Hikari tried PK Flash ß!

Fwaa~sh!

"Huuuooo~hhh!"

All of the ring ghosts solidified, and plummeted into the rocks below. A symphony of cracking and smashing ensued.

' _Easier than I expected… Not that I'm complaining, or anything._ '

" _That_ was a piece of cake." Osamu comments.

' _You didn't even do anything._ '

…

As Hikari continued climbing down a little, she paused. She looked back up…

' _Huh?_ '

"Marigold?" Hikari called for her friend.

Osamu jerked his head back, and looked up the tunnel behind them… "What the hell?"

' _Where is she?_ '

...Reluctantly, Hikari awkwardly climbed back up some of the jagged ledges and rocks, using her wind affinities to attempt making climbing easier.

' _Unfortunately, there's no wind inside the Earth. Who would've known?_ '

Eventually, Hikari reached the small ledge Marigold had fired her laser from, earlier…

She saw the weapon cast to the side, and Marigold pressing up against the rock, eyes wide.

' _Uhm…?_ ' Hikari felt dread wash over her. ' _Not that dread is a new feeling, anyway, but..._ '

"A-a…" Marigold flinched violently upon seeing HIkari. "Aa-aaa~h!"

"What the hell's goin' on up there!?" Osamu called up from lower rocks.

...As Hikari moved closer, Marigold began fidgeting violently, and crying. "Aaaa~h!"

' _...Well._ '

Hikari tried Healing γ!

…

After a moment, Marigold's terror stopped, and she slowly stopped fidgeting…

"Dude- guys? Hello~!?" Osamu hollers from below.

...Marigold tries to pull herself from the wall, only to find herself matted to it by the webbing stuck on her back earlier. "Oh, for…"

She cups a hand to her mouth. "I'm fi~ne!"

' _I suspect those ring things had more to them than met the eye._ '

...Marigold looked at Hikari, and smiled. "I-I think it was a terror spell, or something. Thanks again, Hikari…"

"Mmm." Hikari smiled back.

…

"We should've brought a sled." Marigold considered. "Seriously."

' _...Why didn't someone suggest that earlier? Uugh…_ '

...Hikari moved to detach Marigold from the wall. "Hnnngh…"

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

After an immense period of time, the party eventually touched down in a flat, open expanse at the bottom of the cave.

' _Provided, 'immense' is open to interpretation. It was still a long time._ '

At the bottom of the tunnel, the walls expanded outward almost infinitely, revealing a sea of darkness that comprised the cave's expanses.

"...Wow." Hikari widened her eyes, to search the endless expanse above, but she could make out very little light. From here, she could make out amber lights in the distance along the sides of what she assumed were cave walls.

"Duu~de…" Osamu's jaw slowly lowered. "This cave, my boys…!"

Marigold nodded in approval. "I think we might've needed that industrial grade night light…"

' _Pffft._ '

Though the underworld around them was mostly dark, there was a small structure ahead of them. A wooden shack sat beside a wide bridge.

" _Finally_." Osamu grinned. "Some ease of access, for a change!"

The three progressed to the bridge, and looked around the sides of it…

' _Endless ravine. Whoever built this bridge was a saint._ '

As they stepped across the bridge, a door on a different shack across the bridge slammed open.

"He~y!"

Osamu immediately fell back behind Hikari and Marigold. "She's pissed…"

A girl with wavy, short blonde hair and blue eyes stomped out, sneering.

' _I was about to comment on the quality of people under the Earth… but then I realized the surface isn't much better._ '

"What're you three doing on _my_ bridge!?"

' _I take back that saint thing._ '

"Crossing." Marigold scoffed back. "And who might you be?"

"The _overseer._ " The girl spoke, as if it was a big deal. "Who told you three you could _cross?_ "

...The three looked between each other, and collectively shrugged.

"No one told us not to." Hikari argued. "It's a free country."

The girl smiled ironically. "Oh? Ahah… right. Well, I'm telling you you _can't_ cross! So there!"

...The three teenagers smirked.

"We're crossing." Hikari decides.

"No contest." Marigold decides, too.

"And ya can't stop us!" Osamu poses unnecessarily fancily.

...The short girl seethed. "...Are you three… _friends…?_ "

...They gave collective nods.

"Yeah." Osamu folds his arms. "They're my super powerful, ass-kickin' friends. So you're gonna let us through."

"It's not _fair!_ " The girl shouts, stomping the bridge. "How come you guys get to be friends!?"

…

' _Uu~h…_ ' Hikari wasn't sure how to respond to that.

"Because… we are?" Marigold tried.

"But… that's _not fair!_ " She clenched the air with her hands.

Osamu snorted. "Life isn't fair, dude."

The comment only seemed to make her angrier…

"I mean… _we'll_ be your friends, if you want." Marigold offers, feeling awkward as she does so. "It's no big-"

"It's _not fa~ir!_ " She roars. "I wish I could be as _kind_ as you! I'll _never_ be able to be all like- like… Graa~h!"

…

' _Okay, then. I've had enough of this…_ '

Hikari tried Hypnosis α!

Energy rippled around the girl before them…

…

"...I wish I knew _sleep spells_ like you did!" The girl focuses on Hikari. "How did you even get that!? Why didn't _I_ get that!?"

' _You know, that 'sleep spell' she's getting all upset about is starting to not be useful anymore…_ '

"Guess what?" Osamu steps towards her. "Life sucks. Get over it."

…

"I-I'll make you all _pay_ …" The girl steps back, gritting her teeth. "Kisume~!"

Thud. Thud. Thud.

' _Mistakes were made, today._ ' Hikari glared at Osamu.

Osamu jumped at the vibrations. "I-I mean, I'm sorry- look, uhm- I'll buy you some candy! Everyone likes candy!"

"...Why can't I like candy as much as everybody else!?"

Osamu sighs.

Thud. Thud. Thud…

A large figure stomped forward out of the shadows…

"Parsee-cha~n! Heyo~!"

A tiny, tiny, green-haired girl sat at the top of an immense wooden mechanization, which seemed to be constructed entirely out of _buckets_. She, herself, was inside a bucket, only her head peeking out.

Parsee points at the party. "These people! I want them _dead!_ Their friends, _dead!_ Their-their sleep spells, _dead!_ I-I… I'm so _jealous_ of them!"

Kisume tilted her head. "That's not a very good reason to kill someone, Parsee-chan…"

...Parsee nodded, and then suddenly spoke quickly. "Yeah well they also wanna destroy the bridge and kill people and stuff so they're bad people."

...Kisume smiles. "That changes everything! Okey-dokey, Parsee-chan!"

Osamu gave a short laugh. "Pfft… You _fuck._ "

Parsee's eyes widened, but then, she smirked. "...Show them your new power, Kisume! Show them the power I'm so _envious_ of!"

' _You seem envious of everything, so that's not saying much…_ '

At each end of the bridge, metal poles shot from the ground, trapping the party on the bridge. Parsee flew up, and over the bars, landing on safe rock outside of the imminent battlefield.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Kisume raised two large, tree-trunk esque bucket arms. Each bucket was joined with a ring at the tops, forming pods. Each pod was then connected rather curiously to the ends of other pods, rusty metal hinges and latches combined with thick iron rings to create very limited joints.

Each arm had two open buckets at the ends, which were pointed at the party.

…

"Them's, uh…" Osamu stared at the arms nervously. "Them's some pretty big arms, ya got there…"

Fsshhwoosh!

Two torrents of water shot out at the party, forcing them to scrunch up between the two roaring blasts of water.

"Ho~h, fuck!" Osamu's eyes widened.

Marigold raised her Spectrum Shotgun. "This'll be _great…_ "

She fired it, the seven beams of light soaring into the air. The three teens collectively backed towards the metal bars behind themselves. Marigold did so to preemptively neutralize the recoil, whereas Hikari and Osamu did it simply to escape the ensuing barrage of lasers.

Kisume's eyes widened as she watched the revolving lasers. "Ooo~h…!"

Parsee gaped. "Wh-wha~t!?"

...Then, she smiled ironically. "Tch…"

The revolving laser slowly began spinning faster… when, suddenly, all the lasers dissipated.

' _Huh?_ '

...Hikari looked over to Marigold, who had a solemn expression on her face.

' _What, now…?_ '

Marigold glanced at the two, and frowned. "Why do you two even keep me around…?"

' _...Where is this coming from?_ '

Osamu double-took. "Say what?"

She glares at Osamu. "Don't 'say what' me! You know magic! I don't!" Marigold's frown became a grimace, as she proceeded to mumble. "...I-I wish I knew magic…"

"This ain't the time to be actin' like that!" Osamu shook her by the shoulder. "We're gonna get our faces smashed into our guts, du~de…!"

...Hikari glanced at Parsee, who was smiling.

' _Hmm. I think I see what the problem is._ '

Hikari tried PK Flash ß!

Fwaaaa~sh!

' _Why is making a flash of light so draining…?_ '

"Aaa~h! I can't see!" Kisume's water torrents suddenly became random, and the party got splashed.

"A-aah!" Hikari tensed up.

' _...It's actually not that bad. It's kinda warm-ish, down here._ '

"I wish I wasn't blinded like a _bat_ over here!" Parsee screeched. "What even…!?"

"Even _you_ can cast magic!" Marigold grabs onto Hikari. "What good am I!?"

Hikari tried Healing γ!

…

Marigold blushed. "Wh-what came over me…? I-I'm sorry, guys, that was-"

"That youkai did it." Hikari announced. "The blonde one who yelled a lot."

"...Oo~h." Marigold sighs. "That… makes sense. She can... make others jealous, I guess."

Kisume stumbled in the vague direction of the party. "I-I'll hit one of you! I have to!"

As everyone began to nervously peddle away from the mech in different direction, as it stumbled about. Kisume ducked into her bucket…

Fwoo~m! A torrent of red, pink, and purple flames poured out from the top of her bucket, raining down on the nearby bridge surface. Though it burned, the bridge surface suffered no damage from the ethereal inferno.

Hikari's janky attempts to avoid it were met with failure, and she was clipped by a large glob of glowing fire.

' _Ahh!_ ' Hikari tensed up, and dashed away. ' _...Actually, it's not so-_ '

The fire ebbed through her clothes, going for her skin directly.

' _Hot! Hot, hot, hot!_ '

"A-aaaa~h!" Hikari screamed, rushing for one of the remaining puddles. Flopping in it, she rolled around…

"Dude!"

Osamu tried PK Hydro ß!

Water rained down on Hikari from the shuriken above her, but it failed to extinguish the flames that began engulfing her.

"It-it, ow, ow, ow…" Hikari's eye began to water from the pain…

Hikari tried Healing γ!

The flames on her body went out, but all of her muscles ached to the point of inoperability. Ceasing her thrashing, she sprawled out in the water…

' _Fi-fire…_ '

Osamu gritted his teeth. "This stupid fire won't go the fuck out!"

"It's probably magical fire." Marigold notes.

"Yeah, no shit." Osamu snorts. "S'the worst kind of fire."

"No- I mean, it's probably cursed, purely magical fire, or something along those lines." Marigold elaborates. "It's probably very different from actual fire."

"Okay…" He sighs. "Well, how can we get _rid_ of it!?"

"I-I don't know…" Marigold frowns. "It could require a powerful dispel, for all we know…"

Hikari tried Lifeup γ!

' _Th-there…_ ' Hikari sat up, wiping the streams of tears from her eyes. ' _I-I thought I was still burning, for awhile, there…_ '

Looking around herself, she saw the fire slowly die down…

Kisume leaned out of her bucket. "Hahaha~! How'd you like my will-o'-the-wisps!? They're cuddly, aren't they?"

"What the fuck's a will-o'-the-wisp!?" Osamu roars back.

Kisume pauses, and turns towards him. "...They're cute! What do you mean, 'what the fuck'!?"

' _Fire isn't cute._ ' Hikari glares up at her. ' _Fire's fire, and fire hurts._ '

"It's fire!" Osamu insists. "Screw your fire! Fire _can't_ be cute!"

Kisume flinches, as if insulted. "Wh- you…"

Retreating into her bucket again, another surge of flames powered out of the top of the bucket, pouring down towards Osamu. He grabbed Marigold's arm, attempting to pull her out of the way with him, but she had the same idea, resulting in the two tugging at each other as they barreled away from the flames.

Hikari ran towards the mech, and leaped onto its bucket arms.

...Once it stopped spewing flames, Hikari climbed up to the top, where Kisume was poking her head out…

"Wha~t!? What're you doing-"

Hikari grabs her by the pigtails, and tries to pull her out.

"Ow ow _ow ow!_ Sto~p! Stop, _stop!_ You'll pull my hair out!" Kisume gritted her teeth, fighting Hikari's hands.

"No, this robot's mine, now!" Hikari asserts. She worked her grasp down on Kisume's upper body, and began trying to pull her from the bucket…

She was interrupted by a grab from behind. She tried to swipe back with her gohei, but found herself ripped from the top of the mech, and dropped clumsily down to the bridge.

Thud. ' _Ouch…_ ' Hikari landed on her side, and she fought to get back up…

"I won't let you hurt her…" Parsee landed atop the bucket golem. "I-I mean… I kinda wish I could be as uncaring as your friends over there, but I'm not! So I won't let you hurt Kisume!"

Hikari blinked. ' _...Huh._ '

Osamu tried PK Freeze γ!

KaKaKa~...

Parsee froze up- almost literally- since she was being encased in a snowflake pattern of ice crystals. "...Y-you-"

Boom!

A block of ice bounced off of the tall bucket person, and proceeded to slide across the floor. Inside said block of ice was Parsee.

Kisume stared at it, as it slid away. "...P-Parsee-chan…?"

The block of ice didn't respond.

Kisume lowered her head, and the bucket mech raised its bulky arms. "...You idiots hurt Parsee-chan!"

Hikari paled. ' _Big bucket arms are big…!_ '

KraKoo~m!

Hiyori slid across rock, before she came to an abrupt halt-

Bam!

-against the metal bars of a rather unorthodox bridge gate.

"Hmm…?" She looked around, curious.

Bam!

Hikari rolled out of the way, as a large arm slammed down where she used to be.

"Stay sti~ll!" Kisume shouted, feverishly looking across the battlefield. "Let me hit you!"

"What're we, stupid!?" Osamu hollers back.

...Hiyori sighed, and grabbed the bars blocking her way.

Creaa~k..

She stepped through the new hole she bended in the bars, and pushed the solidified Parsee out of the way.

…

Hiyori double-took, noticing Parsee was who was frozen.

The bucket construction stood in them middle of the bridge, and arched back. Then, it began spinning, the arms outstretched and spewing water from their bucket ends.

The other party members were all pushed to the fence along the side of the bridge.

Hiyori stomped through the waves, and began moving towards the bucket mech…

"...Hey, guys! Hiyori's here! Du~de!" Osamu noticed the oni. "Hiyori, over here!"

Hiyori glanced at him, and sighed. "...What abominable form of negotiation got you three into this situation?"

Hikari, who was prancing about in an attempt to weave towards the bucket mech, got blasted by water, and flew towards Hiyori, who caught her.

' _Oh. She's back. Rather apt timing, too..._ '

...Hikari grinned. "The gohei-waving kind?"

Nodding, Hiyori continued towards the mech, much to Hikari's dismay.

' _Okay, even if it's warm down here, this much water's going to give me a cold…_ '

Hiyori focused on the bucket mechanization...

…

"I-I can feel the water through my clothes…" Marigold whined.

"Dude, this robe smells like wet dog when it's soaked. Actually, since yer mother fixed it…" He raised his arm, and took a sniff. "...Yep. Still got that wet dog smell…" He smiles, almost nostalgically.

Hiyori tried PK Starstorm α!

From the underworld's faux sky came a barrage of white and yellow stars. The curtain of bright colors centered in on the bucket creation; at least, the yellow colors did.

Osamu's jaw dropped. "Holy…! It's that shit, again!"

Marigold's eyes widened, and she shielded herself with her arms.

Hikari wiggled helplessly in Hiyori's arms.

The yellow stars all homed in on the knight of buckets, bombarding Kisume.

Ba-Bam-Boom-Boom-Bam!

"Kyaaa~h!"

...White stars rained across the entirety of the bridges's surface, a few pinging Osamu and Marigold.

"Dude- fuck, no!" Osamu overreacted, flailing his arms as two struck him. Marigold simply hid behind her arms.

After the neon yellow nightmare was over, the bucket mech still stood. It was, however, hollowed out.

"...Wooa~h, woah, woah!" It wobbled about, most of its structural integrity lost. "N-no~!"

It fell over, the remaining metal bits caving in on themselves, and lurching over. Kisume's bucket slid from the top, and she hid inside it as it tumbled on the bridge's surface.

The bucket spun to a stop in front of Hiyori, who sat Hikari on her feet beside her.

...Kisume poked her head out. "Pl-please don't hurt me…"

Hiyori kneeled, taking a deep breath after the display of power. "We're not going to hurt you. Tell me, how did this happen?"

"W-well…" Kisume looked unsure. "M-my friend, Parsee-chan, said they were bad people, and… and told me to get rid of them."

Hiyori stared at her dryly. "Parsee, huh…"

"Mmm."

...Hiyori stood. "I suppose a better question might be how you three even got down here."

She turned to Hikari for answers.

...Hikari smiled. "Very carefully."

Hiyori snorts. "I'm sure."

"We came here lookin' for you…" Osamu cautiously walked over, checking the sky for scattered star showers. "If this place is yer home… I mean, s'bigger than all of ours, but…"

"I have pebbles in my boots." Marigold complains. "Wet, wet pebbles. And wet boots."

"...There are buildings down here." Hiyori elaborates. "This entire cavern isn't a single home. It's more like… it's more like how the surface is, to you."

Osamu nodded. "Aa~h. I getcha, I getcha…"

' _...Considering she just_ _rejoined us, I can't tell whether or not this trip was pointless._ '

The group looked around at their surroundings a bit more, while Hiyori simply folded her arms.

...Hikari turned to Hiyori. "What kind of snacks are there down here?"

Hiyori tilts her head. "Ahh… Not very many you'd be interested in."

' _That means there's_ some _._ '

Hikari grinned, now determined to get to the bottom of the underground's snack culture. "Let's go look, then. I mean… we came all this way. I'm not going back up empty handed."

...Hiyori sighed. "If you wish. It's quite dangerous down here, I'll-"

"Yea~h, yea~h…" Osamu waved her off. "Dude, it's not that bad, I think. We fought a freakin' spider lady, and some ring ghosts, and like…"

...Hiyori grew increasingly concerned at the descriptions of things they encountered on the way here, but she dismissed the feelings. "I… take it you're all fine, though?"

"Not without a ton of healing magic, we weren't…" Hikari huffs. "I'm already pretty tired, and it's not just from all that rock climbing…"

' _I was also reminded how fire felt, today. That really put a dampener on things..._ '

"...I have somewhere we can stay." Hiyori offered. "It's an alright place."

Marigold grinned. "It can't be any worse than _his_ , surely." She gestures to Osamu...

...Osamu shrugs, and answers honestly. "Yeah, probably."

"Waa~it!" Kisume calls out to them as they begin moving to the other end of the bridge. "P-Parsee-chan told me to stop you!"

Hiyori glances back at her. "...That's unfortunate."

With that, Hiyori bended the metal bars on the other side, making room for herself and the party to leap through.

"You shouldn't believe everything she says." Hiyori advises the bucket girl, before leaping through the bars herself.

Kisume pouts at the party as they leave…

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

The party navigates the dark trail that leads towards the oni city…

"That bridge keeper, Parsee, has a penchant for being petty." Hiyori notes to the party. "It would be wise, to avoid the bridge."

"Yeah. We noticed." Marigold states bluntly.

' _She was mean. Also..._ '

"There wasn't really a way to avoid the bridge…" Hikari mentions. "Unless we wanted to risk an infinite drop."

Hiyori paused. "...Oo~h, right. You guys aren't oni. Well… teleport, from now on."

' _As if we'd make that climb more than once…_ '

...

...Hikari decides to comment further. "You can actually cure the jealousy she inflicts with that healing thing."

Hiyori glances at her. "Really?"

"Mmm. You can also cure ethereal flames with it." Hikari elaborates.

...Hiyori's glance lasts, becoming a stare. "Who set you on fire?"

Hikari looks back at the path ahead. "Bucket girl."

…

"You seem alright, so I won't question it." Hiyori accepts that recounting of events, only slightly confused.

As they get closer to the oni city, crashing and smashing becomes the prominent background noise.

"...My home's out here, on the outskirts." Hiyori reassures the party. "We won't have to go through the city… yet. Or at all, actually."

Osamu looks at the city in the distance…

Bam!

A building begins to crumble, spiralling downwards…

Osamu's jaw drops. "...What the _fuck?_ "

"...Yeah, the other oni have been real rowdy lately." Hiyori tilted her head. "I think something's wrong. I also think it would be a bad idea if we were to check, at this rate."

' _Buildings are being destroyed. I'm not sure if that's a good excuse to check the place out, or stay away from it. I don't think I can heal being crushed._ '

"...So yer tellin' me that's just 'more rowdy than normal'." Osamu grins incredulously.

"Yeah. I mean, it's like this sometimes, but I think some mind control is going on, or something." Hiyori describes.

…

Boo~m!

The building's remains, which had crumbled previously, were launched into the air by a large swath of flames.

"Let's just go inside." Marigold suggests, pale.

They near a rather decrepit looking stone structure, with open, rock windows.

' _Um…_ '

Ba~ng! One of the building fragments shoots off like a meteor into the cave's sky, before striking the roof. Rocks proceed to fall from the roof...

' _Yeah, uh..._ ' Hikari gave the violence in the distance a cautious gleam, before moving for Hiyori's front door…

Inside, it was pretty barebones. The floor was rock, as well, but it seemed Hiyori had a bed…

Across the room was a square pool of water, and a square pool of open magma. A rather shoddy looking bookshelf was along one wall of the room, but one shelf was tilted and vastly intruded upon the space of a lower shelf. Torch holsters hung on the walls, but there was little but ash in them.

The embers of the lava pool illuminated the room.

"...Dude, why's your room got freakin' lava in it?" Osamu stares at the liquid…

"...I'm… not sure." Hiyori pauses… "Oh! I wanted to take up smithing, at one point, but I tired of it. I still have the lava in here. It comes in handy, sometimes."

' _It'd actually make a good garbage disposal._ ' Hikari realizes. ' _Hmm._ '

…

"So, where're the guest beds?" Osamu rubbed his hands together, grinning greedily…

Hiyori blinked.

…

Marigold sighed.

…

"There are none." Hiyori bluntly puts it.

…

"Yeah. I'm just gonna go drown myself in that pool of water." Osamu cheerfully smiles, and begins marching towards it.

' _Oh, boy…_ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

END OF CHAPTER 19

Protagonist: Hikari Hakurei, Disciple of Paradise

-Inventory-

Weapon: Miracle Gohei - Ability to whack stuff really hard. Amplifies whacking power, too! Able to deal magical damage. Adds an increased chance to deal critical hits.

Arms: Iconic Hakurei Arm Sleeves - Keeps arms warm. A Hakurei tradition. How they stay on is a Hakurei family secret.

Body: Combat Miko Outfit - A black leotard and hakama combination worn by the previous-previous Hakurei miko. Designed to be suitable for excessive physical activity and close combat, it slightly improves physical combat prowess. Now with less sideboob!

Misc: Royal Red Ribbon - A ribbon made with rich materials, with a floral pattern.

-Skills-

Attack: Quickly! Swing your gohei at them for massive damage!

PK Fantasy α, β - Bombards the enemy with pain in the form of flashing colors. Deals magical damage. Heavy mental strain that increases with each tier.

PK Flash α, ß - A bright flash that distributes very random status effects to enemies. Usually makes people cry. Higher tiers increase chances, and introduce possibilities of fainting or dispel.

Hypnosis α, Ω - Puts weak enemies to sleep for a short time. Works better on tired or exhausted foes. Can also be used in a far more costly form that works on multiple opponents.

Shield α, ß - Halves damage the target takes. Only works against physical attacks, and enough strikes, or powerful strikes, will dispel it. Higher tier turns it into a power-shield that protects even better and even reflects a fraction of protected damage.

Lifeup α, ß, γ - Heals target a little. Higher tiers heal more grievous wounds, like bone fractures.

Healing α, ß, γ - Heals basic status ailments. Higher tiers can cure more dire effects, like burning alive.

Teleport α - Allows instant transport to the general location of an area remembered by oneself or one's party members. Requires a long, fast run-up to execute, however.

Ofuda Toss - Throw a holy ofuda that does massive holy elemental damage to youkai and dark elemental foes. Effect lessens the more holy the thing you're attacking is, to the point of healing holy things. Only works if you actually have ofuda, though.

β-β-β-β

Mage: Osamu Katsumi, the Wannabe Mage

-Inventory-

Weapon: Fisticuffs!

Arms: Nothing

Body: Dated Village Magician Robes - An old robe from the days when the village respected the medium of magic. Now actually looks navy blue, instead of black!

Misc: Yukkuri Beanie - Resembles a really tacky tablecloth, made in the Yukkuri theme. Lime green and has tons of fun yukkuri decals!

-Skills-

PK Thunder α, ß - Very random thunder attack that deals limited damage. Higher tiers increase number of bolts, and sometimes power.

PK Hydro α, β, γ - Gets everyone wet. Usefulness with PK Thunder and PK Freeze depends on whether you hit yourself or not! Creates whirling water spirals at higher tiers.

PK Freeze α, β, γ - Generates ice crystals at the target's location. Medium damage and effect; may freeze some targets, especially wet ones.

Fireball - Manipulate mana to make a shoddy fireball. Low damage and effect.

Static Hands - Not a real spell. Result of a very undercharged PK Thunder that can accidentally go off.

PSI Telepathy α - Speak to friends you haven't met yet! Unstable connection and only works if they have the skill or are asleep.

PSI Shield α, Σ - Halves damage from magical and psychic attacks. Thunder spells fry it instantly, and harder blows dispel it. Second tier applies basic shield to entire party at higher mana expense.

PSI Magnet α - Costs no mana to use, and steals a very tiny amount of mana from the enemy. Enemy has to have mana in the first place for it to work, though.

Offense Up α - Get pissed! Boosts strength and confidence depending on caster's power and receiver's power.

Defense Down α - Throw the enemy off their game. Makes them slightly more vulnerable to physical attacks.

β-β-β-β

Inventor: Marigold Knowledge, the Tri-Magi Love Child

-Inventory-

Weapon: Microwave Gun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Constructed with a controlled flame crystal and metal parts, it fires a beam of sustained microwave energy that cooks biological foes alive. Fire-elemental at its core, it's also very inefficient against machines.

Arms: Nothing

Body: Custom Adventure Dress - A custom dress made by Alice. Provides slight defense against magical and psychic attacks. Now allows freer movement with a shorter skirt, and a more flexible material.

Misc: Swirly Glasses - Lets Marigold not be blind.

Backpack - Allows extended inventory. Aged relic from the Kourindou.

Unnamed Lock Opening Device - Opens locks very precariously. Made with steel, burnt cloth, packaging peanuts, thumbtacks, string, and wooden wheels. Don't even ask…

Ruler - Lets you measure the world around you!

Protractor - Lets you find the angles of anything ever. Totally overpowered.

Scotch Tape - Transparent adhesive from the outside world. Weak, but handy!

Deck of Cards - Allows Marigold to play Strip Poker with the party. Just kidding… or am I?

Shield Killer - Electrical device used to subdue harassers. Has settings ranging from Tickle Torture to Arse Blaster. Fires electrical projectiles, of unknown power.

Spectrum Shotgun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Filled with foil chip bags to conduct the mana, and it is transmitted into a wind stone. Upgraded to draw mana from a simple wooden block filled with immense magic reserves, giving it virtually unlimited ammo. The addition of a battery and a prism allow it to fire seven rainbow colored beams at a wide spread, which deal non-elemental damage. Firing long enough allows them to focus and deal incredible damage, at the cost of insane recoil and instability.

NF Burst Gun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Uses a Pop Gun as the base, but amplifies its power with an array of random batteries jammed into the base with the Pop Gun. The more batteries, the better, but the typical yield is about five bullets per trigger. Spamming the trigger doesn't make it go any faster, unfortunately. Has no foreseeable ammo limit, and the batteries are only there for mana circulation, meaning their power is really inconsequential.

Holmes Brand Designer Hat - Village swag! A retro village hat that ceased production ten years ago. Sells for a pretty penny nowadays, but it's pretty useless otherwise.

Slime Generator - A bulky box that shoots a small splat of slime. Doesn't seem good for much.

Counter-PSI Device - A weird device Marigold found from a flying saucer. Works in strange ways, and seems to disrupt everyone's concentration. Marigold is immune to its effects.

Charm of Sleep - Grants immunity to sleep while equipped. Can be equipped to Arms or Misc.

-Skills-

Is A Pesky Plumber - From the mushroom kingdom!

And My Da~d Knows Her - If he actually did, I'd shit myself.

Subscribed to Amazon Prime - Actually, can you order guns off Amazon?

Sendable by Snail Mail - Little boxes can be cuddly, too…

Headmaster Headthwasher - Boosh! Ho ho!

β-β-β-β

Fighter: Hiyori Hashimoto, the Buddhist Oni

-Inventory-

Weapon: Fisticuffs!

Arms: Shackle of Devas - The first of the four treasures held by the Devas of the Mountain. Grants immunity to sleep-inducing magic. Grants fifty percent resistance to wind and thunder magic.

Body: Runed Gi - Enchanted to not get blown away by battle damage.

Misc: Nothing

-Skills-

PK Starstorm α - Summons forth the stars from the night's sky to rain down upon enemies. Hits all enemies, and deals high magical damage, at the cost of being highly mentally taxing. Can hit allies if they're in the effective area, as the white stars don't have homing properties.

PK Fire α, ß - Creates an igniting blast of flames at the target's location. Most impact comes with higher tiers.

PK Freeze α, β, γ - Generates ice crystals at the target's location. Medium damage and effect; may freeze some targets, especially wet ones.

Shield α, ß, Σ - Halves damage the target takes. Only works against physical attacks, and enough strikes, or powerful strikes, will dispel it. Higher tier turns it into a power-shield that protects even better and even reflects a fraction of protected damage. Highest tier applies a basic shield to the entire party.

Lifeup α, ß - Heals target a little. Higher tiers heal more grievous wounds, like bone fractures.

Healing α, ß - Heals basic status ailments. Higher tiers can cure more dire effects, like burning alive.

Teleport α, ß - Allows instant transport to the general location of an area remembered by oneself or one's party members. Requires a long, fast run-up to execute, however. Higher tier is largely automatic and requires little room to execute.

Martial Arts - Skilled in hand-to-hand combat.

β-β-β-β

Author's Note:

civ 5 made chapter take longer than it shoulda :3

i consider it a vacation basically

trying ta get back into my grove of 5 k words a day-ish again; although, i really should write more when i feel like it vs when i sorta half-feel like it; i might get more done that way, i dunno

i'd ask for feedback on my writing quality but we BOTH KNOW DAT AIN'T HAPPENIN'.

in other news, undergrou~nd! expect to see PISSED OFF GHOSTS and other things

kinda excited to write me some SATORI at some point, ye

as always, see you all next time!


	20. Mind, Heart, and Hakurei

Hikari had a hard time sleeping. ' _This is better than the floor, at least…_ '

Her sentiments were especially true, because the floor was kempt, yet rough, stone. Not entirely suitable for sleeping…

"Aaa~h…" Osamu yawned. "This rock sucks. I'd rather be on the shrine's wooden floor."

His fluffy robes provided him cushioning, so that the rocks weren't completely uninhabitable.

Meanwhile, Hiyori's sturdy bed housed everyone else. The western styled bed had legs of a precariously strong metal, likely to attempt delaying the inevitable moment an oni will break their bed.

Hiyori never really got that rowdy, but she figured that if it did break, she could just use the mattress on its own.

' _...I'm hardly on the bed, anymore._ '

Hikari precariously hung off the side of the bed, the blanket she was wrapped in trapped under Hiyori. Thus, she was resting on the side of the bed, instead of in the bed.

' _...This is cool._ ' Hikari took pride in that fact.

Marigold fought against Hiyori, but found herself trapped in her arms. "...Hmph. Wake up, you."

Hiyori was out like a light.

"Le-let me go…" Marigold squirmed, but failed to escape. "...Too wa~rm…"

' _...She's right. Why did we even decide on blankets? It's probably seventy, down here…_ '

Hikari began struggling to escape, but found she was bound by the blankets.

' _What? No…!_ '

Hikari began flailing her limbs, but after awhile, she gave up.

' _...Well, this is what friends are for._ '

"Marigold?" Hikari tried.

"Ye-yes…?" Marigold exhaled, finding it hard to breathe in the bed, between the heat of the blankets and the heat Hiyori exuded from her body.

Hikari makes her request. "Can you free me?"

Marigold giggled. "Uhh… can _you_ free _me?_ "

' _Uh oh._ '

…

"Osamu." Hikari swore she heard him earlier…

"Sawin' logs." Osamu sat and observed. "Wake me up when this stops being funny."

' _You're kidding me…_ '

"Help." Hikari tries again. "We're stuck…"

Osamu put a hand to his chin. "...I might."

' _...What's that supposed to mean?_ '

Osamu tried Offense Up α!

…

Hiyori didn't notice the power inside her building, because she was asleep.

Marigold whined. "A-aah… So tight…"

"That didn't do anything…" Osamu walked around the bed.

' _What's he doing…?_ ' Hikari began thrashing around again…

Osamu focused… "There's _gotta_ be something…"

…

Osamu tried Offense Up Ω!

Everyone felt strength well up in their muscles…!

"A-ah, aah…" Osamu froze up.

' _...That helps, I think._ ' Hikari begins thrashing about anew, and finally-

Thud. The blanket slid out from beneath Hiyori, and Hikari rolled onto the floor.

"Haa~h…!" Hikari took a deep breath. ' _Fresh air!_ '

Marigold's situation didn't improve. "I-I'm being squeezed…"

"I-I gotta not do that again…" Osamu decides. "Dude… Marigold, can I have some of yer mana?"

"If you free me, first…!" Marigold whines, before sighing. "I'm burning up, over here…"

Hikari moves to help her, navigating around the bed to latch onto Hiyori's arm. With Marigold and Hikari's force, the arm of the slumbering oni begins to move, and Marigold slips out.

Free of the warm form of Hiyori, Marigold scrambles out of the bed, and onto the cool, stone floor. "Ye~s… Relief…"

Osamu tried PSI Magnet α!

Purple rectangles traveled to Marigold, running up her body, before traveling back to Osamu.

"...Better." He wiped his forehead. "Damn. Never felt that kinda backlash before…"

' _Did he strength up all of us at once?_ ' Hikari realized. ' _That's probably the first time he seriously dented his mana pool in one go._ '

Osamu tried PSI Magnet α!

The purple rectangles traveled beside Marigold, and ran up somebody. They traveled back to Osamu, who tilted his head.

"...The hell was that?"

' _Hmm?_ '

Osamu pointed beside Marigold. "Did ya guys see that?"

Marigold looked up from the floor, at the air. "...No. Did you steal the mana from the wall, or something?"

"...I guess." He shrugged. "Weird."

' _Probably._ '

Marigold climbed from the floor, and moved for her backpack. The party had slept in their clothes, as Hiyori had little in spare clothes aside from a chest full of gis and robes.

With the three up, they turned to Hiyori…

' _She's probably not gonna get up for awhile._ '

"...Should we let her wake up on her own?" Marigold pondered aloud.

' _I think so._ '

Osamu looked out the window…

A large section of walling that wasn't there the day before sat there, cracks running up along the side.

"...No." Osamu smiled. "I think it's, uh… it's dangerous to go alone."

Hikari nodded. 'Yeah, on second thought…"

Marigold reached into her backpack… "I know just the way to wake her up…"

She pulled out the Counter-PSI Device, and looked around… "Why are there no tables…?"

' _...You know, that's a good question. Considering oni, though, I wonder if they'd just get smashed. Hiyori's pretty tame, though. I dunno why there's no tables._ '

Osamu's eyes widened. "Oh, fuck. Yeah, that's gonna wake her up."

"...Plug your ears. I don't know if it'll help, but you can try." Marigold instructs her friends, as she sits down on the floor.

Hikari did so. ' _Please work._ '

Phhsshhh-zz',;.';,';.';',;.';,.,'.;...

' _It-it's not working!_ ' Hikari mentally cursed the noise. "Wh-why…?"

She slowly slid to the floor, clutching her head. 'I _-I, my, hurt…_ '

…

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: MARIGOLD'S VIEW ====

"Sh-shit…" Osamu backed up to the wall, and leaned against it. "I-I hate… that…"

' _Sorry, guys…_ ' Marigold cringed at her friends all becoming crippled around her.

Hiyori, however, was still fast asleep.

' _...Well, then I'll have to do this the hard way. I don't want this to be for nothing.'_ '

Marigold takes the Spectrum Shotgun from the floor, marches up to the bed, and climbs onto it. Then, she stands above Hiyori, pointing the barrel right at her face.

Marigold chuckled nervously. "E-eheh…"

' _If this doesn't wake her up, I don't know what will…_ '

...Marigold closes her eyes, and pulls the trigger.

' _I-I'm sorry about this!_ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIKARI'S VIEW ====

"Now, I _know_ I am a heavy sleeper… and I _can_ understand why that might be awkward, when we travel all at once for safety…"

Hiyori stood before Marigold, who was kneeled before her. Osamu and Hikari stood along the wall across the room…

"But what _possessed_ you, to believe shooting me in the _face_ would be a good idea!?" Hiyori snapped at her.

Marigold appeared indignant. "W-well, I…" She deflated. "I'm sorry."

Hiyori nodded, calming down. "...Well. I forgive you. Just… think twice before shooting me in the face. That took two healing spells just to get my face back to normal, never mind the residual magical sting."

' _It like, melted._ ' Hikari blinked idly. ' _It was scary, and surreal. Scary mostly because I was pretty positive it wasn't going to get better, but apparently healing can fix faces, too._ '

'I'll, uh, be… more careful." Marigold blushed. "I… yeah."

Hiyori smiled. "I can tell you are sincere. Do not strain yourself."

...Osamu decides to snipe from across the room.

Osamu tried PSI Magnet α!

Rectangles shot from Osamu, and traveled up the form of somebody.

Osamu pointed to Hiyori's side. "Dude! Over there!"

Marigold and Hikari's eyes widened as they stared at it travel up nobody at all, before returning to Osamu.

...Hiyori furrowed her brows, and reached out for the space that was affected. She felt nothing but air.

"...Peculiar." Hiyori looked around, eyes narrowing.

Marigold glanced around, as well. "...Can you sense them?"

Hiyori shook her head. "That is not a talent I have."

' _It could have just targeted air, or something…_ '

Marigold developed the same idea. "How much ambient mana is down here?"

...Hiyori nods. "I see your point. Considering the unkempt pockets- and rampant destruction- this cave is likely alive with mana. I would not be surprised if you somehow targeted the air itself."

Osamu agrees. "Yeah, sounds 'bout right. No way someone could just be invisible and, like, completely undetectable."

' _I think that kappa's camouflage is the most we'll see._ '

Hiyori shrugged. "Well, there _are_ invisible phantoms down here, but they're not subtle. To us oni, they're simply a nuisance, but they might get some nasty blows on you guys."

Osamu rolled his eyes. "Aa~h, whatever. What's a few stab wounds to breakin' your legs, huh?"

' _Stabbing hurts. Breaking your legs hurts, too, but stabbing also hurts._ ' Hikari stares at him dryly.

"Neither of those are good options." Marigold comments. "Can we avoid both of those?"

"We could." Hiyori looks pensive. "Except, we'd have to cut through the city."

Osamu smiled. "Alright! Stabbing, or cities? Pickin' cities."

"By 'city' I mean 'perpetual oni battleground', right now." Hiyori corrects. "Did you forget that display the other evening?"

"...Oh, right." Osamu's face fell. "...On second thought, stabbing's good. Totally fine with that."

"We should be fine." Hikari decides. "You said they weren't subtle, right? We should be able to defend ourselves."

Hiyori nods. "Mmm."

Marigold held up her Spectrum Shotgun. "I know _I'll_ be able to defend myself…"

"Just don't hit us." Hikari grins.

Marigold pouts.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

As the party continued outside, they eventually developed mixed opinions on which way to go.

"Trust me, guys, I know a thing or two 'bout sneakin' through buildin's." Osamu argues.

"You do not know a thing or two about sneaking through collapsing rubble." Hiyori counters idly.

"...I feel like the city's not _that_ bad." Marigold decides. "If we keep a low profile, we might be alright."

"I don't want to risk fighting oni." Hikari gives an honest opinion. "...Also, when have we _ever_ managed to keep a low profile?"

Hiyori sighed. "I'll tell you what. We'll walk along the edge of the oni city. Or, not even; we'll walk along the outskirts, just so you can see how bad of an idea cutting through it would be."

The ground trembles, as violence roars in the distance.

' _On one hand, I want to see what's wrong with the city. On the other, I don't want to die, which is a lot more important, I'm sure. Hiyori said she knew somewhere safe to get snacks, though. If I can't think up a good way into the city after that, we'll just have to leave it be._ '

Hiyori lead the way, as she knew the underground better than the other three by multiple decades. Keeping them a good distance from the city, she led them on a trail that allowed them to catch some good glances at it.

Bam!

' _The amount of buildings is significantly less than it used to be…_ ' Hikari was able to tell the city had gotten remarkably smaller since her previous observations from the other night.

' _I think it was night, anyway. I can't really tell, down here._ '

"Are we too late?" She questions.

…

"For?" Osamu didn't follow.

"Saving the city…" Hikari was somewhat crestfallen.

"Oh. Yeah, the place is _totally_ boned." Osamu agrees. "No goin' back now."

' _Oh…_ '

Hiyori shrugged. "It's not a problem."

' _Sure it's not._ '

...Hiyori noticed Hikari's skepticism. "We're oni. The city dwellers practically tear the place down and rebuild it every week. I would've thought it a Friday, with the state of the city."

…

' _I completely forgot about that fact._ ' Hikari felt silly. ' _I mean… a city literally falling apart is usually something to be worried about._ '

As the party continued down the path, shady figures moved to intercept them…

"I think we've got ghosts, here…" Marigold raises her Spectrum Shotgun.

Hiyori's gaze had already snapped to them. "You'd be right. That number is alarming, however…"

A scythe-handed, foggy figure marched towards them, along with two caster phantoms. Behind them were two black, floating cloaks, which had sharp, glowing red eyes.

' _Spooky in person._ ' Hikari notes. ' _Hopefully not as spooky in combat._ '

The gaseous, scythe-handed specter flung itself towards Hiyori, who had marched forward to soak up damage and draw attention to herself.

Hiyori guarded with her arms, the scythes producing small, inconsequential cuts along the length of them; at least, on the exposed portions.

"Back the fuck up!" Osamu's eyes widen at the spectre.

Osamu tried PK Thunder ß!

Thwaa~sh!

One of the armless caster phantoms is struck, to little effect.

Thwaa~sh!

One of the piercingly red-eyed wraiths was struck, dissipating on impact.

Hiyori's face hardened. "Enough."

Hiyori tried PK Freeze γ!

KaKaKa~...

A snowflake pattern of ice crystals froze and thawed around the scythe-handed figure before her,

Boom!

The icy blast dissipated the figure, rendering it a harmless cloud of black smoke.

Hikari brandished the ofuda she actually remembered to pack, this time. ' _Fighting ghosts is right up my alley…!_ '

She flung the ofuda towards one of the caster ghosts.

Thwam! Thwam! Thwam!

The ofuda slammed into the ghost like bullets, each one attaching upon strike. They glowed brightly, and the ghost was violently ripped apart, the ofuda expending themselves and dissipating into holy energy once the job was done.

' _Wow._ ' Hikari blinked. ' _That was more effective than I expected._ '

Caster Phantom B tried PK Freeze ß!

KaKa-KaKaKling!

A pattern of ice crystals materialized around Hikari, beginning to freeze and thaw rapidly…

' _Not again!_ ' Hikari braced herself.

Kra~ck!

The resulting frozen blast left Hikari slightly frozen.

"A-aah…" Hikari's arms and legs were able to move, but only with immense stiffness and effort.

' _Co-cold…_ '

Turning to Hikari, Hiyori acted. "Hikari!"

Hiyori tried Healing ß!

...Hikari was still very chilly, but her arms and legs moved fine, now. "Th-tha...nks."

She took this moment to hug herself. ' _I-I wish I was back in bed, now…_ '

Marigold furrowed her brows, glaring at the ghosts ahead of them. "Let's see how they like this…"

Holding up her Spectrum Shotgun, she charged towards the remaining wraith…

"...Heeaah." The wraith held out a translucent, clawed hand, pressing a newly generated magical circle in the air. The magical circle was black, and glowed red when pressed.

A circle formed under Marigold, and glowed a deep purple, before shifting to an earth green. Then, it faded.

Marigold froze, and looked around slowly… "Whaa~t… waa~s… tha~t…?"

' _Uhm…?_ '

" _Hit_ this time!" Osamu instructed his magic.

Osamu tried PK Thunder ß!

Thwaa~sh!

In the distance, two oni were locked in a struggle, both attempting to grapple one another.

Bam!

One of them was struck by lightning, but the battle remained an iron stalemate.

Thwaa~sh!

Again, the remaining caster was struck by the bolt, nothing productive happening as a result.

"Come _on!_ " Osamu danced in place, frustrated. "Stupid random ass magic!"

...Marigold sluggishly grinned, turning to Osamu slowly.

…

 _Very_ slowly…

Hikari gingerly stared at her. "...What happened to _you?_ "

...Marigold paused.

Hikari tried Healing γ!

"Very- What do- woah…" Marigold suddenly caught up to speed, motions returning to normal. "That was… weird."

The wraith did similar motions, this time to Osamu. The glowing magical circle formed under him, and he tensed up.

"Hey, no, no, no~...!"

The circle faded.

"...Daa~mn… i~t…"

' _Pffft._ '

Hiyori focused on the caster. "Can somebody take care of that magical ghost? It's resistant to magic attacks, and as you might expect, immune to physical…"

"On it." Hikari brandished three more ofuda, and flung them at the caster.

Fwam! Fwam! Fwam!

The caster suffered similar obliteration at the energy-driven smacks of the ofuda, its dark form being ripped apart.

' _Forty-four ofuda left…_ '

Hiyori tried PK Freeze γ!

KaKaKa~...

Once again, a snowflake-shaped pattern of ice crystals was formed, enveloping the wraith. It froze and thawed rapidly…

Boom!

The icy blast disrupted the form, somewhat solidifying it. The wraith glared at Hiyori.

' _Not that these things can make any different facial expressions._ '

Hikari ran up to the wraith, and struck a large chunk of ice.

SMAAAA~SH!

The ice broke, and the wraith wailed. "Haa~uuuh!"

It dissipated.

…

"Leeaa~ve… so~me… foo~r… meee~…" Osamu began slowly running towards where the wraith used to be. "...Noooo~..."

Hikari tried Healing α!

…

Osamu slowly shook his arms, frustrated.

' _Darn. Waste of energy…_ '

Hikari tried Healing γ!

"I wanted to- Why am I- ho-holy…" He stumbled about a bit, thrown off by the speedup. "...That's _so_ fuckin' weird, dude…"

Marigold grinned. "Why don't any of you guys have a slow down spell? It'd be funny."

' _Come to think of it, we really don't pick and choose our abilities, do we? Beggars can't be choosers, I guess…_ '

Shink!

Osamu froze, a gash opening in his stomach. He looked down, and nodded. "...Fuck."

Hiyori tensed up. "It's that phantom type I warned you about…"

Behind Osamu, the naked form of a bald, green-skinned individual flickered in and out of existence. It appeared similar to the scythe-armed phantoms, except it wasn't gaseous.

It drew its scythe from Osamu's gut, allowed his blood to spill out. "Fuuaa~h!"

' _I better not have to heal us more than I have to. I find most of my energy being poured into healing, these days…_ '

Hiyori tried Lifeup ß!

...The gash in Osamu's stomach and back healed, and he looked around. "Where's that asshole!?"

The naked 'phantom' bolted for a nearby rock wall, and began running up it. As Osamu ran after it, like an intelligent person, the figure did a leap from the wall, descending to strike him again.

Hiyori moved up with him, and intercepted, leaping into the figure.

Bam!

She tackled it into the wall, crushing the being into it and forming an indent.

"Ghchkchkchk…" Blood gurgled in its throat, as it lashed out at Hiyori, attempting to stab her.

Satisfied with the damage, Hiyori leapt from the wall, leaving the figure. As it flickered, the blood that ran down its flesh didn't.

...It fell from the wall, and writhed on the floor.

"...I was afraid that would happen." Hiyori brushed the blood from herself- what she could, at least. "I knew we could heal it off, though."

Osamu shrugged. "Yeah, as soon as you mentioned stuff about stabby people, I was like 'yeah that's gonna be me'. No big deal."

...He looked down at his robes. "Aw, shit, my robes're ripped."

Marigold snorted. "I should be the one complaining about damaged clothes."

Osamu grinned. "Dude, this stuff's brand new. Someone messes up my new duds, I mess them up."

' _Because it totally looks new after we went on that rock descending adventure. The thing became a frayed mess in the blink of an eye._ '

Hiyori pressed forward. "We're lucky we haven't seen any oni yet. Near us, I mean."

The ground vibrates, as another stone tower crumbles in the city.

Marigold whistled. "That was the last tall one…"

' _I don't think I wanna hang around here much longer…_ ' Hikari smiled at the scene ironically.

Pressing forward, Hiyori beckoned for the teenagers to follow her. "Come. We're a third of the way there."

' _How far away is this place…?_ '

Osamu groaned. "A _third?_ For cryin' out loud…"

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

As the party moved away from the oni city, Hikari's curiosity flared…

' _What locations could there be away from the city? All I see in the distance are ruins… which is probably what the city's going to look like, in a day or two._ '

…

Hikari acted on this feeling. "Where are we going?"

"They call it the Palace of the Earth Spirits." Hiyori elaborates. "A friend of mine lives there."

Osamu jerks to look at her. "Earth Spirits? Does she control all these assholes?"

Hiyori shakes her head. "Not really. The spirits fear her abilities. She keeps them in line, I guess. Unlike us oni, she's an accomplished magician, giving her little trouble when it comes to dealing with spirits. I'm not sure what it was like before, but she said the spirits down here used to be a lot worse."

"...They don't _seem_ very in line." Marigold comments.

"She doesn't really care about the ones we saw." Hiyori explained. "I mean, she only deals with the big ones. I personally haven't seen any, myself."

Osamu snorted. " _Big_ ones? Geez…"

…

The vibrations from the conflict of the city faded as the party made their way onto a proper path.

' _This is a pleasant change._ '

Bam!

From a large rock nearby, a blonde, long-haired oni charged out, blowing up the entire rock as she did so. "Hraa~h!"

Rubble fell across the nearby rock plain.

Hiyori tensed up… and then relaxed. "She doesn't look affected."

The oni had two small, green horns on the sides of her head. She turned to the party, and glared. "...Whaddaya you buncha _weaklings_ lookin' at?"

Osamu furrows his brows. "Hey, we're not- mmph!" Hiyori quickly blocks his mouth offhandedly, looking patient. "We were simply startled by you, because you moved in our way."

The oni grinned. "You'd best be startled. One of these days, I'm'onna be a deva!"

Hiyori scoffed. "...I see."

"...When that bastard Yuugi stops sending me into outer space, that is. She just gets fuckin' lucky, I tell ya." She shakes her head, grinning.

"Well, don't let us stop you." Hiyori tries to see her off…

"O~h, don't worry. No way I'm lettin' you stop me!" She pounds a fist into an open hand, cracking her knuckles audibly.

...Hiyori sighed. "We don't want to fight you."

"What the hell kind of attitude is that!?" The oni roared. "Yellow-bellied coward. I'll practice on _you_ , and then Yuugi'll be round two!" She began stomping towards the party…

...Turning to the party, Hiyori quickly addressed them. "Keep your distance. I'll handle all the physical attacks."

' _Sounds good to me._ ' Hikari began backing off the path, the rest of the party following…

The blonde oni crouched, and then darted forward, blowing open the floor as she flew towards Hiyori. "You're not getting away from _me!_ "

Hikari tried Shield ß!

Hiyori was protected by the power shield of light!

Hiyori guarded with her arms, as the oni's fist flew towards her…

Bam!

She flew backwards, onto her back, before rolling back onto her feet. A beam shot from the shield, and the other oni attempted to punch it, to little success.

"Gh… The fuck? This magic shit…" The oni grimaced, shaking her hand after the beam struck it. "You some frilly magician, or what?"

Hiyori's face hardened. "If that's how you want to perceive it."

' _I don't wanna use much more energy… I only get so much a day, and using them unnecessarily might leave me without it when I really need it. I wanna help Hiyori, though…_ '

She looks at the oni…

Hikari tried Hypnosis α!

Energy rippled around the oni…

…

Nothing happened. The oni moved to grapple with Hiyori, the two struggling with one another.

' _Darn. I feel stupid…_ '

Osamu tried Defense Down α!

The other oni's strength falters, and she grimaces. "Wh-wh-"

Hiyori lifted her off the ground, and threw her. The oni landed on her feet, backpedalling slightly as she did so. "Damn it…!"

Hiyori was surprised, herself, but didn't comment.

Osamu tried Offense Up α!

Hiyori felt power well into her body!

She realized what was going on, and shot a brief thumbs up to no one in particular. Osamu grinned, though.

The gesture pissed off the opposing oni, however. "You mother _fucker_ …"

Hiyori confidently marched towards the opposing oni, who in turn marched towards her. They both moved to punch each other in the face, each brandishing a right hook…

Bam!

The difference was palpable. The other oni spun away, stumbling back, where as Hiyori was only sent off balance for a moment.

"...Wh-what the fuck…?" The oni narrowed her eyes at her. "How are you-"

Bam!

Hiyori slammed an arm into the oni's head, sending her to the floor.

Thud.

"Y-you…" The oni scowled up at Hiyori.

"This fight is over." Hiyori announces. "...Come."

She gestures to her friends, who approach from the nearby trail…

"I wanted to shoot her in the face…" Marigold pouted.

Hiyori snorts. "She _probably_ wouldn't have let you."

With that, the party begins walking away…

…

The oni sits up off the floor, a red mark on her face quickly fading. "Wh-who the hell…?"

She held out her hand, clenching the air multiple times.

"...Fucking _cheater!_ "

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Hiyori blushes as she hears the roar of the defeated oni in the distance. "...I can't say I'm proud of that, but I _told_ her I didn't want to fight."

' _I remember Suika said something about honesty being very important to oni… I assume that applies very much to combat as well._ '

Osamu shrugged. "Who cares? You win you win, right?"

Hiyori scoffed at him. "...It's not as simple as that. It is, but it isn't."

"Basically, magic's cheating down here, right?" Marigold summarizes.

"Pretty much." Hiyori nods compromisingly. "...That's part of why I went back aboveground."

'I didn't hear much about that whole event…' Hikari reflected. ' _The mountain wars that happened long ago. I heard words of them, but I never really learned much._ '

...

"We should be coming up on the palace." Hiyori points ahead, as they began moving uphill…

At the top sat a mansion-esque structure, with two large, double doors. Tall, stained glass windows lined the walls.

' _Big place… and significantly better kept than the rest of the underground._ '

Marigold nodded in approval. "Another mansion, huh…?"

Osamu grinned. "Yeah, of _course_ there's a mansion down here. Why not?"

They approached the front door, passing by a red-haired girl with cat ears who sat at the side of the path, next to a cart…

' _...Wait…_ ' Hikari turned to her. "Where'd you come from?"

The cat girl was snapped out of her train of thought, snapping her head to Hikari. "Nya- uh, whuh? Reimu? You arrived just on time!"

Osamu perked up. "Oh- hey, it's you! Can I pet you, this time?"

Her face fell. "Y'want me to bite you, again?"

...Osamu shrugged. "Dude…" He approached the cat girl…

…

"Yeeoow!" He shook his hand, furrowing his brows at the bite marks on his hand.

Marigold gingerly walked up to her. "Is… is that a cat girl?"

Hikari nods. "You missed her, earlier. While you were with that kappa."

"Aawwh!" Marigold squeed, glomping her. "I always wanted a cat gi~rl!"

"He-hey!" The cat girl struggled, before blushing. "Ge-get off!"

Marigold began scratching under her chin.

"G-get…" She sighed. "Nyaa~n…"

Hiyori grinned. "How's things, Orin?"

Orin froze. "Wh-what…?"

Marigold released her from her grasp, as Orin walked up to Hiyori.

…

"Oo~h, yeah! It's you!" Orin stared up at Hiyori, wide-eyed. "Last time I saw you was when I was- well I wasn't a kitten, but-"

"You were a kitten." Hiyori smiled.

"Well- yeah…" Orin gave a half smile. "Yeah."

' _Cats are cute._ '

"...Why were you sitting out here?" Hiyori inquires.

Orin's smile lowered to a neutral look. "It's Satori-sama…"

"Hmm?" Hiyori pauses.

"I think she's… possessed, or something. I didn't sense a spirit in her, but…" Orin fidgeted. "Something's wrong… She kicked me out of the palace, and some of the other pets are acting strangely, too. Something happened, while I was gone…"

Hiyori processed this information…

' _Even down here? This Giygas person really gets around…_ '

Osamu grins. "Don't you worry, pretty kitty. Osamu's here to make it all better…"

…

Orin leaned over, speaking to Hikari in a hushed tone. "Reimu… do you know this creep?"

Hikari shook her head. "No."

Marigold and Hiyori turned away, walking towards the palace…

Osamu folded his arms indignantly. "Oh, c'mon! What'd I say!? That was pretty good, c'mon!"

' _No. Think about what you've done._ ' She began following the rest of the party, and Orin tagged along behind her…

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

"I think I should scout ahead." Hiyori offers herself.

Hikari tilted her head. ' _...I'm not sure how to feel about that._ '

Marigold and Osamu seemed neutral about her decision, not offering comment.

"...What would I have to give," Marigold began, addressing Orin, "to have you as my familiar?"

Orin smiled. "Sorry. I serve Satori-sama alone."

Marigold appeared crestfallen…

...Hiyori noticed Hikari's uncertainty. "I don't want what happened with that factory to repeat, here. If I go ahead first, I can at least come back and warn you all about what we're to face."

Hikari nods. "I guess. Don't get your face melted, or anything, alright?"

Hiyori grinned. "I'll try not to."

With that, Hiyori pushed open the large double door with ease, and navigated inside…

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIYORI'S VIEW ====

...The door creaked shut behind her.

Hiyori stepped into the lobby. ' _What could have happened to her? It's not like her to simply be bested by some possessor spirit…_ '

Stepping over to the stairs, she moved through the quiet lobby. Cats and birds quietly watchd her, propped strategically along the upper shelves, all keeping a keen eye on her. They moved not an inch from their gothic ledges, standing silent vigils.

' _...That's awfully unlike them._ ' She remembered the animals either doing work on Satori's behalf, or generally being playful and friendly. These ones seemed…

' _Disciplined. Poised. Waiting…_ '

Hiyori narrowed her eyes at the stationary animals.

' _Watching._ '

Snapping her head away from them, she hastily continued towards the hall that lead to Satori's room…

' _Satori had multiple rooms, but I'm assuming she'll be in her study. She was never into thrones, or anything so pretentious._ '

She moved through the still, quiet halls until eventually coming to the door she was looking for. Then, she knocked.

Knock, knock, knock.

…

"Come in." Satori's voice came from the other side.

Slowly opening the door, Hiyori went inside, and closed it behind herself.

She turned to face Satori, who was seated in a comfy, cushioned chair.

Satori smiled at her. "Welcome back, old friend."

' _...Warmer than normal._ ' Hiyori considered.

...Satori blinked. "Hmm?"

' _Nothing seems different about her…_ '

"...Because nothing is?" Satori leaned forward, resting her arms on the desk. "What has you so paranoid, today?"

Hiyori blinks back. ' _Orin told- aah…_ ' She sighed. ' _Mustn't think of that, it'd be seen as suspicious._ '

Narrowing her eyes, Satori tilts her head. "Those are some… peculiar thoughts. You can be honest with me, can't you? Secrets are not your strong suit, Nori."

' _I-I don't go by that anymore!_ ' Hiyori blushed. ' _...Hiyori._ '

...Satori shrugged. "Very well. It'll take some getting used to, though. For what reason did you make this change?"

' _Because I didn't like- this isn't what I came here for…_ ' Hiyori shook her head.

"Oh, right, right. I seem to have pushed you off track." Satori grins. "Continue…"

' _Orin… is saying you've been afflicted with something, like possession. You don't seem-_ '

Satori smiled. "She is simply having a rebellious phase. Nothing to be worried about. I don't care what my pets think of me."

' _That's a lie._ ' Hiyori felt confusion strike her immediately.

...Satori didn't respond visibly.

' _...?_ '

"Nothing to be concerned about." Satori stresses, still smiling.

' _Weird._ '

...Satori gave no reaction, which further confused Hiyori. ' _She usually reacts to being thought of as weird…_ '

"Why would I?" Satori seems bemused. "After all, the only thing that matters is…" She shakes her head. "Well, you wouldn't be interested in that."

' _She's freaking me out, here, a little… This isn't like you._ '

A sigh emanates from Satori. "You're beginning to annoy me, with thoughts like that."

' _Sorry._ '

"...What else did Orin have to say?" Satori fished for answers.

' _Not much. After that, I decided to scout ahead for Hikari and-_ " Hiyori cut herself off. ' _St-stop thinking._ '

...A wide smile was shown by Satori. "Oh, Hikari?"

' _The shrine maiden's daughter- ack..._ ' Hiyori cursed herself for thinking of the subject matter.

"...Well, with this silly incident aside, why don't you invite Hikari and her friends inside?" Satori offers her friend. "I'll be sure to properly discipline Orin for her disobedience. Dissenting opinions are not allowed."

' _There. That last sentence. That's not you. And-_ ' Hiyori froze in realization.

...Satori glared at Hiyori. "Unfortunately, you are _wrong_."

' _I never told you Hikari had any friends- Osamu, Marigold, and- and… nobody else, actually._ '

…

"I simply pulled them from the rest of your… subconscious. Yes." Satori smirked.

' _That's not how your ability works._ ' Hiyori steeled her mind for the next question…

"Who are _you_ to tell me how my ability works?" Satori stood, scowling at Hiyori.

' _How long have I known you? Don't think, don't think, don't think..._ ' Hiyori knew the answer, but barred herself from thinking it.

…

"Easy." Satori relaxed, but still appeared annoyed. "Hundreds of years."

…

' _That's- how many?_ '

…

' _Oni live a long time._ '

"Five hundred." Satori gives a smug smile.

' _Ninety one. You were close._ ' Hiyori stared at her, unamused.

…

"How awkward." Satori states casually.

' _Very._ ' Hiyori stands up. ' _I'll be going, now._ '

"...Take care." A neutral expression monitors Hiyori as she gets up, and moves for the door.

Hiyori shuts it, sighing.

' _I'll… need a moment, to think about this._ '

She moves across the upper level of the foyer, sparing a glare at the immobile animals, who all followed her movements as she moved to the other side of the foyer.

Closing a door, Hiyori stood up against it. She was now in a large, empty hallway, with a big green carpet and aquamarine walls.

' _...I think she really is possessed._ '

As she glanced around at the hall before her, contemplating on her next plan of action, she paused upon noticing somebody.

A short girl with green hair stood before her. A black hat with a yellow ribbon sat on her head, complimented by her yellow and green dress.

…

' _Ko-Koishi… Koishi Komeiji. Wh-..._ ' Hiyori gaped. ' _I-I can't believe I forgot about her…_ '

"You're hurting."

...Hiyori blinks.

Koishi stares up at her, expression flat. "I can tell it."

' _She… can read emotions. Right…_ ' Hiyori takes a deep breath. "...You could say that."

The short girl blinked. "...I'm hurting, too."

' _...Satori's her sister. I see…_ '

Hiyori smiled, kneeling to level with her. "...Don't worry. Me and some friends of mine, we'll-"

"That's why I want you to help us! Me, I mean! Us, me… yeah!" With a sudden burst of energy, Koishi grabs Hiyori's shoulders. "I was watchin' you, yeah? Up at the temple! You did great!"

Hiyori was taken aback by the sudden tone and mood change. "A-aah…?"

' _I-I forgot about that, too…_ '

Bouncing with energy, Koishi continued. "And then I saw you, and your friends, and they all, like- they manhandled those sad ghosts, which was kinda mean- but they were really good at it! You did, too!"

"Ye-yeah. I suppose we did." Hiyori smiled awkwardly.

Koishi moved closer to her face. "...I want you to help sister. Something's not right. Sh-she doesn't want this."

Caught by the jarring tone change, Hiyori paused. "...Don't worry. My friends and I will take care of it."

Koishi beamed. "That's great!" ...Then, she sighed. "Please don't hurt her…"

…

Hiyori was alone in the hallway, kneeling.

' _What…?_ '

...Standing up, she felt her shoulders for a moment, before looking around.

' _I know what to do, now._ '

Leaping down from the foyer-

Thud.

-She bolted towards the front door, and swung it open…

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIKARI'S VIEW ====

"Get! Back! Ellen! You! Rookie!"

Orin had emptied her cat cart of tengu corpses, and was using it to beat the enraged form of a smaller, blonde cat girl into submission.

' _I've realized where those corpses came from. I'll be honest, it's slightly disconcerting._ '

A red-haired bird youkai flew overhead, occasionally firing a spread shot of danmaku towards the party. Hikari, Osamu, and Marigold had psychic shields at the moment, to prevent danmaku damage from overwhelming them.

Hiyori's eyes widened. "What's going on, out here?"

"Fuckin' _birds!_ " Osamu summarized.

"Pain." Hikari amended.

Orin glanced at the door. "Just go! I can take these kittens any day!"

As she said that, the smaller blonde cat girl leaped onto her, knocking her over.

" _Reeoo~w!_ " Orin's expression flared, and she flipped the other cat onto her back.

Hiyori gestured for the party to get inside, which they did.

On the inside, the cracks of breaking masonry echoed throughout the foyer…

Bam! Bam, bam, boom, bam!

All six of the gothic ledges were snapped off their places, embedding themselves in the foyer floor. Cats agiley landed upon them, and ducked behind them, as bird youkai flew overhead.

From behind the pillars, the cats peeked out with human heads, having transformed into their youkai forms themselves while out of sight.

' _We're totally surrounded._ ' Hikari blanched.

...Hiyori quickly shut the door behind them, to keep the other battle on the door's other side.

"Holy fuck." Osamu gaped. "We're boned."

' _Um…_ '

…

Hiyori moved ahead of the party, somewhat. It was as if she was daring the youkai to make their move.

They decided to take the opportunity.

The cat youkai poked out from around their stone blockades, sending streams of green danmaku from their hands out towards the party.

Osamu tried PSI Magnet α!

Purple and cyan rectangles traveled to and from the leftmost cat girl, stealing her mana.

"Hope ya guys can dance!" He had an incredulous, fear-induced grin as he ran into the center of the foyer with Hiyori.

Marigold aimed her Spectrum Shotgun up at the two bird youkai. "Enough with the air assault, already…"

She fired, the seven beams of light stretching into the air before her. A deafening roar came from the shattering of stained glass windows up above, as she backed up to the door preemptively.

' _Ugh…_ ' Hikari shielded herself from the glass, retreating to the door as well. Danmaku streams pegged her as she did so, dissipated marginally by the psychic shield.

"Haa~h!"

A bird youkai spiraled to the floor, caught in the midst of one of the beams.

Thud.

The cat youkai all focused on Marigold, moving from their cover to attempt to melee her.

Osamu looked up from his glass-laden robes. "Those fucking- gah…!" He wriggled at the minor sensations of glass becoming embedded in his robe. "Here!"

Osamu tried Offense Up Ω!

The party felt strength well up in their muscles…

Not that it'd help Osamu, whose eyes began unfocusing. "Wooaa~h… S-so that's… what mana de-dep...rivation feels like…"

Hiyori moved to protect Marigold's other side, while Hikari took one.

Hikari tried Shield ß!

Hikari was protected by the power shield of light!

' _There. Here we go…_ '

The brunette cat girl before her licked her lips, beginning to show personality as she closed in on Hikari… "Oo~h? You think you're bad, cutie?"

Holding her gohei tensely, she readied herself to move at a moment's notice…

The cat suddenly flung herself forward, swiping Hikari's face with her claws.

Swish!

' _Aaa~h!_ ' Hikari stumbled back into Marigold, her eyes rendered inoperable.

A beam shot from her light shield. The cat girl attempted to weave out of the way, only for it to hit her in the side of the head.

"Woh…!?" She clutched the side that was struck, and continued to weave away from Hikari…

Meanwhile, the condensing beams of energy jerked about in the air, surprising the remaining bird youkai.

"Shh-aaah~!"

She flailed her wings, before plummeting.

Thud.

Satisfied, Marigold let the gun's beam lower, blemishing the wall and stairs as it moves down…

Hikari tried Lifeup α!

' _...Th-there._ ' She shuddered. ' _That felt so wrong…_ '

A blue-haired cat girl was weaving back and forth in place, until the brunette one neared her. She then abruptly leapt towards Hikari, who jerked her gohei up to defend against it.

' _Aah!_ '

The gohei accidently jabbed the cat, forcing her to retreat via pivoting in the air, and using Hikari's face to propel herself away.

' _...Ow._ ' Hikari was only mildly disgruntled by that, however.

' _Th-this better work…_ '

Hikari tried Hypnosis α!

Energy rippled around the brunette cat girl…

…

With a yawn, the cat girl suddenly climbed atop the nearest stone rubble, switched to her cat form, and fell asleep.

' _Finally._ '

Clonk.

Hiyori, having finally caught the two cat girls pestering her side, had smashed their heads together, knocking the both of them out.

The final blue-haired cat girl glared into Hikari's eyes…

Hikari glared back. ' _I'm going to get you back. I don't like cats jumping off my face._ '

...The two moved to skirmish. The cat girl jabbed at her stomach-

SMAAAA~SH!

Hikari jerked her Miracle Gohei across the side of her face, sending her sprawling.

' _Gh…_ ' Hikari grimaced at the gash on her stomach. A light shot from her power shield, striking the falling cat girl in the bum.

' _Well, justice has been served, I guess._ '

Hikari tried Lifeup α!

The gash in her side began to heal…

' _...Wow. That took some doing._ '

...Osamu stood up off the floor.

Osamu tried PSI Magnet α!

He stole mana from Marigold, using floating blue and purple rectangles.

Hiyori sighed. "...I didn't like doing that."

...Marigold finally let go of the trigger, ceasing her beam's drilling into one of the walls. "I did."

Osamu grinned sloppily… "I… did not very not…"

Osamu tried PSI Magnet α!

Marigold stared at the rectangles, as they traveled up her body, and back to Osamu.

…

Osamu tried PSI Magnet α!

' _There's something comforting about the blue glow those shapes make._ ' Hikari reflects.

"Soo~... tired…" Osamu slouched. "Maa~n…"

Footsteps were heard on the stairs.

Hiyori's face hardened. "...Satori."

Satori's eyes were on Hikari.

' _Another one, huh?_ ' Hikari readied her gohei…

Satori smiled. "Indeed. Another one."

' _Huh?_ '

Glancing at Hiyori, Satori continued. "I would've said you fell into my trap… but it seems you anticipated it, and even overcame it. It would seem… I am right." Satori's face grimaced as she finished her sentence. "Do not even think of… 'saving' me."

Osamu tiredly turns to her. "Aaa~h, shut up. You brainwashed bozoes are all the same…"

With a snort, Satori scoffed. "...I suppose I'll simply have to show you, then."

Between Hikari and Satori, somebody appeared.

...Hikari blinked in surprise. ' _Where'd she come from?_ '

Hiyori gasped. "A-ah… Koishi! I…"

Koishi turned to Hiyori, smiling. "I thought I'd lend you guys a little hand, here! Like, I'll be honest, you're, uh, not quite as good as I expected. I dunno."

' _Hey._ '

"Like, I expected you guys to just walk in here, and like… 'pop the top of a can of whoop ass', as they say." Koishi put a finger to her chin. "...Do people say that?"

…"No." Satori decides.

Koishi turns to her, frowning. "...Sister."

…

Satori shakes her head. "Let me show you, all of you… what being a magician is really all about." With that, she begins floating into the air.

Koishi silently watches her…

Satori tried PK Hydro ß!

A shuriken of water formed over Hikari, soaking her.

' _Wh-what!?_ ' Hikari froze, feeling the water soak her. ' _Osamu!_ '

Osamu glanced at her. "What the hell? I di-didn't cast that!"

...Marigold stared at the smirking form of Satori.

"Indeed, magi." Satori answered her thoughts. "I have your powers… _all_ of your powers."

Satori tried PK Thunder ß!

Thwaa~sh!

Hiyori tensed as the bolt struck her, but the electricity traveled into her gauntlet, becoming nullified. Or, at the very least, mitigated heavily.

Thwaa~sh!

The sleeping cat was struck. " _Mrooo~w!_ " She turned back into her youkai form, sliding off the rock. "Aa-aaauu…"

"Bullshit." Osamu grimaced.

Osamu tried PSI Magnet α!

This time, the rectangles stole from Satori, adding to Osamu's mana.

"Hmph." Satori looked smug. "Such a strategy would leave you crippled of old age."

Hikari began running towards her, weaving past Koishi to move towards Satori…

Satori floated back slowly. "Do you really think that's going to work…?"

Satori tried Shield ß!

Satori was protected by the power shield of light!

Hikari froze. ' _M-my shield…!_ '

"...When all your magic is binded to mental functions, it makes replication… trivial, really." The smugness of Satori continued. "You four really _are_ simpleminded."

Koishi's hands began shaking…

Koishi tried HK Anger ß!

...Suddenly, Osamu began gritting his teeth. "...Fucking…"

Satori giggled. "Getting frustrated, already? This must be the first time you've been challenged…"

"I need some fucking mana!" Osamu roars!

Osamu tried PSI Magnet Ω!

Vrooo~m!

Lines of rectangles raised to the top of the room, and rained down.

' _Wo-woah…_ ' Hikari felt herself blink a bit. ' _He stole some of mine…_ '

The shapes traveled from everyone in the room, back to Osamu…

He pumped his arms in the air. "Yeaa~h! It's fuckin' _go time_ , baby! Your ass is _grass!_ "

Satori tried PSI Shield α!

Satori was protected by the pale blue, psychic shield!

"Foolish." Satori shook her head…

Thwack!

"Hmm!?" Satori lifted her legs, flying higher into the air. "Annoying Hakurei…!"

' _Darn it… I didn't hit high enough._ '

Satori scoffed. "You won't get another chance."

Satori tried PK Fire ß!

Fwoo-Boo~m!

A blast of flames at Hikari's location instantly plunged her into terror.

"Wha-aaa~h!?" Hikari began flailing wildly.

' _Not again! No~!_ '

"Shit!" Osamu acted.

Osamu tried PK Hydro ß!

The resulting water shuriken combatted the inferno, preventing it from spreading further.

Marigold raises her Spectrum Shotgun at an awkward angle. "I think I've got an idea…"

Satori turns to her, grinning. "I see. Go ahead."

' _This sucks…_ '

Hikari tried Lifeup α!

Koishi pensively stared at Hikari, as she stumbled back on the upper level of the foyer…

Koishi tried HK Fear α!

...Suddenly, Marigold dropped to her knees. "I-I…"

...Satori blinked. "...Oh?"

Hiyori leapt through the floor of the foyer's upper level, appearing next to Satori.

"Huh!?" Satori darts back quickly. Hikari leaps to intercept her.

SMAAAA~SH!

"Guaah!?" Satori twirls in the air, hands writhing as her back quivers… "...H-hahaha…"

Satori tried Lifeup α!

The bruise on her back healed… "Inconsequential."

' _I could've sworn that was a good hit…_ '

Marigold sighed in relief. "Th-thank gods… Hikari… she's alright…"

' _...Uhm?_ '

Koishi frowns at Satori, seemingly growing frustrated as she bounces in place…

Koishi tried HK Rage ß!

...Hiyori slouched, as she slowly began shaking. "..."

' _Everyone's beginning to act weird…_ '

"I need someone to drop her shield!" Hikari announces to the room.

"On it!" Marigold and Osamu affirm at the same time.

Marigold draws her Shield Killer…

Osamu tried PK Thunder ß!

Thwaa~sh!

Satori weaved out of the way of the bolt. "Predictable."

Thwaa~sh!

Bam!

Koishi jittered, as the electricity ran up her body…

Osamu frowned. "Ah, shit…"

Hiyori rocketed off the foyer's upper floor, soaring towards Satori…

Satori's eyes widened. "You…!"

SMAAAA~SH!

Satori twirled in the air, remaining stable after the punch. "...Hahaha… Hahaha~!"

...Calmly stepping towards Osamu, Koishi gave him a teary-eyed glare.

...He shrugged sheepishly. "Sorry?"

Koishi tried HK Turmoil Ω!

"Stupid! Stupid, stupid, stupid!" Koishi began battering him weakly with her fists.

Hikari felt her eyes tear up, as she dropped her gohei. "...I-I wanna go _ho~me!_ "

...Thud. Landing from the indent she made in the wall, Hiyori facepalmed. "Sa-Satori… I-I'm sorry…"

Marigold dropped her equipped guns. "...I-I don't want to do this, anymore…"

Clutching her head, Satori shook in the air… "Ko-Koishi…" She slowly floated towards the floor…

Koishi turned to her, as Osamu began crying behind her…

"He-help me…" Satori's lips quivered. "This… th-thing…"

"I'm trying, sister!" Koishi wailed. "Ju-just hang on!"

Koishi tried HK Hope Ω!

...Satori regained her domineering leer. "The time of your demise is nigh… This includes you, troublesome sister."

Shaking herself from her stupor, Hikari grabbed the railing of the foyer's upper floor. "Marigold! Now!"

Snapping from her depression, the magi fumbled for the Shield Killer, holding it up towards Satori. "Sc-screw your shields…!"

The dim glow of the arrows pumped into her shield, before shattering it, forcing it to dissipate into fragments.

Satori's eyes widened for a moment. "...Trivial."

Satori tried Shield ß!

Satori was protected by the power shield of light!

She looked down at the party, appearing superior. "...Can't touch me."

Hiyori rose from the floor… "Satori…"

...She turned to her. "Yes, Hiyori?"

Hiyori tried PK Starstorm α!

...The unbroken stained glass windows become broken ones, once the neon stars began soaring through them.

Satori's eyes widened. "What!?"

Yellow stars spiralled into her form, drilling into her.

Bam, boom! Bang, bam, blam!

"Huuuaaooo…!" Satori let loose a throaty yell, flipping backwards towards the floor.

Bam! She slammed into it, hard.

Osamu attempted to approach her, but she hovered into the air before he could do anything.

' _She takes a beating…_ ' Hikari grins. ' _I know the perfect way to finish this…!_ '

... Satori let loose a ragged sigh. "I-I'm sorry, Hakurei…" Then, her expression became positively mirthful. "But I'm afraid I _cannot_ let you do that!"

Satori tried PK Fantasy α!

Hikari's eyes widened, as she recognized the familiar barrage of colors.

' _Wait…_ '

Fizzle!

' _Aaaaa~h!_ '

Fizzle!

"Fuuu~ck!" Osamu roars…

"Eeeaaah~!" Marigold shrieks…

"Da-damn it all…" Hiyori slowly marches through it, entire body jittering with energy along the way…

"N-no…" Crying, Koishi kneels, the pain tearing through her body…

Satori closes her eyes… and her third eye glows.

Bwaa~sh!

Hikari wanted to move everything. She wanted nothing more than to dilute the pain that coursed through her muscles, the dread pounding at her heart, and the tears welling in her eyes.

' _I-I'm sorry, Mom…_ '

...Hikari dropped to her knees.

...Satori looked around the room idly.

As Hikari fell, her face meeting the side of the foyer's upper floor, she looked across the lower floor. She saw Marigold and Osamu lying, as well, and she saw Hiyori standing still, stiff as a statue, her head down…

' _...Th-there's still… there has to be…_ '

...Satori glances at Hikari. "...You Hakurei really are _pests_ , aren't you?"

Hikari tried Lifeup γ!

...Hiyori cracked her neck.

Satori loomed over Hikari. "Ever able to persevere, no matter _whom_ I send knocking at your door…"

Hikari tried Lifeup γ!

' _I-I can't see…_ '

"Vampires. Machines… Your people…" Satori propped her shoe against Hikari's head, grinding it into her hair…

Hikari tried Lifeup α!

' _I'm… out…_ '

"...But, now… I'm _**happy.**_ "

Hikari felt herself doze off…

' _Happy…_ '

…

…

…

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIYORI'S VIEW ====

Hiyori tried Lifeup ß!

...Koishi reluctantly stood.

"Get your stupid ass _down here!_ " Osamu began sprinting up the stairs, moving to engage Satori the hard way.

Marigold reached into her backpack…

"Come on, Koishi." Hiyori walked up to her… "Let's finish this."

' _I'm getting dizzy…_ '

…

Satori tried Offense Up α!

She felt strength welling up within her muscles…

…

Osamu flew down the stairs, landing on his back. "Holy _fucking_ shit…"

Satori floated down, still clad in a power shield of light. "A meaningless effort. Koishi… the heart is no different."

Hiyori tried PK Freeze γ!

KaKaKa~...

The familiar snowflake pattern froze and thawed around Satori, who tensed up…

Boom!

Satori gritted her teeth, as the icy wind rocked her body.

She continued to float towards Koishi… "Hate sprouts within it. Grows, consumes it… Such is its nature."

Satori tried PK Hypnosis α!

Marigold rose her Counter-PSI Device…

...Then, she fell to the floor, the device tumbling beside her.

Satori rested her arms on Koishi's shoulders… "All hate… comes from the heart."

Koishi stared into her eyes…

…

Hiyori punched Satori in the face, reaching through the power shield of light to do so.

' _Don't even try it._ '

Thwack!

Satori stumbled back a bit. A beam of light soared from the shield, and struck her.

Bam!

' _Th-that hurts that much!?_ '

...Undeterred, Satori continued towards Koishi. "Sister. I know you hurt. But, please…" She smiled. "Who do you trust more? These simple, _foolhardy_ troublemakers… or me?"

…

"That's not true…" Koishi looks away.

Satori tilts her head. "Hmm?"

"That's not _true!_ "

Koishi tried HK Anger α!

...Osamu flailed his limbs, unable to do much. "Raaa~h…"

"I know you! I know my sister! I know she'd never say things like that!" Koishi stomped towards Satori, reaching into her power shield… "She'd never hurt people for, like, no reason!"

Hiyori slowly trudged up the foyer stairs…

"M-My… My sister cares about me!" Koishi bawls. "Yo-you're _not my sister!_ "

...Satori simply stands there, not moving a muscle. She doesn't bother to blink, frozen in place.

…

' _This better fucking work, or so help me…_ ' Hiyori gave a stressed sigh…

She leaped off the upper level of the foyer, aiming her elbow down…

"Hyaa~h!"

Bam!

...Thud, thud.

Satori's head was struck dead-on by the elbow, knocking her out cold.

Hiyori landed on the floor a few feet away, launched by the shield.

A beam shot from the power shield, striking her.

"Oo-ooh…" She groaned.

…

Koishi looked around, then looked down at her sister. Before her eyes, she saw a deep, red mist slowly flow out around her…

She glared at it, and dove for it. "Get out of my sister!"

Koishi tried HK Rage α!

...Marigold fidgeted in her sleep.

Danmaku flew wildly from her swings, as she randomly frayed magic in her attempts to destroy the mist. It began slowly dissipating, before reforming…

"Get out, get out, _get out!_ She's _my_ sister!"

Koishi tried HK Love α!

With a flash of yellow energy, Satori's form glowed, and the mist rapidly flowed out, floating into the air…

...It sat there idly.

Pouting at it, Koishi motioned for it to shoo. "Go away. I don't like you."

...The red mist floated out of one of the many open holes in the roof.

…

…

…

She looked around at all of the fallen people. "Wow. Uhm… I dunno whether I should set up the beds, or go get Orin…"

...She looked over at the cat girls, who were drowsily getting up…

"Oh, cool."

With that, Koishi vanished.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIKARI'S VIEW ====

…

' _Ou-ouch…_ ' Hikari winced as she tried to sit up.

' _Bed…_ '

…

' _Wh-what even happened…?_ '

…

The door to the room she was in opened, and some cat girls walked in.

"Nyaa- aa~h!"

"Masae, you shmuck!" A deeper, womanlier voice spoke, not necessarily elegantly.

' _Ah…_ ' Hikari tried to move her muscles, only finding herself marginally successful.

Masae, a blue-haired cat girl, walked in carrying a wood basin full of water. She stumbled about as she entered the door,

"Woaa~h!"

The brunette, buxom cat girl moved to stop her from splashing water everywhere. " _Give_ me that…"

Pouting, Masae stops wobbling about, the basin now having exchanged hands. "Aww… You're no fun, Ashes."

"Don't call me 'Ashes'." 'Ashes' snaps back, as she approached Hikari's side with the wooden basin. "It's Cinderweather Supreme, to you."

"...Pffft!" Masae grinned. "Ci-Cinderweather Supreme!? What happened to 'Ashley'!?"

' _Fluffy cat people…_ ' Hikari sighed. _'It seems the conflict is over, at least…_ '

Ashes blinked. "O-oh, she's awake!"

Masae tilted her head. "Alright…?"

"...You know. She's awake." Ashes stares at her expectantly.

...

"Uugh…" With a groan, Ashes moved towards Hkari. "It means go tell Satori, you bozoe! Y'know, the instructions she gave us!?"

Masae's eyes widened. "She gave _instructions?_ I was still pissed about that red mark on my face…" She proceeded to rub it where it used to be. "How the hell'd I even get that?"

"Do I look like I care?" Ashes placed the wooden basin next to Hikari, and folded her arms.

"...Y'seem to be gettin' pissed, so yeah." Masae decides.

"Just go tell Satori that the girl with the stick thing is awake."

' _The girl with the stick thing._ ' Hikari grinned. ' _Well, that's the most humble description, so far…_ '

"Alri~ght, alright…" Masae turned to leave. "Don't grope her boobs while I'm gone, or anything."

' _Wh-what!?_ '

Ashes huffed. "Just get out of here!"

Masae scrambled out of the room.

...Shaking her head, Ashes turns to Hikari. "Alright, girlie. Can ya move yet?"

...After a brief struggle, Hikari lifted an arm.

"N...no."

' _Actually…_ '

Hikari tried Lifeup γ!

…

Hikari sat up, stretching…

Cr-cr-crack…

' _Woah._ ' An incredulous grin creeped up Hikari's face… ' _Hehehe…'_

Ashes snorted. "Jeez, kid, ya sound like you're gonna snap in two."

...She leapt from the bed, finding herself clad in an unfamiliar pair of pajamas…

' _So stiff…_ ' Hikari began doing some stretches…

Crack! Cr-crack!

"U-uhm…" Ashes winced. "If you really _do_ break in half, Satori-sama's gonna be having cat for dinner, y'know…"

Cr-cr-crack… Crack!

' _...Let's just do this the easy way. Stretching only feels good in the moment._ '

Hikari tried Healing α!

…

"Aa~h…" She sighed in relief.

…

"So…" Ashes lifted a small, green rag out of the wood basin. "Still want me to wash you?"

Hikari wasn't sure what to make of that.

...A figure walked through the door, and Hikari turned to look at her…

Hikari tensed up. ' _It-it's her…_ '

Satori winced. "...Hello."

' _...Is she alright, now?_ '

"...Yes." Satori nods. "I'm… better, now."

' _Considering she can still read minds, I'm not sure about that._ '

"...It's part of my species, as a youkai." Satori explained. "...Additionally, your friends are across the mansion, resting themselves. No-Hiyori and I were… making amends while you were unconscious." She sighed. "I am deeply apologetic for everything…"

' _Oh. It's just a species trait, then._ _She's not trying to lynch me, and the cat girls seem normal, so…_ ' Hikari nods. ' _Everything checks out._ '

Masae peeks out from around Satori… "Satori-sama's really, really sorry…"

"Follow me…" Satori gestured for Hikari to follow.

The two moved through the following hallway, and into the foyer…

Hiyori stood on the lower level, holding a broken chunk of masonry, staring at the debating youkai before her…

"No- look, all we have to do…" Ellen, the small blonde cat girl, lifted up a blow torch. "Is weld it back on!"

A red-haired bird seethed. "...You can't weld _stone!_ "

' _Seems like everyone's fine… How long was I out?_ '

"Three days." Satori provided.

' _Oh. What._ '

"You were out the longest." Stepping forward, Satori moves towards the other hall across the foyer… "Everyone else is up and about."

The door across the foyer slams open, and Osamu rushes out. "Nope! No~pe! No way!"

He runs past Hikari and Satori, barreling down the foyer stairs.

Orin slams it open, again. "Get back he~re!" She pushes out her cat cart, and hops into it, riding it. Somehow, she steers it to start bumping down the stairs after him.

' _...About what I'd expect._ '

Marigold stepped out behind her, a vain expression on her face…

She noticed Hikari. "Oh, you're awake."

"Yeah." Hikari nods.

A sigh emanated from Satori. "I'm simply glad I didn't leave any permanent damage on any of you four… I never would've forgave myself."

' _I think I can safely say that's the closest we've come to getting wiped out, so I have to give you credit for that._ '

Satori smiled awkwardly. "Uhm…"

' _I don't even know how we won. I guess it doesn't matter._ '

"That's… a rather worrying level of willful ignorance." Satori shook it off. "In any case… How are you feeling?"

Marigold snorted, and Satori shot her a raised brow.

' _Can't you just gauge it, or something? Mind reading, and all?_ '

Satori debunked the notion. "My abilities have limits… I'm not particularly great at reading the mood, either, but that's unrelated. For the most part, I can only read what you're currently thinking."

' _Oh. How did you learn our abilities, then?_ '

...She blushed. "Well… At first, I only used ones you considered at the moment. Then, I boasted about knowing them all, and you all started thinking about those ones, as well…"

' _Oh. Wow._ '

"That apparition that affected me… it was vastly beyond my expectations. It was no phantom, either."

' _It's something that makes red mist and can control people. Giygas._ '

"...Mmm. You fought the Scarlet Devil, along with numerous beasts…" Satori seemed aware of fragments of Hikari's adventure. "This… Giygas, who controlled me relied heavily on specific information, and impulse. There was very little I could take away from an individual like that, and very little I could do to fight back… The feeling was overwhelming. It was terrifying."

Marigold stared at Satori.

"...Yes, yes. As compensation, the four of you have free reign to our sum of snacks. It's the least I could do." Satori negotiated. "...Though, I must ask a favor of you."

' _It's a little soon to be begging us for things…_ '

"...True." Satori sighs. "I will wait until you've all recuperated-"

Bam!

"Oh, fuck! Not the cat cart! Anything but the cat cart!" Osamu's voice was heard below.

…

Bo~ng!

A wheel rolled out into the main foyer. Hiyori and the nearby youkai turned, observing the scene.

…

"He's fine." Satori assures everyone.

"I-I'm fine!" Osamu shakily calls from somewhere Hikari can't see.

' _...I've been out for three days. Stomach needs snacks badly._ ' Hikari stares at Marigold, who notices, gingerly staring back.

…

' _Right, only Satori's the telepathic one…_ '

A grinning Satori answered her unspoken inquiry. "The snacks are down at the back of the leftmost hall. You'll be directed right, and there will be a large kitchen. The pantry is full of snacks."

Hikari and Marigold began moving in the direction of the kitchen casually…

…

Hiyori plopped down the masonry. "Until you guys decide what we're doing, I'm taking a break."

The two youkai watch her walk towards Satori, before turning each other and resuming debate...

Observing the oni walk up the steps, Satori spoke before she could say anything. "That favor? Well… there's a location of particular interest to Hikari nearby."

…

"A sanctuary, is it?" Satori nods, soaking in the information. "...I see."

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

END OF CHAPTER 20

Protagonist: Hikari Hakurei, Disciple of Paradise

-Inventory-

Weapon: Miracle Gohei - Ability to whack stuff really hard. Amplifies whacking power, too! Able to deal magical damage. Adds an increased chance to deal critical hits.

Arms: Iconic Hakurei Arm Sleeves - Keeps arms warm. A Hakurei tradition. How they stay on is a Hakurei family secret.

Body: Combat Miko Outfit - A black leotard and hakama combination worn by the previous-previous Hakurei miko. Designed to be suitable for excessive physical activity and close combat, it slightly improves physical combat prowess. Now with less sideboob!

Misc: Royal Red Ribbon - A ribbon made with rich materials, with a floral pattern.

-Skills-

Attack: Quickly! Swing your gohei at them for massive damage!

PK Fantasy α, β - Bombards the enemy with pain in the form of flashing colors. Deals magical damage. Heavy mental strain that increases with each tier.

PK Flash α, ß - A bright flash that distributes very random status effects to enemies. Usually makes people cry. Higher tiers increase chances, and introduce possibilities of fainting or dispel.

Hypnosis α, Ω - Puts weak enemies to sleep for a short time. Works better on tired or exhausted foes. Can also be used in a far more costly form that works on multiple opponents.

Shield α, ß - Halves damage the target takes. Only works against physical attacks, and enough strikes, or powerful strikes, will dispel it. Higher tier turns it into a power-shield that protects even better and even reflects a fraction of protected damage.

Lifeup α, ß, γ - Heals target a little. Higher tiers heal more grievous wounds, like bone fractures.

Healing α, ß, γ - Heals basic status ailments. Higher tiers can cure more dire effects, like burning alive.

Teleport α - Allows instant transport to the general location of an area remembered by oneself or one's party members. Requires a long, fast run-up to execute, however.

Ofuda Toss - Throw a holy ofuda that does massive holy elemental damage to youkai and dark elemental foes. Effect lessens the more holy the thing you're attacking is, to the point of healing holy things. Only works if you actually have ofuda, though.

β-β-β-β

Mage: Osamu Katsumi, the Wannabe Mage

-Inventory-

Weapon: Fisticuffs!

Arms: Nothing

Body: Dated Village Magician Robes - An old robe from the days when the village respected the medium of magic. Now actually looks navy blue, instead of black!

Misc: Yukkuri Beanie - Resembles a really tacky tablecloth, made in the Yukkuri theme. Lime green and has tons of fun yukkuri decals!

-Skills-

PK Thunder α, ß - Very random thunder attack that deals limited damage. Higher tiers increase number of bolts, and sometimes power.

PK Hydro α, β, γ - Gets everyone wet. Usefulness with PK Thunder and PK Freeze depends on whether you hit yourself or not! Creates whirling water spirals at higher tiers.

PK Freeze α, β, γ - Generates ice crystals at the target's location. Medium damage and effect; may freeze some targets, especially wet ones.

Fireball - Manipulate mana to make a shoddy fireball. Low damage and effect.

Static Hands - Not a real spell. Result of a very undercharged PK Thunder that can accidentally go off.

PSI Telepathy α - Speak to friends you haven't met yet! Unstable connection and only works if they have the skill or are asleep.

PSI Shield α, Σ - Halves damage from magical and psychic attacks. Thunder spells fry it instantly, and harder blows dispel it. Second tier applies basic shield to entire party at higher mana expense.

PSI Magnet α - Costs no mana to use, and steals a very tiny amount of mana from the enemy. Enemy has to have mana in the first place for it to work, though.

Offense Up α - Get pissed! Boosts strength and confidence depending on caster's power and receiver's power.

Defense Down α - Throw the enemy off their game. Makes them slightly more vulnerable to physical attacks.

β-β-β-β

Inventor: Marigold Knowledge, the Tri-Magi Love Child

-Inventory-

Weapon: Spectrum Shotgun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Filled with foil chip bags to conduct the mana, and it is transmitted into a wind stone. Upgraded to draw mana from a simple wooden block filled with immense magic reserves, giving it virtually unlimited ammo. The addition of a battery and a prism allow it to fire seven rainbow colored beams at a wide spread, which deal non-elemental damage. Firing long enough allows them to focus and deal incredible damage, at the cost of insane recoil and instability.

Arms: Nothing

Body: Custom Adventure Dress - A custom dress made by Alice. Provides slight defense against magical and psychic attacks. Now allows freer movement with a shorter skirt, and a more flexible material.

Misc: Swirly Glasses - Lets Marigold not be blind.

Backpack - Allows extended inventory. Aged relic from the Kourindou.

Unnamed Lock Opening Device - Opens locks very precariously. Made with steel, burnt cloth, packaging peanuts, thumbtacks, string, and wooden wheels. Don't even ask…

Ruler - Lets you measure the world around you!

Protractor - Lets you find the angles of anything ever. Totally overpowered.

Scotch Tape - Transparent adhesive from the outside world. Weak, but handy!

Deck of Cards - Allows Marigold to play Strip Poker with the party. Just kidding… or am I?

Shield Killer - Electrical device used to subdue harassers. Has settings ranging from Tickle Torture to Arse Blaster. Fires electrical projectiles, of unknown Burst Gun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Uses a Pop Gun as the base, but amplifies its power with an array of random batteries jammed into the base with the Pop Gun. The more batteries, the better, but the typical yield is about five bullets per trigger. Spamming the trigger doesn't make it go any faster, unfortunately. Has no foreseeable ammo limit, and the batteries are only there for mana circulation, meaning their power is really inconsequential.

Holmes Brand Designer Hat - Village swag! A retro village hat that ceased production ten years ago. Sells for a pretty penny nowadays, but it's pretty useless otherwise.

Slime Generator - A bulky box that shoots a small splat of slime. Doesn't seem good for much.

Counter-PSI Device - A weird device Marigold found from a flying saucer. Works in strange ways, and seems to disrupt everyone's concentration. Marigold is immune to its effects.

Charm of Sleep - Grants immunity to sleep while equipped. Can be equipped to Arms or Misc.

Microwave Gun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Constructed with a controlled flame crystal and metal parts, it fires a beam of sustained microwave energy that cooks biological foes alive. Fire-elemental at its core, it's also very inefficient against machines.

-Skills-

Had A Charm Of Sleep but Didn't Equip It for The One Battle An Enemy Could Cast Sleep - Aaaa~h, aaaa~h!

Always Wanted a Cat Girl Familiar - She thinks they're cuddly.

Cleared Halo on Legendary - Shotguns are love, shotguns are life.

Maintains a Relatively Fluffy Appearance - Huggable, basically.

Dunks Oreos In Water - Actually a solid substitute for milk!

β-β-β-β

Fighter: Hiyori Hashimoto, the Buddhist Oni

-Inventory-

Weapon: Fisticuffs!

Arms: Shackle of Devas - The first of the four treasures held by the Devas of the Mountain. Grants immunity to sleep-inducing magic. Grants fifty percent resistance to wind and thunder magic.

Body: Runed Gi - Enchanted to not get blown away by battle damage.

Misc: Nothing

-Skills-

PK Starstorm α - Summons forth the stars from the night's sky to rain down upon enemies. Hits all enemies, and deals high magical damage, at the cost of being highly mentally taxing. Can hit allies if they're in the effective area, as the white stars don't have homing properties. Power proportional to amount of enemies, as well.

PK Fire α, ß - Creates an igniting blast of flames at the target's location. More impact comes with higher tiers.

PK Freeze α, β, γ - Generates ice crystals at the target's location. Medium damage and effect; may freeze some targets, especially wet ones.

Shield α, ß, Σ - Halves damage the target takes. Only works against physical attacks, and enough strikes, or powerful strikes, will dispel it. Higher tier turns it into a power-shield that protects even better and even reflects a fraction of protected damage. Highest tier applies a basic shield to the entire party.

Lifeup α, ß - Heals target a little. Higher tiers heal more grievous wounds, like bone fractures.

Healing α, ß - Heals basic status ailments. Higher tiers can cure more dire effects, like burning alive.

Teleport α, ß - Allows instant transport to the general location of an area remembered by oneself or one's party members. Requires a long, fast run-up to execute, however. Higher tier is largely automatic and requires little room to execute.

Martial Arts - Skilled in hand-to-hand combat.

β-β-β-β

Author's Note:

hello friends

hopefully the satori fight didn't feel TOO DRAWN OUT; i also didn't want it to end the sorta typical "PK FANTASY WAHAHA" way, and with satori being able to copy spells, it was the perfect opportunity to TIP THE SCALES.

the satori copying spells thing was somethin' considered by me and my proofreader quite a time before, and i LOVE mirror match-esque fights, so this was perfect for me

also koishi using heart and emotion based attacks instead of mental based ones because fun (though i felt like i shoulda made her inflict them on satori a bit more; just gonna call it earthbound RNG)

...she doesn't copy marigold's weapons, 'cause those ain't psychic, they's-they's material.

i also agree that hiyori scene the previous chapter was a tad rushed; i'm considering adding a bit of elaboration and updating the chapter, but hmm; the main reasoning behind her appearing was to coincide with that time poo suddenly appeared in the second master belch fight. i still agree that it coulda been better executed with a pov switch or somethin'...

although, now that i think about it, an entire pov switch would mean either a sorta clunky brief one (something i also debated over at the time), or changing the rest of the scene to be the switched pov; i'd have to take a look at it to really decide which'd be more appropriate

as always, see you all next time!


	21. Hakurei Fried Chicken

Hikari leaned over the kitchen table, picking cookies to shove into her mouth…

"Don't take all the sprinkle-covered ones…" Marigold complains, gingerly snatching a few herself. "Those ones are the best. The chocolatey ones are just a bit too much, honestly."

' _That's why I'm taking them,_ '

A large shaft opened in the ceiling above, causing the two girls to look up…

Thud. A giant pinwheel cookie fell from it, and the shaft closed back up.

' _Woah..._ ' Hikari's eyes widened. ' _Big cookie…_ '

Marigold tore off a couple chunks from it, and began chewing a bite from one. After a moment, however, she sat the two chunks down… "I-I'm stuffed."

Snorting, Hikari tries to attack the cookie directly, with her teeth.

…

After sinking her teeth into the side, she realized it was impossible to attack directly.

' _Maybe_ too _big._ ' She retracted her head. ' _Tastes good, though._ '

Another giant pinwheel cookie fell in from above, crushing the one below it marginally.

Marigold's eyes widened. "What…?"

Hikari stared at the cookies, taken aback. ' _No one could eat all of that._ '

Then, three more fell from above.

Bam!

The lowest cookie became dust.

Marigold backed away from the cookie tower. "Why…?"

' _Where are these all coming from?_ '

The door to the kitchen swings open, as Satori struts into the room, backed by Hiyori, who drags in a half-thrashed Osamu by his ankle.

' _What did he even do?_ ' Hikari stares at Osamu sardonically…

"Hit on Orin. It was a disastrous attempt." Satori smirked. "Disastrously entertaining."

"Uurgh…" Osamu groaned from the floor.

Her attention then turned to the rising tower of pinwheel-shaped sugar cookies, which were slowly getting crushed under the weight of more giant, thick sugar cookies.

"...Someone left the deluxe cookie constructor on." Satori shook her head. "How irresponsible."

' _Deluxe cookie constructor…_ ' Hikari appreciates the novelty.

Marigold's thoughts attract Satori's attention. "Yes, constructor. They're all magically generated."

The cookies pile up to the point that they break through the counter, shaking the entire room.

...Orin meanders into the room, and notices the rising stack of cookies. "O-oh, crap! I-I forgot…!"

With that, she ran out of the room.

…"She fired it up before Osamu hit on her." Exposition dumped by Satori.

' _Ah. It makes sense, now._ '

"Satori's got the location of the next sanctuary." Hiyori introduces a relevant topic.

"It's nearby, fortunately. Not that I wish to hurry you all, or anything." Satori walks towards Marigold and Hikari.

' _...I think we'll take our time, a little._ ' Hikari decides.

"I wouldn't mind taking a little while. Unlike the rest of the underground, this place actually isn't uncomfortably warm." Marigold states aloud.

Satori nods. "Understandable. I'll show you to it, when you decide on it. Until then, enjoy yourselves."

With that, she begins walking away. "I may be found in my study. First door on the left, of the leftmost hall, were you to come in from the lobby."

' _Concise._ ' ...Hikari looks back at the cookie tower. ' _...I wonder if Marigold can carry some home._ '

She looked to Marigold to make her request. "Do you think you can carry some home?"

A dry stare is exchanged, in turn. "...Do I _look_ like a weightlifter?"

In an attempt to prove her wrong, Hikari decides to try and pluck a cookie from the tower…

"Hnngh…"

With a small struggle, she accomplishes it, before both she and Marigold skittishly dart away from the tower as it topples.

Ba-bam-bam-bam-bam!

Crumbled cookies littered the floor, leaving small dents, along with chunks of shattered cookies, and cookie dust.

' _Eheheh…_ ' Hikari giggled silently at the disaster.

Marigold shook her head. "This is why you shouldn't magically reproduce cookies."

Amused, Hiyori walked up to the table… "What a mess."

Hikari nods… "Maybe we should get out of here. I'm not in the mood to snack, anymore."

"That cookie filled me up." Marigold agrees. "It probably wasn't terribly good for me, either."

' _I don't imagine a magically generated cookie being the epitome of healthiness. Then again, why would it be made without consumption in mind? Hmm…_ '

"Pressing questions." Hiyori annotates.

' _To be sure._ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

' _I'm unsure why the bathroom has to be this big._ '

Hikari and Marigold looked around in awe, taking in the fact the bathroom had lockers, a changing room, and a large hotspring, as well as conventional showers, sinks, and even some awkwardly placed toilets.

"This is pretty impressive…" Marigold nods approvingly. "The only place like this back in the manor is Mis- Remilia's own bathroom…"

Hikari snorts. "Old habits die hard, huh?"

The magi grumbles. "Tell me about it…"

Hiyori stepped past them, moving for a locker. Upon opening one of the combination locks, she smiled. "Still got it."

Inside, however, there was little but an ancient jar of shampoo, which was now chemical goo.

...Hiyori smiled ironically. "Still full of just as much nothing, too."

...She closed it.

"The manor never had lockers, really." Marigold reflects. "I mean, there's the ones I got from Kourindou, but…"

Hiyori turned to her. "You lived in a mansion?"

She nods. "Mmm. I wasn't exactly the highest on the food chain, as it were, so it was a bit of an experience. I enjoyed it, though."

"That's good…" Hiyori smiles, "Did you move somewhere else, or do you still live there?"

Marigold paused. "...It's complicated."

Hiyori snorts. "I can relate."

At that, Marigold jerks her head back. "What? Su~re…"

The oni blinks. "I mean, I'm unsure whether to call myself a denizen of the underground, or a surface dweller. Do you know how confusing-"

"Do you have three mothers?" Marigold grins.

...Hiyori concedes. "Point taken. Well played."

' _My friends are weird. I like it._ '

After a few moments, they got changed into the generic towels, entering the hot spring…

The hot spring was large, and decorated with stone steps that went down into it. The room as a whole was pleasant, with tiled flooring, marble-esque columns, and warm steam raising to the domed ceiling.

"Aa~h…" Marigold practically melted into the stone upon sitting.

The only issue, however, Hikari felt was worth bringing up. "...Purple walls."

Hiyori rose a brow. "They are."

"Purple." Hikari stressed.

She sat down in the water. ' _...Goo~d. Bit used to it, but always good._ '

"...Okay?" Hiyori didn't see the problem.

Marigold took in the feeling of a hot spring…

Hiyori sat down herself, sighing.

Hikari was about to elaborate on her argument, but then a rubber ducky floated by.

' _Oh, hey!_ ' Instant nostalgia. ' _Ducky…_ '

She grabbed it, and it made a high pitched squeak.

Marigold was roused from her ultra-relaxed state. "...They make those, here?"

"Apparently." Hikari was smiling.

Like this, the girls relaxed…

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Relaxation quickly turned into boredom.

Hikari stood over two hordes of rubber duckies, one side armed with soap tanks, the other armed with brushes.

' _I'm not sure which side has a bigger advantage._ ' Hikari rubbed her chin in contemplation…

Marigold was on the other end of the room, participating in a creative exercise with the shower head she severed from the palace showers. From a nearby closet, she had amassed a plastic container of Talcum Powder, and a broom handle. From the kitchen, she snagged a bottle filled with water.

"Alright, Hikari…" She beckoned her friend over. "I'm gonna try and teach you how to make stuff."

' _Hmm?_ ' Hikari looked up from her ducks, and noticed the assortment of random crap Marigold had collected.

She idly walked over. "...Are you sure you're supposed to be the one giving the advice?"

Marigold smiles sardonically. "Just sit down with me."

The two towel-clad girls sat on a bench, as Marigold thumbed through the parts… "We're gonna try to make something with this!"

"Keyword being 'try'." Hikari jeers.

Marigold pouts at her. "Yeah, yeah…"

Taking the broom, she holds it in front of her… "So, what do you think we can do with this?"

"Give it to the duck armada." Hikari contributes.

Marigold gives her a grin. "We~ll, I was thinking about wrapping the shower head around the broom handle. Make it mobile, you know?"

Hikari grins back. "Wha~t? I'd still like to know why you beheaded the shower…"

' _I didn't even know shower heads were a thing until today, and she went and killed it._ '

"I need some way to dispense… whatever I'm going to dispense." Marigold furrowed her brows. "Which is to be decided."

"I say we bury the shower head." Hikari japes. "It lived a full life."

Marigold shook her head, amused. "You're no help."

With that, the young magi got to work. Taking the shower head, she wrapped the bit of hose that she didn't cut off around the broom, making it snake around.

She frowned. "I… don't have anything to hold it in place. That's always the part I kinda hate. Finding ways to attach stuff."

Hikari nodded. "How troublesome. Physics."

"...Hmm." Marigold sighed. "I don't think there's much I can do without a way to combine stuff…"

...Hikari perked up. "Wait… I wanna try something."

She stood up, moving towards her outfit. There, she grabbed a few ofuda, and moved back to Marigold…

' _I think this might work. They stick to things, so…_ '

"Here." She took an ofuda, and moved to press it over where the shower hose met the broom handle.

...Upon removing her hand, the ofuda fell off.

' _Good job._ ' Hikari's face fell at the display.

"...I don't think that's how those work. Thanks anyway, Hikari." Marigold smiled somewhat awkwardly.

"Hold on." Hikari held up a hand. She brought her ofuda to the area where the two parts met once again, and pressed it. This time, she closed her eyes, focusing.

' _I've never been able to do anything a shrine maiden should…_ ' She felt something burning, in a warm way. ' _Except throw ofuda, and swing a gohei…_ '

With her eyes closed, she could see the ofuda glow in front of her. It was a soft, warm, white light.

Marigold's eyes widened. "Oo~h…?"

' _...If I'm gonna be good at anything, it'll be at using ofuda!_ '

…

Hikari opened her eyes, and found the still-glowing ofuda had bound itself to the two materials under it.

She smiled. ' _I-I did it._ '

...Marigold nods approvingly. "That works. Now, if you could just do it… here, here, here, and here."

Hikari's smile became sarcastic. ' _Gee. At least my talents are being put to use._ '

Getting to work, she began repeating the process for each ofuda that needed to be placed.

' _...This takes awhile, but I don't think I'll have to do it often._ '

Before long, she finished, binding the shower to the broom.

"We've made a useful device." Hikari snarks, not sure what to make of it.

"We'll see." Marigold held up the 'device', looking pleased. "Now… I might need you again for the other parts, if you don't mind."

Hikari paused. ' _...I should've expected that._ '

Looking over what she had on hand, the blonde magician considered the next plan of action… "We need a way to…"

Lifting the jar, she moved it to the shower hose's bottom. "If this'll dispense everything in the jar, I need a way to remove the jars... "

' _I don't think the ofuda'd be good for that. I'd have to reapply the effect every time._ '

She shoves the hose inside, and it goes in smoothly… and it slides back out of the hole just as smoothly.

"Hmm. This… could work." She stood, and looked at her materials… "Oh, wait!... nevermind, that's a terrible idea."

Hikari blinked. "I never thought I'd hear you say that while inventing."

"I was thinking of using the sleep charm to plug the hole, but then I realized it'd make whatever came out a sleep formula. Probably." Marigold bobbed her head back and forth.

' _Hmm… Are we certain my holy talismans won't do anything?_ '

"Anyway," She looked around… "The drainage plug! For the showers!"

She got up from the bench, discarding her towel to move faster.

' _These towels get cumbersome, when you're dry. It's little price to pay, considering anyone could walk in at any moment._ '

On cue, the door to the hot springs opens…

Hikari stands up. "Ma-Marigold!"

Marigold heard it, as well. "Wh- ugh!" She hid behind some lockers.

...Hiyori walked in.

' _Oh._ ' Hikari sighed.

"You two are _still_ in here?" Hiyori's look was inquisitive. "I was looking throughout the palace, thinking you got lost on the way out. Voluntarily or otherwise."

Marigold peeked out from behind the locker. "O-oh, hey, Hiyori! We're making an invention!"

Hiyori scanned the bare situation before her.

…

"I'll come back later." Hiyori waved at them. "Don't mind me."

Abruptly, she turned and left, closing the door behind her audibly.

' _...That was sudden._ '

Marigold shrugged. "Guess she had something else to do. Now, for that bath plug…"

Within moments, she had swindled a rubber bath plug from the nearby shower.

"Let's see…" Marigold inserted it into the jar, and it fell in, floating on the water inside. Then, she inserted the hose again, pressing down and trying to fit the plug into the hose. It didn't work so well, because of the water.

...After spilling half the water, she took out the shower hose, and took the plug out. "Does this even…?"

She tries to fit it into the hose, and succeeds. The only problem is that it still doesn't solve the problem of being unable to attach the jar.

"...Darn." She frowned at the plug, before pulling it back out.

...Hikari looked around the room. "Do you think one of those scrunchies would work?"

Marigold pauses. "...Maybe."

After a brief hunt for a scrunchy from the depths of the hot spring, they tried to make it work, again…

The plug sat under the scrunchy, the string of the scrunchy sitting atop the plug. Like this, Marigold shoved both into the jar, and was able to force the plug into the hose's gap. Cautiously, she let it hang from a limited height over the bench...

"...He~y!" She cheered, bobbing it up and down. To Hikari's surprise, the jar didn't slip from the hose at all, dangling from it.

' _It doesn't look secure at all._ '

"...I can't really use this like this, can I?" Marigold tilts her head. "Hmph…"

' _Not every pile of things can actually make stuff, I'm sure. Sometimes it's_ just _garbage._ '

"...I'll find a way to get it working." Marigold commits. "...Just let me get my clothes on. I'm gonna be doing a bit of running around."

"...Sure." Hikari stood. "Don't think too hard."

Marigold snorts. "I'll try."

The two girls put on their clothes, getting ready to end their extended stay in the hot springs room.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

As Hikari went to the kitchen to grab a snack, she saw Hiyori there.

Wordlessly, Hikari descended upon the pantry, stealing a loaf of bread.

' _I don't even like bread that much, but it looks good._ '

Hiyori noticed her, however. "...Ah. There you are. I was wondering… nevermind."

' _...That's weird._ ' Hikari paused for the ensuing discussion.

"Did you have fun with Marigold?" Hiyori asks, expression neutral.

...Hikari shrugged. "Yeah. She's pretty creative."

"...I'm sure." Hiyori gives a stoic nod. "Humans bond easier than I remember. Not that I knew a terrible lot about humans."

' _...Yeah, we're pretty friendly. Oni do seem a bit standoffish._ ' Hikari considered her words.

Osamu strutted into the room, keeping his arms precariously ahead of himself.

' _What kind of walk is that?_ '

...He noticed Hikari staring, and grinned. "Can you tell?"

…' _A secret? A person?_ ' Hikari began guessing…

...Her blank stare makes him deflate. Then, he flexes, getting pumped again. "Anything… different?"

Hikari nodded. "You walk like you're cramped up."

…

Osamu sighs. "Well, I guess that ain't entirely wrong."

With that, he wanders into the pantry, himself. "I'm gonna grab some pretzels, 'n' hit the hot spring."

…

"Humans confuse me." Hiyori decides.

"Me too." Hikari agrees.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Satori moved her checker across the entire board, taking all of Hikari's pieces.

' _I'm not sure why I thought this was a good idea._ '

"It's really not." Satori agreed. "Boredom makes one do strange things."

' _Mmm… Rematch?_ '

"...This is the eighth time." Satori mentioned.

' _So?_ '

...Sighing, Satori began setting up the board again.

Behind them, Marigold sauntered into the study, holding her latest contraption.

"...It looks like she has something to show you." Satori brought attention to her.

' _Mmm._ '

"I finished it!" Marigold beamed. "All I needed to use were some of those bag clip things, and the cooling device magnets!"

" _Fridge_ magnets." Satori corrects. "...Not that we've needed a fridge. We got by just fine without this 'modern technology' for the longest time, but it's definitely a nice gesture."

' _This place really is pretty advanced in all the mundane areas._ ' Hikari blinked. ' _Who could've set you up with this?_ '

Satori supplied info. "Kappa."

' _Figures._ '

Satori slid the game board aside, as Marigold sat the invention down on the table.

' _Okay, what did she do with the magnets and bag clips…?_ ' Hikari was perplexed at the rectangular mass of bag clips and magnets at the bottom of the hose.

"I abused the magnet and the metal's polarities to create a sort of suspension field that holds solids." Marigold provided. "...There's also really strong adhesive on the inside, but we're just gonna ignore that."

"The wonders of slapping stuff together until it sticks." Satori snarks.

Marigold scoffs, and in response Satori grins.

Hikari casually glances between the machine and Marigold. "Are you _sure_ you didn't plug it completely, this time?"

Marigold forces a sigh. "Ye~s. Let me demonstrate..."

She held up the device. The jar on the bottom was a cloudy white, stiffly attached to the broom's side by way of shower hose.

Hikari stared at the device apprehensively… "Are you sure this is going to work?"

Satori spoke up. "You need a magical catalyst."

"I- whah?" Marigold was surprised by Satori's sudden input. "...I need a magical catalyst?"

"Otherwise, the hose won't work. I'd know, because…" Taking a moment, Satori thumbs through some papers in a drawer under her desk. "Ah. Here…"

She takes out an instruction book. "Kappa instruction book. Goes over materials used, and the showers are indeed partly magic. Long story short, water body needs a magical anything for the shower head to recognize it."

Marigold snatched the book from her, and flipped through it, a critical expression on her face.

…

"I can't read Japanese." Marigold confesses. "Well, I can, a bit... but not sloppy, handwritten Kappa Japanese, apparently."

' _Handwritten?_ '

Satori grinned. "Understandable."

Marigold rose a hand to her chin. "Where would I find an easy magical catalyst…?"

…

"You know, I could just make you one. The shower doesn't actually use the magical catalyst, it just checks for it and then uses ambient mana to move the water." Satori offers.

Marigold nods, appreciative. "I'd like that."

Satori grabs a paper clip from her desk. After a moment, it glows brightly. "...Actually, since you're working with magnets…"

She sat the paper clip down, searching her desk for something else…

"Ah." She lifted a metal wedge. "Paper weight. It'll go to better use in your care."

Marigold tilted her head. "...Won't that rust?"

"Eventually." Satori agreed. "I don't think it'll matter, though. Still, that makes me apprehensive…" Then, realization struck her. "It's metal, too. The magnets would wreak havoc on it."

Finally, Satori found the right object for the depths of a jar of water.

She held up a checker. "This'll do."

It was Hikari's turn to disagree. ' _But, then the game'd be ruined…_ '

Satori shrugged. "Could always use a pretend piece. I got this set from an oni in the city, anyway. I'm pretty sure he could mass produce these with his bare hands. Not that he would, since board games are little more than drinking activities, down here."

' _...Oni, huh._ ' Hikari was beginning to get a feel for how powerful they really were.

The checker glowed brightly, filling with pink light…

Before long, Satori released her focus, and the object's glow became a weaker shimmer.

"Thank you." Marigold took it. She moved to detach the jar, jiggling and making an unscrewing motion to tear it off. After a brief struggle, she succeeded, and placed the checker inside.

She watched it slowly sink to the bottom, still producing light in the cloudy liquid…

...She fidgeted merrily. "Hehehe~...!"

Satori's face became worried. "Why would you fill the water with Talcum Powder…?"

Marigold raised the device. "Let's try it out!"

Desperately, Satori looked for something to shield herself with.

' _Uhm…_ '

Marigold pressed the button on the shower head, and water began pumping. The ofuda along the way lit up as water traveled to the spots they were attached.

' _That's actually kinda cool._ '

Once the water reached the top, it shot outward, raining down on everyone nearby. The water drops were now a sparkling, cyan mix.

Satori and Hikari tensed up as the water rained down on everyone.

' _He-hey!_ '

The clear substance dissolved on their skin, leaving everyone marginally dry after the burst. The jar was empty of liquid, with the exception of the magic checker.

"...Hmm." Satori rubbed her skin. "...Lotion."

Hikari rubbed hers, as well. ' _...Silky smooth._ '

Marigold furrowed her brows. "I made… a lotion dispenser."

Marigold has obtained Lotion Dispenser!

' _It's good lotion, too._ ' Hikari felt refreshed.

Satori shrugged. "...Don't be hard on yourself, Marigold. It's a good lotion dispenser."

"I _guess_." Marigold was rather bittersweet about the whole ordeal.

"...I did detect a hint of magic in it, though. Liquid Talcum Powder, I'm pretty certain, is not lotion. Normally, it should either be cloudy liquid, or mud." Satori brought up her observations.

"...Huh." Marigold nodded. "I'll keep that in mind, I guess."

' _It was the ofuda, wasn't it?_ '

Satori looked at Hikari. "Yes, it was likely the ofuda. If the liquid is holy in some way, I have no doubt that it changed the liquid to something marginally beneficial, or at least different than other outright elemental shifts. It didn't burn me, or anything, so there's that."

Marigold stared at the device, thinking.

' _...I was never really into lotion._ '

Bam!

Commotion just outside the room drew the three's attention.

' _Did someone fall over?_ '

"Ma-Masae!"

The elder cat girl from earlier was heard, sounding frantic. "Control yourself!"

...Bam!

Satori tensed up, eyes locking on the door. "...It's happening again. This is how it happened."

"Ma-Masae!"

…

Marigold felt around herself. "I-I don't have my backpack on me… I left it in my room."

' _This must be how everyone got converted, here._ ' Hikari readied her gohei.

Satori tried Shield ß!

Hikari was protected by the power shield of light!

"Be careful." Satori cautioned them. "...I don't want to hurt you four again… I never want that _thing_ in my head again."

' _Considering we had to fight four of them, two birds_ and _you earlier, this seems rather mundane._ '

"...Forgive me. I'm just…" Satori sighed, brushing her hair aside. "Worried."

Banging emanated from the door ahead, as the cat girls clawed into it.

"Satori-sama~... Won't you co~me ou~t…?" Ashes drawled, mirth in her voice. "Your kitties wanna see~ you…"

Satori gritted her teeth. "How dare this… hmph."

Cra~ck…!

The door to the room began giving way, cat claws poking through. " _Satori~sama~!_ " Masae cheered. "Why'd'you let us get turned ba~ck!? Master Giygas is so~ much fun!"

Bam!

The door swung open, and two crazed cat girls lunged at Hikari.

SMAAAA~SH!

On reflex, Hikari swiped straight for the forehead of the nimble Masae.

" _Reeoo~w!_ "

Masae doubled back from the agony of the strike, while Ashes pounced on Hikari directly.

' _Oomph!_ '

Ashes went for Hikari's throat, but the shield's intensity eventually pushed her off Hikari outright, denying her the critical blow.

"Rrreerrr…" Ashes growled, setting her eyes on Satori.

Until a beam from the shield nailed her in the ribcage, forcing her aggression back on the Hakurei miko.

...Marigold lifted the paper weight defensively, moving towards Satori's desk.

Satori tried Defense Down α!

Ashes seemed to wilt, second-guessing her plans to lunge on Hikari, instead standing by cautiously.

Hikari tried to stand off the floor, but found Masae got greedy, and leapt upon her.

"Om!" Masae sank her teeth into Hikari's shoulder.

' _It stings…_ ' Hikari winced slightly.

...Masae released herself from Hikari's shoulder, and began spitting. "Pftoo! E-ech…!"

Hikari suckerpunched the cat girl, who promptly sunk her teeth into her hand.

' _Wow-ouch! Why does that hurt more!?_ ' Hikari hissed under her breath, retracting her hand, before lightly battering the cat with her gohei.

Clunk! The paper weight hit Masae in the face, scrambling her. She flailed her arms to attempt to combat said paper weight, giving Hikari ample opportunity to-

SMAAAA~SH!

"Mrroo~w…" Masae let out a whiny meow, as she weakly scrambled away from Hikari.

Satori tried Offense Up α!

Hikari felt strength well into her body…

' _I feel great._ '

...Ashes was prowling along the side of the room, and Marigold took notice. As Ashes leapt for Satori, she got in the way.

"Sator- oof!" Marigold was bowled over, catching ashes attention.

Ashes went for her eyes with her claws, but Marigold guarded with her arms.

"Ow-oww~..." Marigold exhaled. Gashes ran down her arms, but were surprisingly shallow in comparison to the force Ashes exerted.

Hikari scrambled up to assist her, leaping onto Satori's desk to do so.

' _Leave her alone!_ ' Hikari raised the gohei grandly over her head, and slammed it down.

SMAAAA~SH!

"Mrow!"

Ashes dove into the floor, eyes flickering, before her consciousness faded.

Masae looked at the situation ahead of her, before glancing at the door…

"You're not getting away." Satori declared.

Satori shot her arm out, sending a wave of paw-shaped danmaku forth to bombard the cat.

Masae hissed, darting for the door.

Her claws scraped against the tiled floor of Satori's study, denying her traction.

The danmaku collided with her.

"Mrr-owowow~!"

...Once the barrage ended, Masae crumpled to the floor, a red mist exiting her body.

Hikari drew a few of her ofuda, and flung them at it.

Slap! Slap!

The red mist was violently torn apart, being absorbed into the ofuda. An unconscious Masae was left on the floor.

...Satori turned. "Hikari!"

Red mist was flowing from Ashes' body,

' _Got it!_ '

Hikari threw two ofuda, which annihilated the mist in a similar manner.

' _...Phew._ ' With the festivities over, Hikari let herself slouch.

Satori blushed. "...I-I'm terribly sorry this happened again." She bowed.

Marigold shook her head. "No, no. It's what we do."

Hikari turned to her. "Mmm. We hurt people."

The unexpected comment makes Satori snort. "...You really _did_ just blurt that out, didn't you?" She gave Hikari a slanted smile.

' _Mhm._ ' Hikari grinned.

Hiyori and Osamu suddenly appeared in the door frame.

"What the hell's goin' on in here!? S'everyone alright!?" Osamu dove in, doing a combat roll… which he was forced to give up on halfway because it didn't quite have the oomph needed to be properly executed.

"Oof." He fell on his side.

…

"We all died." Hikari explained. "But we got better."

Marigold giggled.

"...I see." Hiyori looked down at the cat girls. "Cat problems?"

Satori nods. "It's this Giygas being. He'll keep reinforcing his influence, until you four besiege the sanctuary he- she, or it- claimed."

' _We might not have as much relaxation time as we thought, then._ '

Satori turns to Hikari, then to Osamu. "I'm afraid not."

"...It'd be best if we acted shortly, then." Hiyori concludes.

Ellen slides in through the door frame. "What's going on!?"

Orin follows behind her, shoving her out of the way. "Satori-sama!"

...Satori smiles. "I'm fine. Hikari and Marigold were here."

...Ellen sighs. "...That's a relief."

' _I suppose we should get moving, then._ '

"...Again, I'm terribly sorry for all of this." Satori looks crestfallen. "It was never my intention to-"

"We know." Hiyori smiled at her. "No hard feelings."

"...Right." Satori sighed. "You may do as you wish… but I'm coming with you."

Hikari's brow rose. ' _Huh?_ '

...Osamu scratched the back of his head. "...Four's a party, but five's a crowd, dude."

"Just for this one sanctuary." Satori insists. "I'm partly responsible, after all. I should be able to see this though."

"He~y, don't push yourself…" Marigold moves to console her. "It's not your fault."

"...I know." Satori sighed again. "...Just let me do this, okay?"

"Very well." Hiyori agreed on behalf of the party. "We'll escort you."

' _...I guess I'm okay with that._ '

Osamu folded his arms. "Awh, alright…"

"Mmm." Marigold had no comment.

…

"You all have very differing opinions." Satori grinned. "...And, no, I'm not going to 'get closer to you', Osamu. You'd best stick to human women, at this rate."

Osamu blushed. "Didja hafta say it outloud!?"

"Yee." Satori nods resolutely. "It's an important lesson."

"Uu~gh…" He slouches. "Geez."

...Hikari moved to leave the room, which roused the other party members to do the same.

"Get your things, everyone!" Hiyori announces. "We're gonna be using the _back_ door."

Osamu snickered.

Satori's expression became vain. "Genuinely…?"

...Hiyori gave her a confused glance, before dismissing it.

' _I wonder what it's like being a mind reader._ '

...Said mind reader turned to her. "Unique."

' _I wouldn't have guessed._ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Just outside the back of the palace, there was a rather quaint garden.

"Here you go, Satori-sama~!"

Orin loaded Satori up with a backpack of her own, filled with many, many things. The backpack was twice as tall as she was.

Satori was finding it difficult to hold it up… "I-I don't think I need-"

Cla~ng! A frying pan fell from the back of the backpack.

Orin smiled. "Better safe than sorry!"

...Marigold looked around the garden, a perplexed look on her face. "...You know…"

Satori let the backpack drop to the floor.

Thoo~m…

Everyone stared at the small shockwave that was emitted. Relieved of her burden, Satori walked around the backpack, and lifted the frying pan.

"I'm not going camping, Orin. I'll be just fine with this."

Orin slouched. "...Alright, Satori-sama~..."

...Finally, Satori turned to address Marigold's mental question. "They get sunlight."

"...How?" Marigold furrowed her brows. "We're _miles_ underground."

Satori snorted. "...You'll know."

...Marigold was only confused further.

Turning to the mind reader, Hiyori had an inquisitive look on her face.

' _...Our conversations are going to get confusing if we switch between 'think-talking' and 'actual talking' too often._ '

"...I think the reason you haven't seen Okuu around, Hiyori, is pretty apparent, by now." Stepping forward, she also addressed Hikari's point. "...It doesn't confuse me too much, but I can see how you four might lose track. Some of you especially so." She glanced at Osamu…

He shook his head, grinning. "I don't have a _fuckin'_ idea what you guys are talking about."

' _...I don't think it's_ that _hard to follow._ '

The five mobilized, moving towards a destination only Satori knew.

' _And possibly Hiyori, considering those two have some history._ '

Due to the resounding mental agreement that nobody knew where they were being led, Satori lampshaded it. "Yes, Hiyori. We're going _there_. Sort of."

Hiyori snorted. "Sort of?"

She explains. "The sanctuary itself is located right to the side of the actual place, provided, it's concealed. It's made with totally different technology."

' _Wait… have you actually been inside it?_ ' Hikari's curiosity was piqued.

"Mmm. Before this whole fiasco, actually. It's a bit inaccessible right now, for obvious reasons." Satori provides.

Behind the gardens, there were more brown, stone plains. In the distance, a luminant tunnel could be seen…

"That's the nuclear reactor." Satori points at it. "We're not going there, though."

' _The what._ '

...Everyone's head slowly twisted to stare at Satori.

...She blinked. "I thought you knew, Hiyori?"

"A _nuclear reactor._ " Hiyori gaped. "How? How did that even _happen?_ Where did it come from!?"

Satori giggled. "N-now, I know it seems a bit sudden…"

"Dude." Osamu grinned widely, shaking his head. "Y'makin' fuckin' _nukes_ on us, dude? S'that how it is?"

Marigold was baffled. "I know this place is modern, but…" She began chuckling. "A _nuclear reactor?_ "

Satori was smiling widely. "We~ll… It's a, uh, long story…"

"I bet it is…" Hiyori shook her head, looking amused.

' _How did someone even get the resources for a nuclear reactor in Gensokyo?_ '

"If it's any consolation," Satori holds up her arms negotiatively. "I don't own it. Technically. Though it is my responsibility to maintain it."

...Hiyori furrows her brows. "How? Why?"

"Story for when we're not about to fight things." She closes the conversation.

"...Fair enough." Hiyori let the topic elude her, for the time being.

A short distance down the trodden stone path, Satori begins to lead them off into the rough, presumably towards the wall that held the sanctuary.

In the length of uneven rock ahead of them, a scythe-armed, ghostly apparition begins to sprint towards them.

The four get ready to demolish it, when Satori floats ahead. "Let me handle this."

' _She kept spirits in line, right? This should be fine._ '

Irregardless of the thoughts behind her, Satori continued forward towards the scythe toting spirit.

It reached Satori, and went to slam its scythe arm into her.

Swish!

Satori leapt out of the way, as if she knew the attack attempt was going to happen in advance. She floated in the air above the spirit as it flailed its arms.

"I'm not Cassandra." Satori addresses the spirit. "...None of us are."

The scythes on the spirit's arms grow longer, and darker. It leaps into the air to engage Satori, but whiffs completely when she moves downward as it moves upward…

"...This Cassandra you seek is likely just as dead as you are." Satori speaks to the spirit, as it flails in the air.

She slides back as it lands, jabbing its scythes into the floor, getting itself stuck.

"You'll find nothing, seeking revenge." She reasons with the being. "Relax."

The being jerked wildly against the floor, struggling to free its scythes…

"Relax." Satori reinforced.

Cra~ck!

The stone broke open, as the figure tore itself free.

"Cassandra is dead. Your quest is over. _Relax._ " Satori stresses once more.

The figure looks like it readies to launch itself at Satori again, but it hesitates.

"...I can see why you'd doubt me." Satori sighs. "Rest assured, my words are fact. I've come to inform you that it is done. You may consider me… an undertaker, of sorts? Of souls, however."

...

The scythes on the spirit's arms slowly began to shrink as it trudged towards Satori.

"You needn't walk the plains of Hell anymore." Satori mentally cringed at her own misuse of the term 'hell', but she was sure the spirit thought _this_ was hell. "Your quest for revenge is over."

The spirit pauses.

"Cassandra is dead. You have no more direction. You have won. It is done." Satori walks towards it.

…

As she nears it, it glomps her, the scythes turning back to regular hands.

Black mist flowed out of the spirit, dissipating into the cave's air, leaving a small, white orb where the core of the being was.

Satori walked away from it. "...That's the shinigami's problem, now."

' _Wow._ ' Hikari nodded her head approvingly. ' _She negotiated with it to defeat it._ '

Satori grinned. "...I normally don't do that with smaller spirits, as you saw there. Though most of them take common forms to direct their aggression, they all have very different, unique problems. Some take a bit of beating up before they can negotiate, as well."

"...I haven't seen you do it other than to show off a bit in the past." Hiyori states aloud. "But, is it bad to leave the soul just… floating there?"

Satori shrugs. "I'd have Orin secure it and bring it to the palace to be picked up by the shinigami, were it a bigger spirit. If left unsecured, it could become a garden variety ghost. Left out here, his rage will likely rekindle."

Osamu's face looked pensive.

...Satori nods. "Yes, Osamu. He was kind of a 'dick', as you put it. I don't always agree with spirits reasons for being angry. I usually lie to them to calm them down, too. Though, considering this human spirit was well over centuries old, I'm sure this Cassandra has already passed on."

' _Hmm. Seems easier just to throw ofuda at them and mangle them._ '

Satori smirks. "That's why I only do it with larger spirits. Those ones you probably couldn't just slap ofuda on and call it a day."

' _...Point taken._ ' Hikari shrugged.

"...I'm not doing it again, if we see another spirit."

A caster phantom promptly floated up from the floor, instantly setting its sight on the party.

She snorts. "Like that one. It wants something called a 'hydrocaster compendium'. I don't even know what that is, so we'd be here all day."

"Sounds like a spell tome." Marigold comments.

Hikari drew her ofuda, knowing the encounter would already be over. She tossed them…

Slap! Slap! Slap!

"Hooouuuaa~h!"

The spirit wailed, as it was torn asunder by the glowing ofuda, holy magic visibly lashing out at it until it was no more.

' _Thirty six ofuda._ ' Hikari kept count.

"...You're a lot tamer than your mother." Satori notes.

' _...What's that supposed to mean?_ '

"It means there aren't yin-yang orbs practically stripping the underground of rock." Satori states. "It was a compliment."

' _...Thanks, I guess._ ' Hikari still didn't like being compared to her mother.

Osamu looked annoyed. "Dude, why won't ya answer my question?"

"...I've kind of learned to tune you out." Satori looks vain. "You're… a work."

...His annoyance gave way to a grin. "Damn right I am."

' _Pffft._ '

The five closed in on a crack in the wall…

"Get ready." Satori cautioned everyone in a hushed tone. "The sanctuary's inside."

The sizable crack in the cave's side wall was pitch black, a trait of sanctuaries Hikari knew well…

"The boss is nearby…" Hikari informs everyone.

Marigold already had her Spectrum Shotgun ready. "Ready."

Osamu cracked his knuckles, wincing at the loud pops. "...Ready freddy!"

His announcement made Hikari cringe.

Hiyori took a deep breath. "...I am ready."

Satori nods. "Good. She doesn't seem to be here, right now."

…

' _Oh._ '

Hiyori's brow rose inquisitively.

Satori walked towards the darkness blocking the sanctuary. She tried to walk in, but ended up hitting the darkness like it were a wall, instead. She fell on her bum. "Agh… wh-what?"

"You _have_ to defeat the boss to go inside." Hikari explains. "That's pretty much been a constant."

"That's ri~ght!"

A winged, friendly bird person descended from above. She had a not-so-friendly giant cannon for a right arm, a stone-encased right foot, and what seemed to be atoms revolving around her left foot.

Her cloak of stars billowed behind her as she touched down with a _thoom_.

"Exactly how it works!" She beamed at Hikari. Then, she looked at Satori. "Hello, Satori-sama!"

"...Okuu." Satori stared at her vainly. "Are you… feeling better?"

Hiyori took a step back. "Th-that's… Okuu!?"

Okuu paused. "...Nope! Still got this thing bouncing around in my head. It wants me to kill Hikari," She points her big cannon at Hikari, who flinches upon the motion. "and now kill _you!_ I mean, I really, really love you, Satori-sama, but this thing really, really hates you! And I- woah!"

Her cannon arm jerks around, and she uses her other arm to point it at the ceiling. "Easy there, Giygas! Woaa~h!"

Vrrrr~!

A giant, amber beam shot straight up at the ceiling, rending rock hundreds of feet above them.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Kanako stood over the conventional oven…

She frowned. "Are you _sure_ it's supposed to be cooked at four hundred?"

Suwako nodded. "Ye~s. If I were you, I'd be more worried about the ingredients. We have no idea what we're doing!"

Kanako scowled. "Quiet. Baking cakes should come naturally, to a-"

Suddenly, an amber laser shot straight out of the stove, vaporizing the stove's contents, the stove's bottom and top, and the roof above the stove, leaving a new skylight. A new, flaming skylight.

"goddess…" Kanako slouched.

Suwako was speechless.

…

"Pffft-ahahahaha~!"

"Shut up! Shut _up!_ " Kanako moved to thrash the smaller goddess.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

The party looked up at the hole the pillar-width laser left in the ceiling. They could see a glimmer of daylight from it.

"Holy _fuck_." Osamu gaped.

Marigold stared in awe. "Now _that's_ a weapon…"

Hikari gulped. ' _Th-that was aimed at me, just a second ago…_ '

Hiyori was bewildered. "O-Okuu!? Wha- how…!?"

...Satori turned to Hiyori. "She devoured a sun god, by the way."

...Hiyori's jaw dropped. "What _happened_ while I was gone?"

Osamu turned to the party. "Dude, the underground's gettin' _weird!_ "

' _A sun god._ ' Hikari blanched.

Okuu spun around in the air, restraining her giant cannon arm. "Ba~d Giygas! Bad! No killing people, I told you!" She went to bite her cannon arm, to little effect. After a moment, she gave up. "...I'd go away if I was you guys! 'Cause like- woa~h!"

She aimed her cannon at the party, and Satori flinched violently, sputtering. "Ev-everyone! M-move!"

Satori tried PSI Shield Σ!

The party was protected by the pale blue psychic shields!

Osamu tried PSI Shield Σ!

Everyone's psychic shield was reinforced!

No one wasted any time in sprinting at parallel angles to Okuu's giant death cannon.

Fwsh-wsh-wsh!

Molten balls of energy flew from the cannon at an odd spread, slowly floating down to the ground.

Bam! Boom! Blam!

On impact, they exploded, releasing torrents of flames.

"A-aa~h!" Okuu whirled around in the air, fighting her cannon arm. "No! I-I like Satori-sama and her friends! They're nice! Stop!"

' _She's in conflict…_ ' Hikari observed. _'That should keep us from getting vaporized instantly._ '

Satori agrees with the notion. "Keep fight-"

Vrrrrrr~!

Satori narrowly dodged the laser, her arm getting gazed and burnt.

...She turned to Hikari dryly. "Barely."

Osamu tried PK Freeze γ!

KaKaKa~...

A snowflake-shaped pattern of ice crystals formed around Okuu, freezing and thawing rapidly…

Boom!

Okuu spun in the air, now half frozen. "A-aah…"

...Then, she spread her wings, and all the ice melted. "Haa~h!"

A massive inferno erupted around her, pillars of fire stretching into the dark sky, as a ball of flame slowly expanded outward from Okuu.

Hikari panicked, a little. ' _She-she might be angry, now…!_ "

"She's not angry." Satori soothes everyone. "Just… warming herself up."

"Coulda fooled me!" Osamu bolts for the back of the group. "Fuck that!"

' _She'd probably burn my ofuda right up…_ '

Suddenly, the flames dispersed, once Okuu found herself adequately warm.

Then, Okuu raised her arms. "U-uhm… I may have lost control of _both_ of my arms! You guys may wanna run!"

Between both arms, an orb began forming, magical energy wrapping in on itself, forming a large, orange orb.

"Don't let her finish making that!" Satori shouts, focusing on the hell raven. "If she pulls off this next attack, we'll _all_ die!"

' _Ouch._ ' Hikari snorts. ' _That'd be a rather abrupt way to go._ '

Satori tried PK Freeze γ!

KaKaKa~...

Osamu tried PK Freeze γ!

KaKaKa~...

Hiyori tried PK Freeze ß!

Bam! Boom! Bang!

The ice spells bombarded Okuu in unison. At first they did little, but the subsequent ones froze her completely. Unfortunately, the slowly growing ball above her melted her free of her ice within moments, turning it all into steam.

' _Wow._ ' Hikari began to feel the heat from the growing miniature sun. ' _That's hot…!_ '

"Oh, fuck. I can feel it from here, dude." Osamu expressed worry. "We're gonna get _fried_ like _eggs_."

Marigold snorted. "...Why eggs?"

...He sputtered, pointing at the sun. "Bigger problems!"

Marigold aimed up at Okuu. She pulled the trigger to the Spectrum Shotgun, and began getting pushed back instantly. Hiyori lunged to grab her, to keep her from getting blown back the length of Old Hell's plains.

Hikari looked up at Okuu… ' _Satori, can you do my crash bang boom attack, again?_ '

"Ah…" She shook her head. "No. I'm afraid. It's too demanding."

' _How? When we fought you, there was no end to your mana._ '

Satori nods. "I also happen to have been under Giygas' influence."

' _...He gives people mana?_ '

"If they need it." Satori glances back up at the growing sun of doom and hellfire.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Osamu intervened. "Less telepathic chit-chat shit and more kickin' some ass!"

' _...He's not wrong._ ' Hikari held up a single ofuda. ' _Might as well try this._ '

She tossed it up into the heat storm above…

The ofuda glowed brightly, but once it neared Okuu, it was vaporized, burning up in a swath of holy fire. As it fizzled out, it became normal fire.

' _Ouch._ ' Hikari began sweating. ' _T-too warm…_ '

Hiyori tried PK Starstorm α!

The technicolor barrage of neon yellow and neon white stars commenced. Whirling down from the metaphorical heavens were thick, star-shaped projectiles, most of which homed in on Okuu.

The majority of them flew straight into her.

Bam! Boom! Ba-bam! Bang!

Magic visibly rocked her body, but she showed little chance of letting up on the generation of the new sun.

The white stars fell, but due to their unaimed nature, most just fell harmlessly in the surrounding plains, or into the sun above Okuu.

Hikari prepared herself. ' _I-I think I have to use that attack, myself…_ '

Due to her newfound exhaustion, Hiyori began getting pushed back by the beam Marigold was forming…

The beam finally focused, catching Okuu right in the center.

Even so, Okuu didn't seem to acknowledge the beam that directly drilled into the core of her being.

"It-it's getting big, guys! Maybe you should ru~n!" Okuu suggested again.

Hikari took a deep breath.

…

' _Nuclear reactors._ ' She thought back. ' _Sun gods. Kappa villages, a sky full of aristocrats… and a mountainside of warrior politicians._ '

She closed her eyes, doing her best to ignore the heat and the growing vibrations the expanding sun was causing in the underground…

' _I'd be more surprised, but the world was already pretty weird. That, and being in the moment… this land really suspends your disbelief._ '

She felt her power well up inside her…

' _This truly is a land of_ _ **fantasy!**_ '

Hikari tried PK Fantasy γ!

Opening her eyes, Hikari threw her arms forward.

FwOwOwOw!

Two polygons of technicolor energy few out towards Okuu.

TinkTinkTinkTInk!

Instead of striking her, they stopped before her, and formed a large, hexagonal barrier, which even blocked Marigold's rainbow beam. One by one, the hexagonal panels shattered under the sun's heat, sending shards of technicolor energy outward which lightly pinged Okuu's body, sending subtle, yellow waves across her.

A chunk of the sun was erased, but only the lower half, closer to Okuu. It quickly filled outward again.

It was in this moment, that the underground felt sunlight for the first time, to the bane of the many spirits of the land, and to the bane of any oni who had a hangover at this exact moment in time.

Hikari's eyes flashed.

Bwaa~sh!

A powerful psychic blast wracked Okuu's body, a violent maelstrom of red, yellow, and blue cycling across her body, and slightly up the sun she was trying to produce. The motion with which it flowed was as erratic as it was hypnotic to those who viewed it.

…

Okuu dizzily let her head wobble around. "My~ favorite color… is _seven_ …"

Hikari grinned widely. ' _That was awesome!_ '

…

Then, she fell straight to her knees, and onto her stomach. ' _Th-this… isn't so aw-awesome…_ '

…

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: OSAMU'S VIEW ====

' _Okay, I don't know what the fuck that was, but it kicked ass._ '

Osamu scanned the battlefield…

Satori jerked her head to look at the fallen miko. "Hikari!"

' _Even if she's down, she put a big dent in this bird bitch's gut. She had ta._ '

The sun, though bright, was no longer generating further. Red mist began flowing from Okuu's body, and up into the sun above her.

"That red shit!" Osamu pointed at it. "It's tryin'a pump up that sun!"

Osamu tried Defense Down α!

Okuu began twitching at the laser drilling into her side…

Standing, a Hikari-toting Satori gave Osamu a glance. "Good idea."

' _Hell yeah!_ '

Satori tried Defense Down α!

Osamu tried Defense Down α!

Okuu began getting pushed by the force of the laser, tilting herself to maintain the sun, which flickered unstably, dimming slightly.

"Ooo, ooh, next, we gotta like, drain her mana! Who's with me!?" Osamu cheered.

...Satori stared at him dryly. "Do you know just how _huge_ her mana pool is? She has a _god_ inside her."

' _Oh,_ shit.' He had forgotten that tiny detail. ' _Well- how much is- yeah, that's not gonna work…_ '

Osamu tried PK Hydro ß!

The shuriken of water was blown away when it spawned, being instantly vaporized by the sun.

' _Damn._ '

Satori tried Defense Down α!

' _How about…_ ' Osamu wiggled his hands. "How about some 'a this!?"

Osamu tried PK Thunder ß!

Thwaa~sh!

Satori sidestepped the thunderbolt, anticipating the random strike.

Thwaa~sh!

The bolt struck Okuu. "Ha-aa~h…!"

' _Yeah!_ '

Satori sighed. "That was hardly enough."

Hiyori took a deep breath.

Hiyori tried PK Starstorm α!

Again, the star-shaped magical projectiles spiralled down from above the cave's walls, beelining for Okuu.

She was still unable to defend herself whilst attempting to pump the sun up.

Bam! Bang! Boom! Bam!

The sun slowly began receding, the size decreasing, as the magical energy was pumped back into Okuu, who glowed brighter and brighter the more heat she stored…

"A-aagh…" Satori grimaced. "...She's recycling the energy into stamina…"

' _That's so fuckin' cheap!_ '

After awhile, the sun's energy filled Okuu's body… "...I-I…"

...The red mist that surrounded her earlier began to bubble, and burn, becoming a charcoal black substance as it was exposed to her exterior. As such, most of it poured into her to avoid being burned away.

"Yeaa~h!" Marigold was getting excited, arms shaking as she continued to hold down the trigger. Hiyori spared her a curious glance.

Okuu beamed. "Ac-actually, guys, it's only- hey! He~y…" Her cannon arm pointed down at the party, but she used her other arm to jerk it away again. "It's only my cannon arm, again!"

' _She's just sittin' in that laser like it don't even matter! She just don't care!_ '

Fwoom!

A giant, orange orb was shot from the cannon straight towards the floor.

Satori leapt away, and Osamu began backpedaling.

"Fuck that, fuck that fu-"

Kaboo~m!

The area she struck turned into a pillar of solar flames, before violently dissipating just as quickly. A crater was left in the floor.

' _Damn!_ ' Osamu shielded his eyes from the blast. ' _Dude!_ '

Hiyori felt herself being pushed back by the force of Marigold's laser further… "I-I can't cast anymore…"

Satori tried PK Freeze γ!

KaKaKa~...

Another rapidly freezing and thawing snowflake pattern encased Okuu.

Boom!

The frosty blast sent her twirling through the air. "Woaa~h!"

Small, red orbs flew from her cannon, moving at a fixed rate in the directions they were launched. Upon contact with objects, however, they dissipated into bonfires.

"So ice _works_ now? Make up your mind!" Osamu glared up at the hell raven.

Osamu tried PK Freeze γ!

KaKaKa~...

Ice spells seem to be a party favorite, today.

Boom!

Okuu was frozen solid, for a moment. Then, as she hung in the air, the ice began cracking, and steaming.

A tired Satori worked to keep her frozen. "Sto-stop her…"

Satori tried PK Freeze α!

Kakakoo~...

A small pattern of icicles froze and thawed rapidly around Okuu, accomplishing little.

Kra~ck!

Osamu grunted. "Seriously, this flaming bitch…"

Satori snapped at him. " _Don't_ call Okuu a bitch!"

…

Cra~ck!

Okuu broke free from the ice. "I-I'm gonna catch a _co~ld!_ "

Osamu fumed. "I'm gonna make you catch an _air conditioner_ cold! I'll **freeze** you so hard, it's gonna _burn!_ "

Osamu tried PK Freeze Ω!

Kakaka~!

A box of ice formed around Okuu, encasing her.

Kookookoo~...

The ice crystals inside began freezing and thawing rapidly, encasing Okuu in her personal hell-in-a-cell of plummeting temperature.

Kra~ck!

The frozen cage begins to shatter, sending out a flurry of cold air.

Blam!

Finally, it explodes, revealing a frozen Okuu inside.

...She drops to the cave floor, loudly clattering as her frozen form tumbled on the rock.

' _Wo-woah…!_ ' Osamu stared at the fallen form of Okuu for a moment, speechless.

…

"That seems to be-" Satori was interrupted.

"Did you see that!?" Osamu's energy jumped through the roof. "I just fuckin', like, _woosh!_ Ice age, bitch! So fuckin' hype right now, dude, so…"

Then, his energy dropped below the Earth's crust.

"S-so tired…" He hunched over. "Woaa~h…"

After stumbling around, he fell onto his bum. "W-wow…"

…

Satori coughed. "Right…."

...She turned to Marigold, who was still holding down the trigger whilst being held by Hiyori.

"Yeaahahaa~h!" She was pumped.

...Satori strutted up to them. "...Sorry to burst your bubble, but…"

Marigold looks down at her. "Wha~h!?"

Satori floats up, and forcibly removes her finger from the trigger.

The beam stops.

Marigold almost looks angry for a moment, only to realize Okuu was nowhere in the beam. "A-ah? Where'd she…?"

She scans the battlefield, sighting the hell raven in an ice block on the floor.

"O-oh." Marigold blushes. "...You can put me down now, Hiyori."

Hiyori abruptly drops her.

"He-hey!" Marigold rubs her toosh…

"Sorry…" Hiyori slowly steps from her. "Using up all that mana… took a lot out of me."

Marigold's brow rose. "You… don't seem all that tired?"

"She's an oni." Satori adds. "She's remarkably less prone to stumbling around unless she was actually dizzy. Oni bodies have a lot of strength."

"Oh. Right." Marigold stands up. "...Oh, blast. Hikari's down?"

Satori nods, looking sorrowful. "...Yes. I was careless, and let her exert more mana than I should have."

' _Wh-what, do we need to be babysat…?_ ' Osamu crawled towards the party. "He-hey…!"

Smirking, Satori turned to him. "In your case, yes."

"Yo-you too… buddy." He forces himself to speak.

...Hiyori reaches into her gi, and pulls out a jar of water. "Here we are…"

Popping it open, she pours it into her mouth, swallowing it all in one gulp.

"Much better…" Hiyori nods in satisfaction.

"Still never leave home without a bottle?" Satori was still smirking.

Hiyori snorts. "Leave home? I never leave _anywhere_ without a full bottle. You'd be surprised how many times it saved my a- saved me."

"...Old habits die hard, huh?" Satori begins to move towards Okuu.

Hiyori moves with her, slightly uncomfortable. "Mmm…"

The two move up to Okuu, and take a good look at her. Marigold trails along behind them…

"...Hiyori?" Satori turns to her friend.

"Yeah?" Hiyori tilts her head.

"Confiscate Okuu's 'third leg', if you would, please?" The mind reader requests.

' _Wait- what the fuck!?_ ' Osamu begins laughing to himself.

...Hiyori turns to her inquisitively.

"...Oh, right." Satori shakes her head. "That's what her fusion cannon is called."

' _Fuckin'_ fusion _cannon._ ' Osamu was awed by the powerful terminology that he only otherwise heard thrown about in stupid village rumors.

"...Why not just call it a fusion cannon?" Marigold dryly suggests. "That's far better than a, uhm… 'third leg'."

"It's from the mythos of the god she consumed." Satori bobs her head back and forth. "He had an actual third leg. Okuu, luckily, got a removable fusion cannon instead."

"Yeah. Luckily." Hiyori's voice was laced with sarcasm. "Who's idea was it to give a _fusion cannon_ to the biggest bird brain I know?"

"Do you know of any mountain gods?" Satori questions.

Hiyori begins to move for Okuu's fusion cannon, rending ice with her bare hands.

Before she can say anything, Satori nods. "The purple haired one, who goes by the name Kanako. She fed Amaterasu to Okuu."

...Hiyori glanced at her, as she tore the fusion cannon out of the ice. Or, at least, Okuu's limb was free of ice. The fusion cannon was still stuck to her limp arm.

...The arm started flailing about, red mist materializing.

"A-aah!" Satori jumped, and shot pink danmaku at it on instinct.

As the danmaku pounded the cannon, the red mist began to flow out more and more.

Marigold cast her Spectrum Shotgun aside, and drew her NF Burst Gun. "You're mine!"

The flurry of cartoonish popping noises accented the bullet's harassment upon the foggy form, which eventually flowed out of the cannon and into the air itself, before floating away again.

…

Satori smiled. "It… it's gone. I can't feel it in her, anymore."

...Hiyori stared at the frozen hell raven worriedly. "Is she…"

The fusion cannon slid off the arm as it flailed about, smacking at the ice.

Clunk! The cannon landed in nearby gravel.

"She'll be fine. Just give her a few moments." Satori began walking towards Hikari, whom she left near where Hiyori and Marigold were originally.

Osamu finally reached her himself, after a good few minutes of crawling. "...Damn." He flopped over beside her.

...The rest of the party moved up to them.

"We-welcome to the morgue." Osamu greeted them. "We're gonna fuckin' die."

Marigold giggled. "Mana exertion's not _that_ bad, I'm sure. Not that… I'd ever feel that." She tilted her head thoughtfully, before shaking it off. "Hikari manages it well enough. Aside from this one time."

…

"Wh-where do we go, now…?" Osamu slowly began getting off the floor.

Satori furrowed her brows. "The sanctuary, of course. Don't tell me you've forgotten, already..."

' _What!?_ ' "N-no, it's just that… Hi-Hikari's kinda… mandatory for that place, I think. I dunno."

Hiyori lifts both Osamu and Hikari over her shoulders.

"Woa~h!" Osamu didn't expect it.

"We'll find out." Hiyori decides, carrying her other two party members to the sanctuary location.

The five proceeded into the crevice in the wall, which was now filled with a soft, blue glow, with the darkness gone.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

The blue glow didn't get much brighter inside, and Satori was forced to make a small magi-light to guide everyone.

' _Sure is dark, for a freakin' sanctuary…_ ' Osamu looks around. "I can't see-"

"We're underground, you know." Satori talks over him. "It's not like they'd just install lights in the caves, for you."

' _...Killjoy._ '

Hiyori sat Hikari down on the floor across the room, next to the large black panel on the wall.

…

"I guess we just wait for Hikari to get up, then…" Marigold takes a seat. "Oh, boy."

Osamu furrows his brows. ' _Wait a moment…_ '

Satori nods. "Indeed. By unanimous decision, we shall wait."

"Wa-wait!" Osamu tries to move for Hikari, but falls onto his stomach. "Oof!"

Marigold smiles. "We know, Osamu. Glad you caught up, though."

' _...Why's everyone bein' such a bitch today? Geez._ '

...Satori gave him a patient, crooked grin. "I wonder…"

Hiyori turns to her. "Hmm?"

"Oh, nothing." Satori's expression becomes bored again.

...Osamu begins crawling for Hikari. ' _The-that sound stone thing!_ '

Satori watches him, curious, as he crawls towards Hikari…

…

"I think he's lost it." Marigold comments. "Can I shoot him?"

Satori snorts. "Wait."

...Once he reaches her, he reaches into Hikari's pockets…

Marigold's eyes widen. "Wh-what are you doing!?"

Osamu grunts. "Lo-look-"

"He's looking for something." Satori answers for him.

...Marigold recedes to the halfway point between neutral and surprised.

' _C'mon, c'mon…!_ '

Finding the Sound Stone, he grins. "Finally…!"

As he brings it to Hikari's forehead, a look of realization dawns on Marigold's face.

"...I see." Satori nods.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIKARI'S VIEW ====

…

' _H-huh?_ '

She heard a melody play.

 _A gentle breeze rolled through Giant Step, caressing the indent in the hill…_

 _It then rolled through the crevice leading to Subconscious Steps, before whirling around and escaping into the sky above..._

 _Fluttering through the valley, it weaved through bamboo trees before circling around the Milky Well. It circled back around, and flowed right back out through the trees..._

 _Smoothly floating over the crisp air of the Misty Lake, the wind swept past the walls of a western manor, before dipping into the trees just outside the walls to orbit Rainy Circle. It flowed out just as freely..._

 _Becoming entrapped within the walls around Magnet Hill, the wind anxiously rebounded off the walls before escaping, flowing back over the Human Village..._

 _Freely dancing in the clouds, air circulated around a soft, Pink Cloud. The air dispersed, washing over the land, and sweeping against Gensokyo's border._

 _Through the crevices of the Earth, wind blew freely through the ragged tunnel systems, before meeting in the air of Old Hell. From there, the wind channeled itself through Lumine Hall, and then escaped, as if a sigh from Gensokyo itself._

...

A beat continued to play after the numerous notes, but no more actual music continued to be produced by the stone.

' _Oh. Guess we made it, then._ '

Hikari quickly found herself waking up…

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Hikari's eyes blinked open.

"Who's the man? I'm the man!" Osamu pranced around the sanctuary like he owned the place.

Satori stared at Hikari, a vaguely bewildered, yet refreshed expression on her face.

' _...The underground really is a cluttered place._ ' Hikari sits up, and begins to stand… ' _Kinda cozy, though. Especially this cave, for obvious reasons._ '

Hiyori and Marigold's eyes widened, as they stared at the now luminescent screen behind Hikari.

Osamu paused, and turned to the screen. "...Dude! This cave _does_ have light bulbs! Hahaha~!"

'Industrial grade night light.' Hikari recalls. ' _I was having the nicest dream, too… it was something about…_ '

She turned to face the board of lights behind her. ' _Darn. I forget…_ '

The board's light shone brightly in the cave, filling it with dim, yellow light. This dim light washed over Hikari as she read the scrolling text on the board.

' _Nicest dream, too… it was something about…_ ' Hikari read the text, and then stopped.

' _Wait… these are my thoughts, aren't they?_ '

She glances back up at the board, which read ' _Darn. I forget… Nicest dream, too… it was something about…_ '

' _Oh, wow._ ' Hikari gaped. '... _This thing's creepy. Cool, but..._ '

"...Your mind, just earlier…" Satori backed up, and admired the board herself, albeit half-heartedly. "Such… vivid visualization. That stone you hold… a sound stone, was it?"

Hikari turned to her. "What's up?"

"What is it, exactly?" Satori questions.

' _...I really couldn't tell you, because I don't know._ ' Hikari shrugged. ' _I got it from a talking bee who came from outer space._ '

…

' _That's going to be up on the board, isn't it?_ ' Hikari blushed. ' _This adventure started weird!_ '

Marigold slowly grinned. "...Hikari's so quiet all the time. This is interesting."

"Agreed." Hiyori nods, amused, as she folds her arms.

"Du~huhude…" Osamu agreed, probably.

' _As I said, the board's creepy!_ ' Hikari blushed deeper. ' _Hnngh…_ '

"I suppose it's not my place to pry, then…" Satori smiled. "...As eventful of a life as one might expect."

' _...I'm pretty sure nuclear reactors, floating aristocrats, and formless abomination seriously out to ruin my day count as a little more than an 'eventful life'._ '

Satori giggled. "True, true. Think nothing of my comment."

' _...It's cheating when everyone gets to read my mind!_ ' Hikari huffed.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

END OF CHAPTER 20

Protagonist: Hikari Hakurei, Disciple of Paradise

-Inventory-

Weapon: Miracle Gohei - Ability to whack stuff really hard. Amplifies whacking power, too! Able to deal magical damage. Adds an increased chance to deal critical hits.

Arms: Iconic Hakurei Arm Sleeves - Keeps arms warm. A Hakurei tradition. How they stay on is a Hakurei family secret.

Body: Combat Miko Outfit - A black leotard and hakama combination worn by the previous-previous Hakurei miko. Designed to be suitable for excessive physical activity and close combat, it slightly improves physical combat prowess. Now with less sideboob!

Misc: Royal Red Ribbon - A ribbon made with rich materials, with a floral pattern.

-Skills-

Attack: Quickly! Swing your gohei at them for massive damage!

PK Fantasy α, β, γ - Bombards the enemy with pain in the form of flashing colors. Deals magical damage. Heavy mental strain that increases with each tier. Third tier forms a barrier, which breaks upon moderate damage.

PK Flash α, ß - A bright flash that distributes very random status effects to enemies. Usually makes people cry. Higher tiers increase chances, and introduce possibilities of fainting or dispel.

Hypnosis α, Ω - Puts weak enemies to sleep for a short time. Works better on tired or exhausted foes. Can also be used in a far more costly form that works on multiple opponents.

Shield α, ß - Halves damage the target takes. Only works against physical attacks, and enough strikes, or powerful strikes, will dispel it. Higher tier turns it into a power-shield that protects even better and even reflects a fraction of protected damage.

Lifeup α, ß, γ - Heals target a little. Higher tiers heal more grievous wounds, like bone fractures.

Healing α, ß, γ - Heals basic status ailments. Higher tiers can cure more dire effects, like burning alive.

Teleport α - Allows instant transport to the general location of an area remembered by oneself or one's party members. Requires a long, fast run-up to execute, however.

Ofuda Toss - Throw a holy ofuda that does massive holy elemental damage to youkai and dark elemental foes. Effect lessens the more holy the thing you're attacking is, to the point of healing holy things. Only works if you actually have ofuda, though.

γ-γ-γ-γ

Mage: Osamu Katsumi, the Wannabe Mage

-Inventory-

Weapon: Fisticuffs!

Arms: Nothing

Body: Dated Village Magician Robes - An old robe from the days when the village respected the medium of magic. Now actually looks navy blue, instead of black!

Misc: Yukkuri Beanie - Resembles a really tacky tablecloth, made in the Yukkuri theme. Lime green and has tons of fun yukkuri decals!

-Skills-

PK Thunder α, ß - Very random thunder attack that deals limited damage. Higher tiers increase number of bolts, and sometimes power.

PK Hydro α, β, γ - Gets everyone wet. Usefulness with PK Thunder and PK Freeze depends on whether you hit yourself or not! Creates whirling water spirals at higher tiers.

PK Freeze α, β, γ, Ω - Generates ice crystals at the target's location. Medium damage and effect; may freeze some targets, especially wet ones. Highest tier has a near-guaranteed freeze chance and immense ice damage, at the cost of being very taxing.

Fireball - Manipulate mana to make a shoddy fireball. Low damage and effect.

Static Hands - Not a real spell. Result of a very undercharged PK Thunder that can accidentally go off.

PSI Telepathy α - Speak to friends you haven't met yet! Unstable connection and only works if they have the skill or are asleep.

PSI Shield α, Σ - Halves damage from magical and psychic attacks. Thunder spells fry it instantly, and harder blows dispel it. Second tier applies basic shield to entire party at higher mana expense.

PSI Magnet α - Costs no mana to use, and steals a very tiny amount of mana from the enemy. Enemy has to have mana in the first place for it to work, though.

Offense Up α - Get pissed! Boosts strength and confidence depending on caster's power and receiver's power.

Defense Down α - Throw the enemy off their game. Makes them slightly more vulnerable to physical attacks.

γ-γ-γ-γ

Inventor: Marigold Knowledge, the Tri-Magi Love Child

-Inventory-

Weapon: Spectrum Shotgun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Filled with foil chip bags to conduct the mana, and it is transmitted into a wind stone. Upgraded to draw mana from a simple wooden block filled with immense magic reserves, giving it virtually unlimited ammo. The addition of a battery and a prism allow it to fire seven rainbow colored beams at a wide spread, which deal non-elemental damage. Firing long enough allows them to focus and deal incredible damage, at the cost of insane recoil and instability.

Arms: Nothing

Body: Custom Adventure Dress - A custom dress made by Alice. Provides slight defense against magical and psychic attacks. Now allows freer movement with a shorter skirt, and a more flexible material.

Misc: Swirly Glasses - Lets Marigold not be blind.

Backpack - Allows extended inventory. Aged relic from the Kourindou.

Unnamed Lock Opening Device - Opens locks very precariously. Made with steel, burnt cloth, packaging peanuts, thumbtacks, string, and wooden wheels. Don't even ask…

Ruler - Lets you measure the world around you!

Protractor - Lets you find the angles of anything ever. Totally overpowered.

Scotch Tape - Transparent adhesive from the outside world. Weak, but handy!

Deck of Cards - Allows Marigold to play Strip Poker with the party. Just kidding… or am I?

Shield Killer - Electrical device used to subdue harassers. Has settings ranging from Tickle Torture to Arse Blaster. Fires electrical projectiles, of unknown Burst Gun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Uses a Pop Gun as the base, but amplifies its power with an array of random batteries jammed into the base with the Pop Gun. The more batteries, the better, but the typical yield is about five bullets per trigger. Spamming the trigger doesn't make it go any faster, unfortunately. Has no foreseeable ammo limit, and the batteries are only there for mana circulation, meaning their power is really inconsequential.

Holmes Brand Designer Hat - Village swag! A retro village hat that ceased production ten years ago. Sells for a pretty penny nowadays, but it's pretty useless otherwise.

Slime Generator - A bulky box that shoots a small splat of slime. Doesn't seem good for much.

Counter-PSI Device - A weird device Marigold found from a flying saucer. Works in strange ways, and seems to disrupt everyone's concentration. Marigold is immune to its effects.

Charm of Sleep - Grants immunity to sleep while equipped. Can be equipped to Arms or Misc.

Microwave Gun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Constructed with a controlled flame crystal and metal parts, it fires a beam of sustained microwave energy that cooks biological foes alive. Fire-elemental at its core, it's also very inefficient against machines.

Lotion Dispenser - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Made of a broom, a showerhead, some magnets, and uses jars of water as ammo. Slapped together with ofuda, giving it unknown holy properties. The jars are usually filled with Talcum Powder, for no discernible reason. The liquid that is dispensed becomes auto-applying lotion, as a result of the above.

-Skills-

Sprays Gooey Stuff Everywhere - It helps smoothen skin, though.

Is Not, Infact, Resistant to Suns - Suns hurt.

Authorized Laser Weapons Practitioner - We're not sure about that…

Willing to Snuggle - Terms and conditions* may vary.

Knows How to Open the Door to Everlasting Darkness - She doesn't feel like it, though.

* = Only at five PM on the fifth of November, if she feels like it. Opportunity lasts until six PM on the fifth of November. See your local deal sponsor for details.

γ-γ-γ-γ

Fighter: Hiyori Hashimoto, the Buddhist Oni

-Inventory-

Weapon: Fisticuffs!

Arms: Shackle of Devas - The first of the four treasures held by the Devas of the Mountain. Grants immunity to sleep-inducing magic. Grants fifty percent resistance to wind and thunder magic.

Body: Runed Gi - Enchanted to not get blown away by battle damage.

Misc: Nothing

-Skills-

PK Starstorm α - Summons forth the stars from the night's sky to rain down upon enemies. Hits all enemies, and deals high magical damage, at the cost of being highly mentally taxing. Can hit allies if they're in the effective area, as the white stars don't have homing properties. Power proportional to amount of enemies, as well.

PK Fire α, ß - Creates an igniting blast of flames at the target's location. More impact comes with higher tiers.

PK Freeze α, β, γ - Generates ice crystals at the target's location. Medium damage and effect; may freeze some targets, especially wet ones.

Shield α, ß, Σ - Halves damage the target takes. Only works against physical attacks, and enough strikes, or powerful strikes, will dispel it. Higher tier turns it into a power-shield that protects even better and even reflects a fraction of protected damage. Highest tier applies a basic shield to the entire party.

Lifeup α, ß - Heals target a little. Higher tiers heal more grievous wounds, like bone fractures.

Healing α, ß - Heals basic status ailments. Higher tiers can cure more dire effects, like burning alive.

Teleport α, ß - Allows instant transport to the general location of an area remembered by oneself or one's party members. Requires a long, fast run-up to execute, however. Higher tier is largely automatic and requires little room to execute.

Martial Arts - Skilled in hand-to-hand combat.

γ-γ-γ-γ

Author's Note:

BIRD BRAINS

some good progression goin' on here, yo

the party has ascended to the state where they can more or less fight handicapped touhous of greater power

they've still got a WAYS TO GO, THOUGH…

also about time hikari got PK FANTASY Y; time to show some of that FAMILY ABILITY and make some BARRIERS

...they only cost like, all of her mana. :3

as always, see you all next time!


	22. Hakurei Sobriety Patrol

' _Watching what you think is weird…_ ' Hikari considers.

"I'd imagine." Satori voices.

The five all sat in Lumine Hall, marveling at the board as they considered the next plan of action.

' _We should probably just relax more. I think we have one more sanctuary place left to find._ '

Hiyori agrees. "I believe we should consider our actions carefully. Knowing that it will be the _last_ sanctuary and all."

' _At least, I think it's the last…_ ' Hikari holds a hand to her chin…

...Her party members, after reading those words on the board, turn to her with sarcastic grins.

' _...Stupid psychic board._ '

Okuu walks into the sanctuary. "Satori-sama~! My arm's not attacking me anymore!"

Snorting, Satori turns to her pet. "I can see that."

...Then, she turns to Hiyori. "Mmm. A lot happened, in the short time you were gone. More than in the past sixty years, I'd hazard."

' _Nuclear reactors._ ' Hikari can't get over that.

...Pausing, Satori turns to Hikari. "It's just _one_ reactor."

"Just one." Osamu nods. "Mmm. Mmm! S'...s'good. Don't see a problem with that."

"...It's not as volatile as you all think." Shrugging, the mind reader moves towards the cave's exit. "...Okuu and I are heading back. I trust you four can make it back without being slaughtered by lone phantoms?"

Okuu pouts. "But, we just got he~re…!"

"...It's literally in our backyard." Satori monotones.

"...True." Okuu puts a finger to her lips. "...Al~right…"

With that, the two began leaving the cave…

' _Where could the next sanctuary be?_ ' Hikari made a pensive face… ' _We've been miles underground, above the clouds, and across Gensokyo._ '

"Enough backtracking and aimless wandering," Marigold grins. "and we could probably find anything we really needed to."

' _...That's a good idea, actually. We should really stock up, now. Even with my best attack, it seems like everyone had to freeze that last boss._ '

Osamu slowly struts towards the cave exit. "Yeah, some new duds'd be cool…" He looks down at his fairly abraded robes. "These ones already crapped out. Stupid caves 'n' shit…"

"Maybe something resistant to being ripped apart…" Hiyori considers aloud.

"Yeah, if only…" Osamu snorts… before eying Hiyori's gi, face slowly shifting in realization. "...Dude, that thing's hardly ripped. Who sells that?"

"Custom made." She explains. "In the oni city."

' _...Can we go to the oni city?_ ' Hikari wonders.

"...I'd rather you didn't, but at this point, it should be rebuilding." Hiyori consents. "It should be safe… enough."

' _Safe enough is good enough for me._ '

Marigold moves towards the cave exit. "...I'd make a quip about how we visit dangerous places all the time, but that city looked pretty brutal the other day."

It seems everyone has ceased paying attention to the mind board. ' _Thank goodness…_ '

Hikari follows her party members out of the sanctuary, leaving a still scrolling board behind.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Back at the palace, the party considered their next steps.

They all sat around the table with a large, cookie-induced hole in it, Hikari being the first to speak. "Where should we go first?"

"The oni city's right next to us." Marigold provides. "We could get Osamu a new robe there."

"...I'm seeking some equipment myself." Hiyori adds, choosing her words carefully. "It's nothing that could be found in a store."

Hikari glanced at her, but Osamu chose to comment. "Y'lookin' for freakin' treasure or somethin'?"

...Hiyori nods. "Yes."

' _If we were going to do any treasure hunting, now would definitely be the time…_ '

"I take it you four are leaving, then?"

Walking in from an open doorway, Satori's gaze washes over the party.

"Mmm." Hikari nods. "We got stuff to do."

Satori smiled. "Very well. Do come again, one of these days. You four will always be welcome within these walls…" She locks her eyes on Osamu. "Even you."

Osamu is pleased with that. "Damn right."

"We'll make sure to visit again." Hiyori smiles back.

Satori looks at her… "Good luck… Hiyori."

With that, the party began moving for the exit, passing by the various palace inhabitants.

"Bye~!" Ellen, the kitten person, waved at the party as they left.

Ashes poked her head out from inside Satori's office. "O-oh, hey… Sorry about the, uh…"

"No problem." Hikari waved it off as they passed.

' _I wish I had some catnip, right now…_ '

The party walked down the steps in the main foyer…

Somebody appeared before them.

…

' _It's her!_ ' Memories flooded back into Hikari's head. ' _She helped us during the fight with Satori… I think?_ '

On second thought, Hikari wasn't sure just _what_ she did during that fight.

Osamu smiled. "Hehe~y, it's the champ!"

Then, the five were silent, as Satori caught up behind the party, having stopped to discuss things with the cats along the way.

Koishi smiled at the four. "...You're good people. You helped sister."

Osamu flexed. "Helpin' people's what I do best…"

"If you hit on her, you're being inserted into the cookie constructor." Satori warns.

Osamu turned to her hastily. "Dude- I wasn't even thinkin' that!"

Koishi giggled. "Aah, let'em off, Satori-chan! I know men can't get enough of the Koishinator!" She suddenly pumps out her chest, and attempts to look burly. "Hoh ho~h, helpin' people's what I do best!" She then proceeds to imitate Osamu's flexing.

' _Wow._ ' Hikari chuckles. ' _...She's a wildcard, huh?_ '

Osamu simply snorts, looking defeated.

"Speakin' of helping people…" Koishi reaches into her pocket. "Here."

She pulls out a heart-shaped gem. Moving towards Hikari, she hands it to her, fitting it into the palm of her hand…

' _Another shiny rock. I should become a rock collector._ '

"...Th-thanks." Hikari wasn't sure how to reply.

Koishi smiled. "No… thank _you_."

With that, Koishi turned, and vanished.

' _...That's a weird ability._ ' Hikari tilts her head. ' _...How did I forget about her that last time? I hope my memory's not getting worse, already. If anything, that should be happening to Mom._ '

...Marigold looked around awkwardly. "Anyone else somehow forget about her until just now?"

Osamu, Hiyori, and Hikari raised their hands.

"...It's one of her abilities." Satori commentates. "She is able to manipulate the subconscious, and is thus able to hide her presence. Even down to the level of memory."

' _...Wow._ ' Hikari nods in appreciation.

"If you still remember her, though, that means she doesn't mind you four remembering her." Satori smiles.

' _That's cool._ ' Hikari looks down at the gem she received...

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

After saying their final goodbyes, the party hit the road to the oni city.

' _I'm still kinda curious if they have snacks down there…_ ' Hikari's appetite knew no bounds.

"Is the oni city _normally_ a nice place?" Marigold glances at Hiyori.

"...Depends on your definition of 'nice'." Hiyori carefully states. "I mean, I think it's not so bad, between the brawls, but…"

They neared the fragmented remains of the oni city outskirts. From here, they could already see scaffolding raised high across the length of the city, towering into the sky.

Hikari blinked. "...We just got out of the sanctuary less than an hour ago."

Hiyori snorts. "Yeah. They work fast."

Once the four neared the oni city, they got to see the reconstruction up close…

Burly, shirtless men holding up entire stone pillars, some with one stone pillar in each arm. Others held entire stone slabs that would constitute floors or flooring. The ground rumbled with each block plopped down.

Nearby, oni with pickaxes sculpted massive chunks of rock brought in by teams of few oni, usually carried by one or two, three if it was absolutely gigantic.

' _Holy…_ ' Hikari's eyes widened at the process. ' _Construction taken to its physical extreme._ '

Osamu gaped. "...So, uh~... these're what the men from yer hometown're like, huh?"

Hiyori scans the populace, and notices the flame-haired oni woman from before, dipping her hands into flames that rest above magma to bend and sculpt the hot metal needed for their pickaxes.

"The girls are, too." Hiyori adds. "...I'm not quite as strong as most oni, but I could pretty much do everything they're doing right now."

Seemingly with a hint of caution, Hiyori leads the party deeper into the city. Surrounding oni spared glances at the party, which turned into stares at the strange nature of the company.

' _You'd've thought they'd've seen a shrine maiden and a few mages before…_ '

Osamu looks intimidated. "Dude, they've all got like, six packs! Eight packs, even! They probably got pecs _under_ their pecs!"

...Hiyori shrugs. "One of our strongest looks like a little girl. I don't think the muscles even matter."

' _Suika._ ' Hikari noted to herself.

As the party walked deeper into the city, the structures got higher and higher…

"The hell're we even gonna buy robes, anyway?" Osamu realizes. "Are there even _mages_ down here!?"

"I know a place." Hiyori silences his worries. "It should be in service, regardless of whether or not it's still standing."

After a few turns down the roads of the city, the party wound up in a crowded street, forcing the four to cling close to one another.

"Hold onto each other." Hiyori instructs them. "We don't want anyone getting any smart ideas, here. Not everyone has the exact same concept of honesty, here."

' _I wonder how bad this street would become if someone just let off a mana bomb in the middle of it._ ' Hikari grinned. ' _I don't think I'd wanna be here to find out._ '

Eventually, Hiyori guided them towards a small, highly mangled structure…

Inside, a tall oni male with a moustache and absurdly spiky hair faced away them. "...Hey, kids, the shop's closed! Can't you see the walls!?"

Hikari winced at the loud voice. ' _Geez._ '

He seemed to be working on the walls behind the counter, slapping stone into place, before hastily slapping some magma onto them.

Hiyori sighed. "Hey, Gabora."

His eyes widened. "O-oh!? S'dat you, N-"

"Hiyori. Yes, it's me." Hiyori spoke over him.

...He guffawed. "Pfft-hahahaha~h! H-Hiyori, huh? Yeah, no one else but you. You finally rip that gi apart, or what?" He turns with a wide grin, only to blink. "...Oh?"

"This kid needs a robe. One that doesn't easily disintegrate." She points to Osamu.

Gabora looks at him. "...Who the hell's that? Holy shit is he _short!_ " Snorting, he bends over to examine the short human mage. "Nor-"

" _Hiyori_." Hiyori stresses.

' _...People keep trying to call her something else. Did she have a different name?_ '

The oni scoffs. "Hiyori. If this little shit's your husband, I'm gonna clock ya."

Hiyori shakes her head. "Just a friend. He needed some robes after climbing down all this way."

...The oni blinks. "He climbed down? Huh. Guess he's no shithead, at least. Damage resistant robe, yeah?"

Hiyori nods. "How much will it cost?"

Gabora waves his hand. "Aa~h… Depends. He want anything fancy?"

They both look to Osamu…

...He grins sheepishly. "A-auhm… Somethin' red?"

...Gabora nods. "Just red?"

Osamu nods back.

The oni smiles. "Good! Good. Last time, someone asked for gold embroidered shit. Had to put the guy in the roof, 'cause he was all fussy about it, and-... yeah." Scratching the back of his head, Gabora reached for a pile of cloth. "This'll only be a moment…"

Ri~p!

"And now, for the robe part…" The oni took a wooden cross with iron balls stuck to each end, and used it to fasten arm holes with his hands.

Ri-ri~p. Rip, rip, rip…

"Alright. It's pretty shitty 'cause I don't have my sewing machine or, uh… anything except for the cloth, right now, but it gets the job done. Fuck it, I won't even charge ya. Now…"

Holding his hands over the robe, he focuses…

…

Then, the robe glimmers a bright gold, before the light fades completely.

"There. Now, it'll take even an oni a little doin' before it rips. Seal runs out in like, a year, though, so come back if ya really care about that robe…" He hands it to Osamu...

Osamu looks down at what is essentially ripped cloth with arm holes and a head hole.

"...Y'probably won't." Gabora decides preemptively.

Osamu obtained Strong Red Cloth!

"...Truly your best effort." Hiyori monotones.

Gabora glares at her. "Honey, y'know I only make fancy shit when I feel like makin' fancy shit. Also, all my shit's broke."

"Mmm." Hiyori nods, turning for the door. "Let's get out of here."

' _Not the friendliest place._ ' Hikari decides. ' _Not that many places are, it seems._ '

"...Have a good one!" Gabora calls out to the four as they leave.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

The four slowly edged their way through the city's central hub.

' _So many people at once…_ ' Hikari had scarcely seen such population density, even in the human village.

As they slowly passed through the congested inner streets, conversation sparked.

"Big place." Marigold notes. "Big people."

"Dude, you see the chicks down here?" Osamu makes a note of his own. "Freakin' _huge_. In, like, the good way!"

' _Good priorities._ ' Hikari sighs.

He points up. "Like, dude…"

Marigold turns to him, looking disdainful. "Are boobs the only thing you think about?"

"No, legit." He continues pointing. "That one's freakin' _ginormous._ "

Marigold glances up at the towering blonde standing upon a large rock in the midst of the square.

"...If you keep this up, I'm going to have to hurt you." Marigold decides.

Osamu snorts. "I meant the muscles, einstein."

…

"I-I knew that!" Marigold blushes.

"...Her eyes." Hikari observes.

The party looks at her, then up at the oni…

She was indeed grinning down at them.

"...Ah, shit." Osamu slouches.

Hiyori takes a glance, before looking back at the party. "...I'd say we should hurry, but I understand that'd be a little hard."

' _Moving at the speed of rocks._ '

…

Though the tall woman stared down at them, she didn't act as the party slowly trudged their way through the crowd and into the street that lead back towards Hiyori's house.

The density of the road slowly lowered as the party progressed away from the center of the oni city.

Marigold speaks. "...I'm surprised there wasn't any fighting."

"Reconstruction's often the best time for tourists." Hiyori informs the party. "It's pretty rare that we get pissed enough during reconstruction to start anymore fights… even if it has happened before. Then you'd have that one week where the city was in rubble the entire time."

' _This place is insane._ ' Hikari resolves. ' _I couldn't imagine living down here, like that._ '

As they continued towards the outskirts where Hiyori's house lied…

Thoo~m!

The blonde oni in the white, short-sleeved shirt stood ahead, grinning widely.

' _...I don't think she just landed ahead of us for funsies._ '

…

Hiyori turned back to the party. "...You guys can go around. I'll talk with her."

Osamu grinned. "Same plan as last time?"

...She shook her head. "Don't interfere."

His face fell as she walked to greet the red-horned oni ahead of them. "...What's her deal?"

"Honor." Marigold explains, looking tired. "Combat is a matter of pride among onis. As such, unfair advantages are typically frowned upon. Specifically, magic, but teaming up could also count."

...Osamu nods. "Aah. Yeah, I could see that."

…

"We should probably begin going around." Hikari decides, moving to the right to traverse through the rocklands.

"Mmm." Marigold follows.

"Dude, the last thing I see when I die's gonna be fuckin' _rocks_." Osamu expresses his increasing disdain for rocks.

"When you say something like that, it makes me think we're going to fall down a bottomless pit." Marigold sighs.

Osamu snaps his head towards her. "Well- we could! I don't trust rocks anymore, dudes…"

' _Those dirty rocks. Stab us in the back, they will._ ' Hikari snorted.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIYORI'S VIEW ====

Hiyori stepped towards the tall oni in the middle of the path…

' _Let's try to keep this short…_ '

The oni grinned widely. "No~ri…! How've ya been!? Not gonna stop by to give so much as a hello?"

Forcing a smile, Hiyori bobbed her head back and forth. "Yea~h… I've been kinda busy."

' _This is going to get more involved than it should._ '

She snorted. "Yeah, I can tell. You've got the Hakurei with you, and some other friends as well. Probably gettin' your faces smashed every night, am I right!? Hahaha~!" She arched her head back, laughing.

' _Ri~ght…_ '

...Hiyori snorts. "Yeah. Good one."

...The oni scans her up and down. "...What brings ya down 'round these parts? Miss the booze? The big burly men?"

Hiyori shakes her head. "No, Yuugi. I just had some business to take care of."

...Nodding slowly, Yuugi closes her eyes. "...I see. In that case…" She pumps a fist into the air. "I'll _make_ myself your business!"

...Hiyori brings up her shackle-clad arm.

Her eyes widen. "Is that…? Holy shit, no way!" At that, she grins widely. "Hahahaha~! Wo~w! Now I _have_ to fight ya!"

Hiyori takes a fighting stance. ' _Let's get this over with…_ '

"Ya'd have ta be some kinda badass to stop Kasen that easily…" Yuugi takes a fighting stance of her own. "This is gonna be great!"

If wind could blow ominously in the underground, this would be the opportune time for it. Unfortunately, it doesn't.

…

The two stare eachother down.

' _I'd really rather not make the first move…_ '

…

Yuugi smirked. "Alright, then! Hraa~gh!"

With a yell that might have pushed back lesser beings, she leapt into the air, landing near Hiyori.

The ground rumbled as she landed, nearby scaffolding in the oni city behind them collapsing violently as the ground was thrown out from underneath them.

Hiyori sent a punch towards her, which Yuugi moved to block. She returned a punch of her own, which Hiyori dodged.

Then, Hiyori managed to slide her fist into Yuugi's gut.

Bam!

Unflinching, Yuugi moves to ward Hiyori off with a swipe, which was successful in its mission.

Leaping back, Hiyori guards as she anticipates an aggressive play from Yuugi…

Bam!

Yuugi had rocketed forward and slammed her fist into Hiyori's guard, sending her flying back.

' _Woa~h!_ '

Hiyori only stopped once she slid into the side of a rock.

Bam!

"G-guh…" She broke from the rock and leaped.

Yuugi flies in under her, and strikes the rock, missing her.

Boo~m!

The boulder became gravel.

' _Now!_ '

Taking her chance, Hiyori brought her fist down on the top of Yuugi's head.

Thwack!

Grinning, Yuugi did a flipping kick, clipping Hiyori's torso.

Wham!

"Guah!?"

Bam!

' _...W-wow… she hits as hard as I remember._ '

...Hiyori tore herself from her crater, sighing.

Yuugi floats down to the ground in front of her. "...Well, you didn't get _any_ stronger, that's for _damn_ sure."

' _Not in your sense of the word…_ ' Hiyori frowned.

The two stared at eachother, for a moment.

…

"Weren't you all into that magic crap before you left?" Yuugi smirks. "Where'd that go, huh? You still think you got what it takes to learn it?"

Hiyori snorts. "I know some spells."

"...Oh?" Yuugi blinks, surprised. "No shit, huh? Then, if that's what you've been doing…" She pumps herself up again. "Show me what you've learned. I bet whatever _amateur level_ magic's up your sleeve ain't gonna be enough to stop me!"

' _I didn't want to use magic to fight her, but…_ '

Yuugi began stomping towards her, the ground shaking with every step…

' _...If she's okay with it… I'll show her these aren't just some amateur level spells!_ '

Hiyori tried Shield ß!

Hiyori was protected by the power shield of light!

"A shield!?" Yuugi's grin became wild as she began power walking with the force of an earthquake. "Hahaha~!"

Hiyori guarded as Yuugi punched forward.

Boom!

Hiyori was sent flying again, with what seemed to be the same force as last time.

' _The-the shield! Did it do nothing!?_ '

A beam shot from the shield of light, moving towards Yuugi.

Yuugi moved to punch it…

The two forces connect with a violent blast of raw energy. Rock flies, and gravel trembles as Yuugi parries the beam.

"...Cute little thing, that. Damn good for what it is, and it returns fire? Not that it matters, anyway." Yuugi chuckles. "Breakin' a shield like that oughta be a piece of cake."

Hiyori locks eyes with her. ' _Now…_ '

Hiyori tried PK Freeze γ!

KaKa-KaKaKoo~...

A snowflake pattern formed around Yuugi, and began freezing and thawing…

"Ooh?" Yuugi blinked.

Boom!

The blast of icy air didn't immediately seem to do anything.

Yuugi smiled, stretching. "Aa~h… That's a pretty badass spell for cooling off. Dunno why you used it just there, though, unless…" She readies herself again. "Tryin'a trick me, huh!?"

' _Wow. That did nothing at all._ ' Hiyori stared at the other oni blankly.

"Well, I won't letcha!" Yuugi steps back. "Here I come!"

She stomps the floor for leverage-

Kraa~ck!

The stone plain under her bends to her will, tilting her forward. From there, she launches herself off of it, speeding towards Hiyori like a rocket.

Hiyori tried Shield ß!

' _I'm gonna need a bigger shield!_ '

Hiyori leaps in order to dodge the approaching oni, but Yuugi simply tracks her as she nears…

Forced to block, Hiyori winces as Yuugi's fist lands against her arm.

' _Wh-wooaa~h!_ '

Boo~m!

Hiyori found herself soaring through the air, spiralling across the underground's sky.

The shield of light which surrounded her faded, channeling itself completely into a thick, powerful beam of light.

FwChoo~m!

The mortar beam soared towards Yuugi, who puffed her chest out.

Ba~m!

Yuugi flew back in the air, the light beam exploding as it struck her directly. A simple flip in the air allowed her to right herself.

"Was that it!?" She leered down at the ground below herself, where Hiyori might be. "That better've been your first real strike! I _felt_ that one!"

"...Uu~gh…" Hiyori pulled herself from another crater in the floor that she fell into.

' _Just how strong are her punches!?_ '

...Holding a fist to her chest, she focused.

' _I'm going to have to go all-out, then…_ '

Hiyori tried Shield ß!

' _But first, safety._ '

From above, Yuugi saw the gleam of her shield. "...Hahaha~! Here I co~me!"

' _Now!_ '

Hiyori tried PK Starstorm α!

Bright stars descended from the cave's ceiling to intercept Yuugi's assault.

As the yellow stars moved for a bewildered Yuugi, she flipped around and flew towards them, legs-first.

Like that, she began kicking at all of the stars which were aimed for her.

Bam! Boom! Bam! Bang! Boom!

Still floating and undeterred, Yuugi grinned back down at Hiyori.

"That spell was some pretty good thinkin'!" She compliments. "Only real base I don't got covered… but it's still not enough!"

Hiyori's eyes widened. ' _She's supposed to be_ weak _to magic…!_ '

"Haaa~h…!" Yuugi prepares for an aerial assault.

Quickly, Hiyori took her canteen of water, and began downing it.

In seconds, she had dusted it off, only to look up and see Yuugi heading straight towards her with a flying kick.

' _Quick!_ '

Leaping out of the way, Hiyori performed a dodge roll.

Yuugi struck the ground.

Boo~m!

Hiyori wobbled, finding it hard to keep her balance. ' _Wo-woah…!_ '

...She looked over to Yuugi, who wasn't visible, having tunneled into the floor from the impact. She leapt out of it in Hiyori's general direction, landing again with a resounding tremor.

"You can't keep runnin' forever!" Yuugi boasted. "Don'cha have _somethin'_ that'll hit me!?"

' _...If those other spells didn't work, then there won't be much that will._ ' Hiyori figured. ' _...I didn't try fire yet, but that's just not going to work._ '

Hiyori tried PK Fire α!

Fwoosh!

Flames liked Yuugi's body, but nothing productive happened.

"Woah!" Yuugi looked down at her clothes, which were slowly going out. "Spontaneous combustion… I'm intimidated."

Hiyori stared at her dryly, contemplating her options…

' _I've only got one more canteen. I guess the most I can do is try to wait it out as long as possible…_ '

Hiyori tried Shield ß!

Her power shield of light became stronger!

Yuugi rolled her eyes. "Still tryn'a play it safe, huh? Didn't anyone ever tell ya…"

She began sprinting towards Hiyori, the floor wobbling with every bound.

"Offense is the best defense!?" Yuugi's wide smile cues Hiyori to attempt another roll-

Bam!

Yuugi intercepts the roll with a sweeping kick, sending Hiyori rolling in the other direction.

' _Hrgh…_ '

The resulting beam from the power shield did little to phase Yuugi. "Come on!"

She raised her leg up for another powerful downward kick, which Hiyori scrambled out of the way of.

The floor behind her was smashed in, but a quick roll let her scramble across the increasingly uneven terrain.

Springing back to her feet, Hiyori tries again.

Hiyori tried PK Starstorm α!

Stars that weren't present before in the underground's faux sky suddenly made themselves apparent, roaring towards Yuugi from above.

"This crap again…?" Yuugi smirks.

As the stars spiralled towards her, she used the rock below her as a springboard-

Cra~ck!

-to launch herself up above most of the, punching through the few that were above her with an uppercut.

Hiyori pulled out her other canteen, and began chugging. ' _Maybe I can get her if I cast it again…!_ '

Reaching the apex of her leap, Yuugi began kicking downwards. All of the homing stars that had changed trajectory to follow her ended up in a linear line beneath her, allowing her to easily smash through them all.

Hiyori tried PK Starstorm α!

' _Sh-should still have room for one more…_ '

Boom!

Yuugi kicked into the floor, and quickly leaped from it. "Easy!"

The roar of twirling stars made itself apparent again, and Yuugi tensed up…

Turning, she punched a yellow star that was heading for her.

"Again!? Seriously!?" She began engaging the stars in fisticuffs.

She only had two arms, so a few of the stars got through and struck her being, but they only barely made her flinch at all.

Bam! Boom! Bam!

Hiyori tried PK Starstorm α!

' _Th-this is it…_ ' Hiyori was out of mana, after that.

This time, Yuugi scanned the sky for stars. "Ho~ly shit. Didn't know this was like, a danmaku fight." She chuckled.

Hiyori watched Yuugi, who turned away from her to grin up at the incoming stars…

' _Wa-wait…_ ' Hiyori began marching towards Yuugi…

The oni put a hand to her chin. "Let's see… I wonder if I can kick through all of-"

Hiyori snuck up on her, and gave her the most powerful sweeping kick she could muster.

"-them!?" Yuugi fell backwards onto her butt. Turning, she held her grin at Hiyori. "The hell was-"

The stars had caught up, bombarding Yuugi head-on.

Bam! Ba-bam! Blam! Boom!

Thundering blasts of raw magical energy echoed outward from Yuugi's form. Hiyori guarded with her arms, stepping back a bit…

When it was all over, she stared into the dust storm it kicked up, waiting for a rebuttal or jeer.

…

Hiyori grinned. "How'd you like _that!?_ "

...As the dust cleared, Yuugi's form could be seen springing back up, doing a couple stretches.

"Not bad…" Yuugi cracked her neck. "First real combo y'got off, on me. Now, just do that all the time, and you'll be good!"

' _The amount of mana required to do that would be unreal. I'd have to drink a whole water reservoir…_ '

Yuugi moves to engage her again, and Hiyori backpedals…

Two punches fall short of her, and when she tries to punch back-

Bam!

"Hgugh…"

' _Huaaa~gh!_ '

A powerful uppercut sends her flying across the rocky plain…

…

' _Ho-how far did-_ '

Landing, Hiyori feels herself slide against the rock.

' _Uu~gh…_ '

A beam shoots from her power shield, but Hiyori doesn't get to see whether it did anything or not.

...Yuugi steps up to her, looking down at her as she lies on the jagged floor.

' _Considering she's standing over me right now, I don't think it did._ '

"...S'that it, then?" Yuugi tilts her head, staring evenly down at Hiyori.

"...Ye-yes." Hiyori decides.

' _There's really nothing more I can do without mana…_ '

...Yuugi nods. "...We~ll, I guess it was a longshot to think your little 'peace and love' trip woulda made an oni outta you. Then again, there's not a whole lotta oni I really consider oni..." She scratches her cheek. "Ya actually learned some badass lookin' magic, though, even if that shield's _totally_ a crutch. Reminds me of that witch…"

' _I suppose it was a bit of a longshot thinking I could beat her after these years…_ '

...Yuugi held out her hand. "C'mon, this round's on me."

' _A-ah?_ '

...Smiling, Yuugi jeers. "Don't just stare at me like someone drowned yer goldfish. Get up here."

...Accepting Yuugi's hand, Hiyori feels herself get pulled up onto her feet.

' _...This is new._ '

Idly, she walks along with Yuugi for a few feet, before turning to her with a curious glance.

...Reading her curious stare, Yuugi snorts. "Truth be told, that was hell more fight than most oni put out. Hell more of a fight than _I_ was expectin'. Provided, ya used magic… but none of the others got the drive to learn the difference between shit 'n' stones, so…" Grinning, she shakes her head. "That puts ya ahead of, like, half of them."

...Nodding, Hiyori numbly replies. "I~ learned about the star attack from Konngara…"

Yuugi jerks her head back. "Wha~t!? You got her to teach you shit? Didja sneak off and become butt buddies behind my back!?"

Hiyori grins back. "Not quite… I managed to draw with her in combat."

"Wha~t?" Grinning wider, Yuugi punches her in the shoulder-

Thwack!

"Hey…" Hiyori stumbles to the side, rubbing her arm.

-"Wo~w! Beat the crap outta Kasen and drew with Konngara!? I mean… Damn. They must be gettin' sloppy if _you_ somehow fucked 'em up."

"About that…" Hiyori sheepishly smiled. "Kasen just kinda _gave_ me her… treasure."

…

"Oh. Damn." Yuugi sighed. "She _would._ "

' _Mmm… Apparently._ '

…

"Still, some good shit. 'Specially if you out-thought Konngara. Sneaky bitch always overthinks everything." Yuugi chuckles. "Y'know!? All that crap about 'leylines' and 'the flow of magic'... I don't see any of that helpin' her not get her ass kicked!"

' _...Yeah._ ' Hiyori didn't particularly agree with that sentiment. ' _...Wait._ '

"Where're we going?" Hiyori questions.

"The pub. Gonna get smashed." Yuugi grins. "I said s'on me."

...Sighing, Hiyori shakes her head. "No. No alcohol."

...Yuugi slouches. "The fuck'd that nun _do_ to you? You used to _love_ drinking!"

"I'm not entirely proud of that fact, either." Hiyori resolves. "I like being in control of myself, thank you."

"C'mo~n…" Yuugi walks up to her. "I'm sure just one couldn't hurt. A nice, big keg. Whaddaya say?"

' _An entire keg._ ' Staring at her dryly, Hiyori shakes her head once more. "No. You're talking like some sort of drunkard."

...Jaw dropping, Yuugi spreads her arms. "I _am_ a drunkard!"

' _I should've seen that coming…_ '

"...Alright." Folding her arms, she gives Hiyori a tired stare. "What do you want, then? I wanna give you _somethin'_ for the road…"

…

' _I might as well just ask her for it…_ '

"I need your treasure." Hiyori bluntly demands.

Yuugi snorts. "Aha. You don't even have Konngara's."

"Because Konngara doesn't have one to give." Hiyori counters.

Pausing, Yuugi considers this. "Huh. If you know, then she _was_ gonna give it to you…"

…

Scratching her chin for a moment, Yuugi comes to a decision. "Gimme some good reasons."

"World in peril?" Hiyori tries.

"How _much_ peril?" Yuugi counters.

"...The 'devour the world' kind." Hiyori guesses.

Yuugi shrugs. "Ah. Whatever, then. I'll just deal with it when it becomes my problem."

Hiyori realizes what would really grind her gears. "The 'brainwash everyone in Gensokyo' kind."

...At this, Yuugi frowns. "That's shit."

"Yeah. It is." Hiyori nods.

"In that case, sure." With more purpose, Yuugi marches towards the oni city, the ground rumbling with every powerful step. "I got like, ten of the stupid things in my closet."

' _Wait, really?_ '

"C'mon." Yuugi beckons her to follow.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Rubble tumbled down a large stone pile, as Yuugi dug through it. "My closet's 'round here _somewhere_ …"

The building the deva had lived in was demolished in the action, having become little more than a tall pile of loose stones. There was also furniture pieces mixed in, squished between large rocks.

"I still can't get over why you chose to live in the city." Hiyori makes small talk. "This place is a warzone."

"Exactly." Yuugi smugly replies. "There's a shitton of action! The rebuilding… yeah, that sucks, but otherwise, it's pretty happenin'!"

After a moment, Yuugi grunts. "Alright, come on, now…"

She punches into the pile.

…

The pile of large stones became a gravel mound.

"There." Reaching into the pebbles, she dug a bit. Before long, she perked up. "Got it!"

She dug her feet into the pebbles, and began sinking.

"...Shit." Tugging on her closet again, she sank completely, becoming buried.

...

' _Good job._ '

Yuugi leapt from the pebbles, rocketing up from the bottom of the pile, before landing behind Hiyori.

Boo~m!

… Nearby scaffolds folded inward, and fell, taking the oni on top with them.

"Ah, fuck!"

"Graa~h!"

"Huaaargh!"

' _...Again, good job._ '

...Yuugi sat a large, iron rectangle down. "This is my closet. I keep a lot more than clothes in it, 'cause yeah. Shit breakin' on a routine basis."

With that, she reaches for the door, and tugs on it.

Cla~ng!

The door breaks off.

"...Forgot I locked it." She sighed. "Damn. Gonna need to fight for a new one."

"As if that would be hard." Hiyori comments.

...Turning to her, Yuugi grins. "The hard part's not breakin' the new one in the process! Then I gotta like, defend it and shit, 'cause other people're gonna want it…" She scratches the back of her head. "Guess that's another thing that kinda sucks in the city…"

Reaching in, Yuugi searched for a moment. A stack of sake dishes flowed out from inside the 'closet'...

' _How did those not break?_ ' That's something that always mystified Hiyori. ' _Do we just keep making sake dishes on demand?_ '

"Ah, here…"

Yuugi pulls out a flowery kimono, one where the dominant colors were blue and white. Simple art of flowers were present on one half of the white kimono.

"I know it looks flowery and crap," Yuugi begins, "but it'll _never_ rip. Not unless you really try."

' _...I see._ '

Hiyori accepts the kimono from Yuugi, staring down at it...

"It should be a little better than that flimsy thing ya got on now." She folds her arms.

Hiyori obtained Kimono of Devas!

' _Not as hard as I thought it would be…_ ' Hiyori cracked her neck a bit, still stiff from the previous fight.

"...Wanna hit the pub now?" Yuugi turns to her. "...Nori?"

...Folding her arms, Hiyori decided to make her case. "Hiyori."

"Nope." Yuugi denied outright. "Not callin' ya that. If I didn't kick your ass already, I'd've kicked your ass just then."

' _Went about as well as I expected._ '

"In any case, no." Hiyori declined the offer to drink. "I have to get back to my house, and prepare to set out again."

Yuugi rolls her eyes. "Aa~h, whatever… When ya come back around, we gotta hang again sometime. And, when you do, we gotta _drink!_ "

Smiling awkwardly, Hiyori steps away, waving. ' _...I'll remember that._ '

With that, Hiyori began making her way out of the oni city…

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIKARI'S VIEW ====

"...There!"

Marigold claps her hands together at her handy work. She had rearranged Hiyori's room after the previous earthquakes threw everything about.

' _Not that there was much to rearrange._ ' Hikari considered.

Osamu nods. "...Dude, you should do this for my house."

"Your house is empty." Marigold counters. "There's nothing to even clean."

Osamu snorts. "Well, this place only has _one_ room…"

"And more things than yours." Marigold props her arms on her hips.

' _I hope she doesn't miss that end table. It kinda slid into the lava pool she had along the wall…_ '

The front door to the house swings open, and the oni of the day walked in.

"...I see you were considerate enough to go through my things." Hiyori snarks.

"Dude, there was like, a big ass earthquake!" With haste, Osamu began describing the events. "I like, slid around on my ass, and Hikari was doin' flips and shit, and your end table slid into the lava…"

' _...I figured jumping around would be better than sliding around on the floor._ '

...Hiyori glanced at the lava, before shrugging. "Ah."

Marigold caught sight of the kimono in her arms. "Oo~h! Did you pick that up from the stores?"

...Smirking, Hiyori explains. "Have any of you three heard about the Devas of the Mountain?"

' _I know Suika's one of them… but that's about it._ '

Marigold nods. "Mmm. They used to live on Youkai Mountain before they were cast under the ground. Considering how powerful the oni were, I have no idea who could've done it."

...Stepping towards the pool of water, Hiyori bent over it and dunked her whole head in.

…

"Pfft…" Osamu grinned. "Du~de…"

"Someone was thirsty." Marigold annotates.

Hiyori pulls her head from the water. "Hua~h…!"

Hiyori tried Lifeup ß!

She felt the bruises and aches on her body heal, as she stood up straight…

Cr-cr-crack…!

"Oo~h…" She moaned aloud. "There…"

"Pfthahaha~!" Osamu openly laughed. "That's awesome, dude!"

Hikari gave Osamu a humorously concerned glance, before shrugging.

"...Now…" Hiyori looked down at the kimono. "I'm going to change."

…

Everyone twisted their heads to gaze at Osamu, enforcing a silent command.

...After some idle looking around, he got the message. "Yeah, yeah. I getcha, I getcha…"

He steps outside the house, closing the door.

Hiyori begins removing her gi…

"What's the big deal with that kimono again?" Marigold tilted her head.

"Ah, right…" She began slipping it on. "It is one of the treasures of the four devas. Each deva technically has a couple, but most are known for specific ones. That oni you saw before was Yuugi Hoshiguma."

' _...Suika mentioned her, sometimes._ '

"She's mostly known for her unspillable sake dish." Hiyori continues. "...I'm not sure how you even drink from that."

' _Unspillable cups must become a thing._ '

"This shackle," Hiyori holds up the relevant arm. "It seems to block thunder. I'm assuming the kimono has some sort of other perk to it."

Marigold hums. "Mmm... I wish you let us meet her. I _really_ wanna know the science behind unspillable things…"

At that, Hiyori scoffs. "As if she'd know. She's probably just _had_ it for the longest time. It's likely she wonders about it herself."

...In a few moments, Hiyori is examining her kimono, which is now fully fastened.

Marigold gives a thumbs up. "Looking good."

Hikari nods idly. ' _...I was never really into fashion. Then again, I only have about ten pairs of shrine maiden outfits which look like Mom's, and then there's this..._ ' She looks down at her leotard and hakama combo. ' _...I like it._ '

...Turning to the door, Marigold yells. "You can come in, now!"

The door swings open, Osamu falling inside. "Oof…"

Hiyori sighs. "I had to do a lot of readjusting. This kimono was made for someone… fuller."

Osamu perked up. "Oh, yeah?"

He scanned his eyes across Hiyori's chest, before his expression became neutral again. "...Oh."

...Marigold stomped towards him. "I have decided that I have to hurt you."

...Grinning, Osamu stood up, and ran outside. "Yer gonna have ta _catch_ me first!"

Marigold sprinted out after him, as fast as one could sprint with a backpack her size.

' _Woah._ ' Hikari marveled at the way the backpack jiggled. ' _How does she even manage that?_ '

...Hiyori and her moved to meet up with the other two, the former messing with her kimono on the way.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

The four stood in the midst of the underworld's rocky plains, discussing their next plan of action.

"I say we go home and relax." Hikari proposes.

"And by home, you mean your shrine." Marigold grins.

"Yeah." Nodding, Hikari turns to Hiyori. "You know about my shrine, right?"

Hiyori snorts. "Who hasn't?"

"...You'd be surprised." Hikari thinks back to the human village…

Walking ahead of the party, Hiyori stares back at them. "Grab onto me."

Hikari complies, holding onto the edges of her kimono…

' _This is gonna be weird…_ '

Marigold and Osamu grab onto Hikari.

Hiyori tried Teleport ß!

The four begin spinning gradually, the oni being pulled along by her own mana.

As they began speeding up, Hiyori clutched her kimono. "He-hey!"

Hikari's heart jumped as she felt her grip loosen for a second. "A-ah…!"

The speed kept increasing, until-

KraKoo~m!

With a bright flash of light, the four departed from Old Hell…

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

KraKoo~m!

The four touched down outside the Hakurei Shrine steps, skidding to a halt.

Hikari felt herself get smooshed against Hiyori and Marigold…

' _I need to remind myself to not be the second in line…_ '

...Everyone stumbled from Hiyori's back, slightly dazed…

"Aa~h…" Marigold felt at her backpack. "My stuff dug into me…"

...While the party stumbles in discourse, Reimu floats down from above…

"...You're back, I see." She observes.

Hikari looks up at her mother. "Hey, Mom."

"...I see you brought an oni with you." Reimu notes.

"Mmm."

Hiyori turns to her. "...Reimu Hakurei, I take it?"

Reimu touches down in front of them. "That's me."

"Hiyori Hashimoto." Hiyori bows.

...Reimu blinks. Then, she turns to Hikari… "Is she someone I should know about…?"

Hikari shakes her head. "...Kinda?"

...Raising from her bow, Hiyori smiles. "Not particularly."

"Ah." Reimu nods. "Well, come on in. I've got a friend for you."

At that, Hiyori freezes, as her other party members begin climbing the stairs behind a floating Reimu. Shaking her head, she continues after them…

' _After all of that rock climbing, these stairs seem easy by comparison._ '

Osamu groaned. "Holy crapoley…"

' _Relatively._ '

...Looking to the side, she sees Hiyori quickly step up the stairs past everyone, keeping up with Reimu's steady floating.

Osamu snorted. "Hey, hey! Gimme a hand, here!"

...Pausing, Hiyori turns, and grabs his hand. "Sure."

Climbing the stairs, she dragged him along faster than he could climb, forcing him to outright jump just to keep up.

"Oh- hey, hey! Slow down! Hey!"

Marigold shook her head. "One cannot simply cheat the Hakurei stairs."

' _So it seems._ '

…

At the top, the party sans Hiyori took the moment to catch their breath…

Hiyori turned to Osamu, letting go of his hand.

He flopped over. "Fu-fucking…"

Reimu turned to them. "...Still getting winded by the stairs?"

Hikari shrugged. ' _I moved a little faster than I should have._ '

Slowly, Marigold proceeded towards the shrine. "Must secure kotatsu spot…!"

' _Yeah, that's a good idea…_ ' Hikari followed her example, casually walking towards the shrine…

Hiyori dragged Osamu along, before he scrambled to his feet. "Woah, woah, I got it, I got it!"

Inside the shrine, one kotatsu space was already occupied by a passed out Suika. Another space was also occupied.

"Hey, Mari!" Marisa beamed.

Marigold froze, with an awkward smile on her face. "A-ah… You."

' _Oh, boy._ '

...Hikari quickly ran up to the kotatsu, and slid under the last open spot.

Snapping out of her moment, Marigold noticed Hikari's move. "Oh, darn it all."

Osamu took one look at the kotatsu, before making for the bar counter. "Yeah, nope. Got any soda left?"

Reimu shook her head. "I didn't bother to buy any more. I don't even drink it myself."

He furrowed his brows. "What? C'mon, Hikari's _gotta_ drink the stuff! I'm sure she loves it!"

...Hikari shakes her head. "No."

Osamu deflates.

Hiyori hunches a bit so that her horns would fit under the door frame of the shrine, before moving inside.

Her eyes lock on Suika.

Marisa whistles. "Them's some horns! You finally come to take Suika back, or what?"

...Hiyori blinks, staring at Marisa.

Marigold sighs. "Don't mind her. She's just… diplomatically challenged."

Her gaze shifts to Marigold. "I think that describes nearly everyone here."

Marisa chuckles.

' _She's not wrong._ '

Marigold and Hiyori awkwardly stood around the kotatsu as Reimu moved to the bar counter, filling a tray with glasses and a large jug…

"How're them rockets workin' out fer ya?" Marisa asks her daughter.

...Fidgeting, Marigold responds. "Pretty well. They hit things pretty hard."

Reimu arrives with the drinks, setting them down on that kotatsu. "...Just what are you shooting them at?'

...Marigold stares down at Hikari for confirmation to continue.

...Taking a breath, Hikari elaborates. "Well, there was that time we went to Heaven, and fought those fairies…"

...Reimu furrowed her brows. "When was this?"

Marigold snapped her fingers. "I shot one of them at that youkai in frilly ribbons!"

...Marisa and Reimu turned to each other.

"Then there was the robot factory." Hikari considered. "That kinda got blown up."

"That time I shot one of those spaceman things." Marigold recalls. "...I still have one left, so that's it."

"We went to Old Hell after that." Hikari finishes. "...I kinda skipped over our stay at the Kappa Village, and that visit to the mountain god place…"

…

"They really get around, ze!" Marisa grinned. "No wonder she came back with an oni!"

"...I figured they were adventurous, but not _that_ adventurous." Reimu scratched the back of her head.

"Dude!" Osamu suddenly looked over from the bar counter. "Reimu! Didja know there was a fuckin' nuclear reactor under the ground!?"

Reimu sighed. "Ye~s. My question is how _you_ guys found out. Just how far off the trail did you have to go to end up _underground?_ "

"Hey, hey…" Marisa drew her attention. "I remember seein' you runnin' around in _Makai_ in your trainin' days. I dunno 'bout you, but that's about as off trail as you can _get_."

...Reimu shrugs. "I guess. I just don't know how they do the things they do with so little power."

Hikari smiles. "Teamwork."

"...And her." Marigold gestures to Hiyori. "She's good at the whole 'not dying' thing."

...The elder shrine maiden gives the oni a neutral gaze. "You better not be teaching any of them about alcohol."

Hiyori shook her head. "I don't drink."

…

"You're sure about this." Reimu states flatly.

Marisa raises a brow. "Ha~h…? An oni, who doesn't drink? Whaddaya think we look like, idiots?"

Furrowing her brows, Hiyori insists. "I _don't_ drink. I've taken up Buddhism."

Cautiously, Reimu stands. "I'm not really sure about that."

Hikari stands up, taking Hiyori's side. "I _am_ sure about that."

Smirking, Marigold folds her arms. "Miss Hakurei, I can assure you that Hiyori is clean as can be."

"We oughta fix that, ah!?"

Suddenly, Suika springs up from the floor, scanning Hiyori's figure. "Hehe~y! You're that… hmm." She pauses, looking down at the kimono, then at the shackle, then at her horns. "...I'm drunker than I thought."

"Just call me Hiyori." The oni tries to cement her preferred name…

Suika's eyes widen in realization. "Aa~h! Nori! Why the hell've ya got Yuugi's shit!?"

Hiyori facepalms, her effort in vain.

"You know her?" Reimu questions the stout one.

"Ah, yeah. One 'a the mates from down under. Outta all of us, I, uh…" Suika pauses. "...Was it you, or tha' other dude? One 'a you was _great_ when y'were drunk…"

Blushing, Hiyori answered. "It must have been someone else. You're probably mistaken."

...Leaning towards her, Suika closed one eye, as if examining her. "...Nope. S'definitely you."

Marisa smirks. "Y'got somethin' you're not tellin' us, tall horns?"

Hiyori huffed. "Nothing of importance…"

Suika put a hand on Hiyori's shoulder. "Lass, if yer not drinkin', then somethin's _definitely_ up."

Feeling like her personal space was being encroached upon, Hikari moves to defend Hiyori by pushing Suika.

…

The attempt was wholly unsuccessful and ignored.

' _Wow._ ' Hikari was taken aback by Suika's strength. ' _I knew she was strong, but…_ '

"I'm _fine_." Hiyori ensures. "I don't _want_ to be a stupid drunk, like the rest of oni-kind is known for." She glares at Suika.

Suika jerks her head back. "Stupid drunk?... Yeah, that's pretty much 'bout right. But bein' drunk's _fun!_ " Holding up her gourd, she tries to pass it to Hiyori. "C'mon!"

"No!" Hiyori slides back to avoid it.

"Wha's the use 'a bein' _smart_ if it just makes ya all _mopey!?_ " With slight irritation, Suika begins downing alcohol from her gourd.

Reimu continues to stand, looking standoffish.

' _Mom's tense._ ' Hikari deduces. ' _...Considering how oni fights go down underground, I can see why._ '

"It's about being in control." Hiyori argues.

"And?" Suika counters, tilted her head.

Marigold leaps out of the way, nearly being poked by her horn. "Wo-woah!"

"Hey, watch the merchandise!" Marisa shakes her fist from the table, but is ignored.

"I _like_ being in control." Hiyori bickers. "I hate who I am when I'm _not_ in control."

Suika scoffs. "Oh, waa~h, waa~h! Cry some more!" Reeling her head back again, she downs more sake from her gourd. After a moment, she pulls it back out, spilling fluid on the shrine floor. "Y'see, this is why I liked ya better when ya were _drunk_."

...Taking a deep breath, Hiyori continued. "I hate being the one everyone laughs at because I got drunk off my ass and did something stupid. I hate being unable to remember anything that _was_ fun because I was too drunk! I _hate_ being unable to improve myself!"

…

Rolling her eyes, Suika chugs from her gourd again…

…

"Haa~h." She takes a moment to stare at Hiyori, before continuing. "All I hear is a buncha yellow-bellyin' from some _ass_ who don't know how to hold her liquor."

Hikari decided to assess the situation before her…

Both Marisa and Reimu were at the ready on the other end of the room, looking tense.

Marigold had her Spectrum Shotgun out, looking innocent.

Osamu was on the other end of the bar counter, snickering in incredulation.

' _Wow. This got real really fast._ '

...Discreetly, Hikari sidestepped over to where Marigold was…

"All I hear is rambling from an ignorant, stubborn, _drunk_." Hiyori shoots back. "One who hardly knows what she's talking about."

Suika shot her head up from her gourd, locking her eyes with Hiyori's.

"Wha' was that?" She scowled.

...Hiyori folded her arms.

"... _What_ was _that!?_ " Suika bellowed, the shrine's wood rumbling from the force of the yell.

Reimu drew her ofuda in one hand, looking ready to act at a moment's notice.

Marisa drew her Mini-Hakkero. "Ho~h, shit, ze…"

"Was tha' supposed to be an insult!?" Stomping forward-

Crack!

-fell straight through the shrine's floor.

...Taking a moment to give the floor her best death glare, Suika stepped out of it, and proceeded towards Hiyori more carefully. "'Cause that weren't no insult I ever felt…"

Hiyori backed towards the shrine door, hunching over to retreat outside as she did so…

"Lemme show ya how an _oni_ insults another _oni!_ "

Reimu's eyes widened. "Suika, don't-!"

Directing her weight into the floor, the shrine's wood cracked and creaked as it tilted on an angle, allowing for Suika to leap out.

Boo~m!

As she did so, the wood she tilted roared back, taking all of the floor behind it, and the kotatsu, too.

It slammed into the bar counter, stopping. Osamu ducked under it to avoid being smacked in the face by a wave of wood plank fragments.

…

" _Suu~ikaa~!_ " Reimu roared, her yin-yang orbs generating around herself as she darted after the two outside.

…

Marisa chuckled. "Wow. Can't remember the last time I saw Suika _that_ pissed."

' _Me either._ ' Hikari cautiously, gingerly stepped towards the new ravene in the floor. ' _...Hiyori was really angry, there._ '

…

"Should, we, like…" Osamu climbed over the counter clumsily. "...Do something?"

Marisa turns to him. "Hahah. If anyone's doin' anything here, it'd be me. Oni are no joke. I'm thinkin' the same thing, too…"

...Meandering towards the front door, Marisa stretches. "Aa~h… Can't just leave Reimu out alone with them oni, ze. You kids stay in here. I'm'onna come back with 'em both slung over my shoulder!"

With that, Marisa hopped on her broom, zooming outside after her friend.

…

"I'd volunteer to go out there, but I'd probably be vaporized." Marigold voices.

"Yea~h…" Hikari nods slowly. "...Let's raid the orange juice stash instead."

' _As much as I want to help Hiyori, Mom and Marisa are kinda… out of my league._ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIYORI'S VIEW ====

Hiyori tried Shield ß!

Hiyori was protected by the power shield of light!

' _Uh- woah!_ '

Rolling onto her back, she watched Suika soar over her, zooming across the Hakurei courtyard like a missile, before gravity kicked in and pulled her down into the woods, all the way across the stone steps and pathway ahead of the shrine.

Boo~m!

Trees toppled, and the meager sum of remaining snow became a fine dust from the impact.

...Rolling onto her feet, Hiyori gazed into the woods ahead, where Suika was storming out of…

" _Suu~ikaa~!_ "

She tensed up as she heard Reimu's scream from behind her. Moving on impulse-

Thwack-thwa-thwa-thwa-

-and on the growing pain from being slapped by amulet danmaku, she leaped onto the Hakurei hillside, and began sliding away. Suika began moving to intercept her, until she saw Reimu.

"Oi!" Suika raised her fist. "This is _my_ fight, girlie! Y'may be the boss of Gensokyo, but y'ain't the boss of _me!_ "

"I'm the boss of whoever fights on shrine grounds!" Reimu yells back. "Go rumble in the woods!"

Suika huffed. "Y'no what? 'Cause y'asked nicely… _No!_ "

' _Yo~u moron._ ' Hiyori dreaded how messy the fight was about to get…

Turning back to Hiyori, who had reached the bottom of the hillside, she reeled her arm back, and grabbed at something…

Amulets began raining down from above, forcing Hiyori to begin dancing out of the way of them.

"Here!"

Suika tossed a black orb forward, which flew into the floor, and expanded.

...Snow, sticks, dead leaves, and amulets began getting pulled into the black orb. Reimu flew in the opposite direction, and Hiyori followed her example, beginning to run in the opposite direction along with her.

' _Is that a black hole!?_ '

Reimu stopped firing to cease feeding it.

After a moment, the black hole collapsed inward, and-

Fwoo~m!

A torrent of flames flowed outward. They didn't go far from the initial radius of the black hole, however. Suika began stepping through it, her chains jangling as she slowly waltzed through the flames. "Oh? Wha' was that? Are y'not _oni_ enough to be able to bark back?"

Hiyori glared at her.

Hiyori tried PK Freeze γ!

KaKaKoo~...

The tried and true snowflake shaped pattern of ice crystals generated once again, only to freeze and thaw rapidly as if the force of winter were being particularly indecisive that day.

Boom!

The blast of icy air didn't visibly do anything.

...Amulets began pelting Suika from above.

"Grrrh…" She glares up at Reimu. "Piss _off!_ "

Generating an orb of light in her left hand, she reels back and tosses it upwards.

Reimu spins out of the way, the light orb traveling at an insane, constant speed as it soared through the air, and into the ground near Hiyori-

Boom!

It bounced off the floor, creating a shockwave that nearly threw Hiyori off balance. It then continued to bounce down the path…

Boom! Boom! Boom…

...It dissipated in the distance.

"Dream Sign!" Reimu announced, drifting closer. "Evil Sealing Circle!"

Amulets whirled from her outfit; beneath her sleeves, and from ever other exposure on her costume. They then began surrounding Suika, forming a large circle around her.

At that, Suika grinned, shaking her head. "The hell's all this, now? Y'testin' just how _drunk_ I am!?"

Tilting her head back, she begins drinking from her gourd…

' _I'm half hoping Reimu doesn't really interfere much, but knowing the Hakurei's power…_ '

Then, Suika rips the gourd from her mouth, and leans forward, sticking her head out.

Fwoo~m!

Fire spurted from her mouth, out towards the amulets, catching them ablaze.

Reimu bared her teeth. "Gh…"

The fire soon spread to the other amulets, creating a circle of holy flames, which soon vaporized the amulets themselves.

' _Really wishing I had magic shielding about now…_ '

Suika continued towards Hiyori… "Oo~h, I'm gonna beat the sober outta ya!"

Leaping into the air, Suika lifted her gourd up, as if preparing to smack down with it.

Hiyori furrowed her brows. ' _Is she going to smack me with…_ '

Suddenly, the gourd grew to ten times its normal size.

' _That!?_ '

Hiyori braced herself, leaping into the air-

Bam!

She was sent flying, her light shield flaring from the powerful strike.

Smashing into a tree, she winced.

' _Wo-wow…_ '

The forest rumbled as Suika's gourd crushed the ground under it. It began retracting into its former shape…

"Look out below, ze!"

Suika jerked her head to lock her gaze upon a newcomer, when she saw a welcoming gift coming her way…

Boom!

The magical bomb engulfed Suika, staggering her.

"Grrh…" Suika growled. "Don'cha _bitches_ know that it's rude ta interrupt an oni's quarrel!?"

"I ain't just about to let Reimu go it alone!" Marisa counters. "I'm gonna blow ya _both_ away!"

' _This witch… She looks versed in magic._ ' Hiyori eyed her warily. ' _I really, really need a magic shield!_ '

A beam of light shot from Hiyori's shield, in retaliation of the former gourd hit.

It homed in on Suika, and struck her in the face.

'Hehe~y!" She spun around for a moment, before coming to a stop. "Wh' even _was_ that…?"

"I've got Suika!" Marisa exclaims. "You get tall horns!"

"Hey!" Reimu objects to this. "Suika's the one I'm pissed at! You take care of the other oni!"

"Pffft…" Marisa shakes her head as she circles the battlefield. "Alright, Reimu. _You_ get the harder one."

' _Here we go…_ '

Suika looks up at Reimu. "I'm tellin' ya, shriney, if ya don't leave me alone, I'll-"

"Holy Relic!" Reimu holds out her arms, a magical circle forming around her. "Yin-Yang Demon God Orb!"

A large, blue ball flew from her, and began descending on Suika.

"Hey, woah!" Suika stumbled out of the way, and fell to the floor.

Boom!

The mere impact of her falling was enough to up-end a nearby tree with a shockwave.

' _I feel severely outclassed, here…_ '

Marisa hovers threateningly overhead, but before Hiyori can focus on her, the blue orb Reimu dropped became a blindingly bright mass of light.

' _Ghh…_ '

Then, star shaped danmaku began bombarding Hiyori.

"Gah…!" She felt herself be pushed back by the lime green and yellow stars.

"Eyes on me, ze!" Marisa shouts down at her from above. "Today you'll be flyin' Marisa Airlines! Thank you, and goodbye!"

Hiyori considers her options. ' _Surely she's not as powerful as Suika, so…_ '

Hiyori tried PK Freeze γ!

KaKaKoo~...

The freezing and thawing snowflake tracked Marisa, harassing her as she tried to fly away from it.

"A-ah, wh-what the hell…!?" She grimaced down at the pattern…

Boom!

"Huaa~h!" She was sent flying off her broom, which doubled back and caught her, changing her direction drastically. "...I-ice magic, ze…?"

Hiyori smirked up at her. "This fight is mine."

Pausing in the air, Marisa aimed her Mini-Hakkero down at Hiyori. "Na~h."

' _Hmm? Is that a gun of hers?_ ' Hiyori braced herself.

Suddenly, Reimu popped in behind her.

Whack!

' _Where'd she come from…?_ ' Hiyori rubbed the back of her head, when Reimu popped away again-

Bam!

Suika landed a solid punch straight into Hiyori's back.

"Guah!?" Hiyori was sent flying forward, her shield sending out two beams to compensate for the blows Reimu and Suika gave her.

Suika was staggered by the counter-beam, while Reimu outright blocked hers with a barrier.

"Love Sign…" The Mini-Hakkero began glowing. "Master Spaaa~rk!"

Vrrrrrrr~!

From it, came a massive, love-fueled magical laser of cataclysmic proportions, the hum of it dominating the battlefield by large. Due to being launched by Suika, Hiyori managed to escape with her arm being clipped…

' _That burns that burns…!_ ' Hiyori couldn't recall the last time she was burned like that…

"Huaaa~gh!" Suika was caught dead-center in the blast.

' _No!_ ' She grimaced. ' _This was supposed to be_ my _fight…!_ '

...Glaring, she decided to engage the witch.

Hiyori tried PK Starstorm α!

From the midday sky, stars loudly descend to home in on the witch.

Hearing the incoming violence, she looks up…

"Wh-whah!?"

Bolting out of the way, Marisa is trailed by a series of homing stars. "Oh, I know _your_ game…!"

She draws a mana bomb from under her hat, and begins flying straight up. The stars follow her, all bunched together in one yellow mass, moving vertically after her.

Dropping the mana bomb, she grins to herself.

…

Boom!

A large orb of mana hung in the sky, obliterating the stars that followed her.

' _No way…_ '

Suika slowly edges towards Hiyori, as she punches back giant yin-yang orbs that bounced across the ground.

"Oi, Nori…" She faces the other oni once the orbs dissipate. "Whaddaya say we put that brawl on hold, ah? Th' shrine maiden 'n' her lackey're bein' shitheads today."

"...I guess." Hiyori sighs.

' _My mana is running low…_ '

Brandishing her only canteen of water, Hiyori chugs it.

Suika's eyes widen. "...Wha~h!? You _do_ drink!?"

...Hiyori stares at her blankly. "It's water."

"Like hell it is!" Grinning, Suika moves to approach Hiyori for a hug. "You stupid clown! Hahaha~!"

"Divine Arts! Sky Conquering Wind God Kick!"

Rolling her eyes, Suika turned around. "Whaddaya-"

Bam!

Reimu's sandal collided with Suika's face, to little effect. Suika moved to grapple her, but Reimu vanished in a torrent of wind.

Looking around-

Bam!

Hiyori was staggered by a sandal to the back of her head from Reimu. A beam shot out in retaliation, but flew straight into a tree, since Reimu was gone.

' _How hard does she hit…?_ '

"Black Magic! Event Horizon!" Marisa floats over the two oni, casting her spell card.

Seven magic circles formed around her, and slowly spread out, generating a spiral of rainbow colored, star shaped bullets, all of which surrounded the party.

Suika blinked rapidly. "A-ah, Nori, hit the deck!" Suika threw her arm upward, sending four tiny caricatures of herself up at Marisa.

"Ah- get off!" Marisa began punching them, but they were too persistent.

Reimu suddenly appeared from the air around Marisa, kicking into one of the Suikas.

"Guaa~h!"

The tiny Suika fell to her doom, plopping down on the dirt next to the two oni.

Leaping up, Marisa took her broom, and smashed it into Reimu's thigh by accident, when aiming for her foot.

"He-hey!" Reimu spun once in the air, and glared at her.

"Sorry, Reimu-ze!" From there, the mage picked the mini-Suika's from her broom. "Had ta remove some ticks!"

Each one that hit the floor turned to mist, returning to Suika's being.

The magic circles Marisa generated revolved around her, homing back towards her being, spirals of non-elemental star magic spreading out from her being.

' _Uh oh…_ ' Hiyori gritted her teeth as the stars bombarded her arms. "T-too many…"

Suika frowned. "Graa~h!"

With a toss, another black hole flew forward, and began sucking in the stars that were coming for the two.

Hiyori tried Lifeup α!

She felt the fatigue from the danmaku bombardment ease…

' _There we go._ '

...The black hole began fading out, but the spell card was still going.

"Damn…" Suika began looking around for Reimu. "Where's that maiden!?"

Hiyori tried PK Freeze γ!

KaKaKoo~...

Once again, Marisa was assaulted by winter.

"No-not again…!"

Boom!

Partially frozen, Marisa's spell card dissipated as she spiralled to the floor. "U-uhm…!"

Reimu darted out from behind the trees. "Marisa~!"

Holding up her gohei as she neared her, she cast some glowing, golden ofuda towards her.

The ofuda struck the ice, vaporizing it on contact. Violent sparks of holy energy were produced as the ice was blasted away.

Before she hit the ground, Marisa righted herself, taking off again. "Thanks, Reimu-ze! Here!"

From her hat, she pulled out a blue potion, and tossed it to Reimu.

Greedily accepting it, Reimu took a moment to stare at it… "I'm not even low on mana!"

"I know! Save it for a rainy day!" Her witch friend shouted back.

...Glancing down at the two oni, Reimu prepares again… "Spirit Sign! Fantasy Orb!"

...Hiyori turned to Suika, only to find she vanished into mist. ' _Wh-what?_ '

Rainbow colored orbs of energy shot from Reimu, and homed in on Hiyori.

' _That's enough!_ '

Hiyori moves to parry the orbs-

Boom!

' _Owch!_ '

Bam, boom!

' _Ho-holy…_ '

Boom, bam, bam, boom!

...Left dazed, Hiyori stumbled towards the woods after the magic rocked her body.

' _Wow…Th-that..._ '

"Marisa, now!"

"Two onis for the price of one!" Marisa grins wildly. "Loving Heart, Double Spaaa~rk!"

' _Double!?_ '

VRRRRR~!

Two immense lasers of lovely, rainbow energy split down the dirt path ahead, cleaving through trees, brush, and everything else in their wake.

Including Hiyori, and presumably Suika, somewhere.

"Aaaa~h!"

' _Ev-everything…!_ ' Hiyori began recalling what she went through to get magic in the first place…

RRRrrrr~...

The beams eventually died out, leaving a half-dead Hiyori lying in a pile of fallen trees.

…

Hiyori tried Lifeup ß!

' _Ow, ow, ow, ow…_ '

She clambered from the trees, only to find Reimu there.

"Youkai Buster!" She true three, sharp red ofuda, and shot them at Hiyori.

Slap, slap, slap!

"Guh…" Hiyori kneeled, the red ofuda suddenly linking to the floor with pulsating red lines.

"Wahaha~!" Suika laughed in the distance, splitting up to dodge multiple large, exploding star-shaped projectiles. "Yowza~! Wow, wow, wow…!"

...Reimu sighed. "This looks to be about over." She turned to Hiyori. "Still proud about what you did?"

...Hiyori glared at her. ' _It-it's hard to reply when you're being_ violently assaulted _by magical energy!_ '

Receiving no response, Reimu lifted her gohei. "I'll give you some time to cool off, then."

SMAAAA~SH!

…

Thud.

…

"Ru~n in circles!" A horde of tiny Suikas exclaimed, scuffling about on the forest floor.

"Uu~h…" Marisa stared down at them, awkwardly. "...I don't think Suika's pissed anymore, ze."

...Reimu floats over them menacingly. "I am."

She held her gohei high in the air. "Omnidirectional Demon Binding Circle!"

Reimu said 'let there be ofuda'.

And there was ofuda.

"Uwaaaa~h!" The mini-Suikas all let out exaggerated cries.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

END OF CHAPTER 22

Protagonist: Hikari Hakurei, Disciple of Paradise

-Inventory-

Weapon: Miracle Gohei - Ability to whack stuff really hard. Amplifies whacking power, too! Able to deal magical damage. Adds an increased chance to deal critical hits.

Arms: Iconic Hakurei Arm Sleeves - Keeps arms warm. A Hakurei tradition. How they stay on is a Hakurei family secret.

Body: Combat Miko Outfit - A black leotard and hakama combination worn by the previous-previous Hakurei miko. Designed to be suitable for excessive physical activity and close combat, it slightly improves physical combat prowess. Now with less sideboob!

Misc: Royal Red Ribbon - A ribbon made with rich materials, with a floral pattern.

-Skills-

Attack: Quickly! Swing your gohei at them for massive damage!

PK Fantasy α, β, γ - Bombards the enemy with pain in the form of flashing colors. Deals magical damage. Heavy mental strain that increases with each tier. Third tier forms a barrier, which breaks upon moderate damage.

PK Flash α, ß - A bright flash that distributes very random status effects to enemies. Usually makes people cry. Higher tiers increase chances, and introduce possibilities of fainting or dispel.

Hypnosis α, Ω - Puts weak enemies to sleep for a short time. Works better on tired or exhausted foes. Can also be used in a far more costly form that works on multiple opponents.

Shield α, ß - Halves damage the target takes. Only works against physical attacks, and enough strikes, or powerful strikes, will dispel it. Higher tier turns it into a power-shield that protects even better and even reflects a fraction of protected damage.

Lifeup α, ß, γ - Heals target a little. Higher tiers heal more grievous wounds, like bone fractures.

Healing α, ß, γ - Heals basic status ailments. Higher tiers can cure more dire effects, like burning alive.

Teleport α - Allows instant transport to the general location of an area remembered by oneself or one's party members. Requires a long, fast run-up to execute, however.

Ofuda Toss - Throw a holy ofuda that does massive holy elemental damage to youkai and dark elemental foes. Effect lessens the more holy the thing you're attacking is, to the point of healing holy things. Only works if you actually have ofuda, though.

γ-γ-γ-γ

Mage: Osamu Katsumi, the Wannabe Mage

-Inventory-

Weapon: Fisticuffs!

Arms: Nothing

Body: Dated Village Magician Robes - An old robe from the days when the village respected the medium of magic. Now actually looks navy blue, instead of black!

Misc: Yukkuri Beanie - Resembles a really tacky tablecloth, made in the Yukkuri theme. Lime green and has tons of fun yukkuri decals!

-Skills-

PK Thunder α, ß - Very random thunder attack that deals limited damage. Higher tiers increase number of bolts, and sometimes power.

PK Hydro α, β, γ - Gets everyone wet. Usefulness with PK Thunder and PK Freeze depends on whether you hit yourself or not! Creates whirling water spirals at higher tiers.

PK Freeze α, β, γ, Ω - Generates ice crystals at the target's location. Medium damage and effect; may freeze some targets, especially wet ones. Highest tier has a near-guaranteed freeze chance and immense ice damage, at the cost of being very taxing.

Fireball - Manipulate mana to make a shoddy fireball. Low damage and effect.

Static Hands - Not a real spell. Result of a very undercharged PK Thunder that can accidentally go off.

PSI Telepathy α - Speak to friends you haven't met yet! Unstable connection and only works if they have the skill or are asleep.

PSI Shield α, Σ - Halves damage from magical and psychic attacks. Thunder spells fry it instantly, and harder blows dispel it. Second tier applies basic shield to entire party at higher mana expense.

PSI Magnet α - Costs no mana to use, and steals a very tiny amount of mana from the enemy. Enemy has to have mana in the first place for it to work, though.

Offense Up α - Get pissed! Boosts strength and confidence depending on caster's power and receiver's power.

Defense Down α - Throw the enemy off their game. Makes them slightly more vulnerable to physical attacks.

γ-γ-γ-γ

Inventor: Marigold Knowledge, the Tri-Magi Love Child

-Inventory-

Weapon: Spectrum Shotgun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Filled with foil chip bags to conduct the mana, and it is transmitted into a wind stone. Upgraded to draw mana from a simple wooden block filled with immense magic reserves, giving it virtually unlimited ammo. The addition of a battery and a prism allow it to fire seven rainbow colored beams at a wide spread, which deal non-elemental damage. Firing long enough allows them to focus and deal incredible damage, at the cost of insane recoil and instability.

Arms: Nothing

Body: Custom Adventure Dress - A custom dress made by Alice. Provides slight defense against magical and psychic attacks. Now allows freer movement with a shorter skirt, and a more flexible material.

Misc: Swirly Glasses - Lets Marigold not be blind.

Backpack - Allows extended inventory. Aged relic from the Kourindou.

Unnamed Lock Opening Device - Opens locks very precariously. Made with steel, burnt cloth, packaging peanuts, thumbtacks, string, and wooden wheels. Don't even ask…

Ruler - Lets you measure the world around you!

Protractor - Lets you find the angles of anything ever. Totally overpowered.

Scotch Tape - Transparent adhesive from the outside world. Weak, but handy!

Deck of Cards - Allows Marigold to play Strip Poker with the party. Just kidding… or am I?

Shield Killer - Electrical device used to subdue harassers. Has settings ranging from Tickle Torture to Arse Blaster. Fires electrical projectiles, of unknown Burst Gun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Uses a Pop Gun as the base, but amplifies its power with an array of random batteries jammed into the base with the Pop Gun. The more batteries, the better, but the typical yield is about five bullets per trigger. Spamming the trigger doesn't make it go any faster, unfortunately. Has no foreseeable ammo limit, and the batteries are only there for mana circulation, meaning their power is really inconsequential.

Holmes Brand Designer Hat - Village swag! A retro village hat that ceased production ten years ago. Sells for a pretty penny nowadays, but it's pretty useless otherwise.

Slime Generator - A bulky box that shoots a small splat of slime. Doesn't seem good for much.

Counter-PSI Device - A weird device Marigold found from a flying saucer. Works in strange ways, and seems to disrupt everyone's concentration. Marigold is immune to its effects.

Charm of Sleep - Grants immunity to sleep while equipped. Can be equipped to Arms or Misc.

Microwave Gun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Constructed with a controlled flame crystal and metal parts, it fires a beam of sustained microwave energy that cooks biological foes alive. Fire-elemental at its core, it's also very inefficient against machines.

Lotion Dispenser - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Made of a broom, a showerhead, some magnets, and uses jars of water as ammo. Slapped together with ofuda, giving it unknown holy properties. The jars are usually filled with Talcum Powder, for no discernible reason. The liquid that is dispensed becomes auto-applying lotion, as a result of the above.

-Skills-

Member of the Hakurei Sobriety Patrol - They call her Marigold Neverdrink, yo. Her partner in crime is Hiyori S. Sober.

Enjoys Gummy Bears - Sometimes...!

Will Help You out of Her Town with an Iron Fist - Your life's in danger, every enemy's a stranger...!

Can Laydown a Sick Flute Solo - The manor is sadly lacking in flutes, she realized.

Found Out Kingdom Hearts was Light - She was rather disappointed.

γ-γ-γ-γ

Fighter: Hiyori Hashimoto, the Buddhist Oni

-Inventory-

Weapon: Fisticuffs!

Arms: Shackle of Devas - The first of the four treasures held by the Devas of the Mountain. Grants immunity to sleep-inducing magic. Grants fifty percent resistance to wind and thunder magic.

Body: Kimono of Devas - The second of the four treasures held by the Devas of the Mountain. Grants immunity to paralyzing magic. Grants fifty percent resistance to fire magic. Insanely durable. Has a floral design to it…!

Misc: Nothing

-Skills-

PK Starstorm α - Summons forth the stars from the night's sky to rain down upon enemies. Hits all enemies, and deals high magical damage, at the cost of being highly mentally taxing. Can hit allies if they're in the effective area, as the white stars don't have homing properties. Power proportional to amount of enemies, as well.

PK Fire α, ß - Creates an igniting blast of flames at the target's location. More impact comes with higher tiers.

PK Freeze α, β, γ - Generates ice crystals at the target's location. Medium damage and effect; may freeze some targets, especially wet ones.

Shield α, ß, Σ - Halves damage the target takes. Only works against physical attacks, and enough strikes, or powerful strikes, will dispel it. Higher tier turns it into a power-shield that protects even better and even reflects a fraction of protected damage. Highest tier applies a basic shield to the entire party.

Lifeup α, ß - Heals target a little. Higher tiers heal more grievous wounds, like bone fractures.

Healing α, ß - Heals basic status ailments. Higher tiers can cure more dire effects, like burning alive.

Teleport α, ß - Allows instant transport to the general location of an area remembered by oneself or one's party members. Requires a long, fast run-up to execute, however. Higher tier is largely automatic and requires little room to execute.

Martial Arts - Skilled in hand-to-hand combat.

γ-γ-γ-γ

Author's Note:

another chapter of ONI VIOLENCE

kinda marks the end of the ONI TO HUNT DOWN though, but not the end of the SIDEQUEST

reimu and marisa also kinda hijacked the fight . w .

kimono grants paralyzing immunity, yo…!

hiyori is very much more agile than poo was, because she's a freakin' oni. this is kinda why i'm not givin' her brainshock, 'cause an oni with debuff ability is just TOO MUCH POWER FOR ONE WOMAN…

or, at least, for a typical oni

...suika also wasn't fighting 100%, or else she'd be going attack on titan on their asses and would probably break the shrine in the process, and get even more of an ass whooping from reimu in the end

hiyori is not well equipped to deal with the main incident resolvers on her own, unfortunately; even a powerful attack like starstorm is kinda MEH in comparison to just about ANY of marisa's standard moves

this is why hikari's team is a TEAM, YO

POWER OF FRIENDSHIP and strategy and lifeup (a severely hacky spell all jrpg protagonists get for no explicit reason in-universe which throws off the balance of the entire planet)

then again i'd say there SHOULD be natural trade-offs to getting something so POWERFUL

...as always, see you all next time!

oh wow i had this done for like a week but forgot to upload it; sorry about that! XD


	23. Achievement Hakurei

...Hikari stared at the bottom of her glass of orange juice, shaking it over her mouth as if that would usher forth more.

' _I need a gourd that produces infinite orange juice._ ' She slowly lowered the glass. ' _That'd be the bomb._ '

Osamu stared into his glass. "...The hell's this?"

"Grape juice." Hikari defines.

"...Got nothin' on grape _soda_." He pouts.

"Everything here's pretty much fine." Marigold shrugs.

...Stomping is heard from the shrine's main door. The party glances over, to find Marisa slowly stepping in with Hiyori slung over her shoulder.

' _I'm not surprised._ '

...After noticing the party's stares, she grinned. "Bagged myself an oni, ze."

...Reimu floated in behind them, pulling along Suika. The oni was slapped with a myriad of seals all over, but didn't seem much more than slightly disgruntled about it.

"...Hic!" Suika grinned widely.

In response, Reimu whirled to her. " _You're_ fixing this."

"Aa~h… yeah." Scratching the back of her head, she idly glances the door.

Reimu takes notice. "I don't mean the fairies, either. I mean _you._ "

"Yeah, yeah…" She waves the miko off.

Marisa plopped Hiyori on the floor. "Whadda we do with this one?"

Walking up to her, Reimu puts a hand to her chin. "...You know what? Hikari can decide. She's _her_ oni, I guess."

' _...Why'd you have to bring_ me _into this? Then again, Hiyori's my friend..._ '

Reluctantly, Hikari does a short hop out off of her seat at the bar stool.

"Whaddaya say, ze?" Marisa grinned at her.

' _...Well, she didn't do anything wrong herself, I think…_ ' Taking a moment, Hikari stares down at her…

…

' _What would I even punish her with?_ ' Hikari realized.

…

"Uu~h…" Marisa felt awkward. "...You could always say no-"

"She has to decide on something." Reimu decides herself.

"Oh. Nevermind, then... " Marisa giggled sheepishly.

Hikari furrowed her brows. "It's not like she did anything wrong, did she?"

…

"She provoked Suika." Reimu stared at her daughter with a steely gaze.

"I didn't even know Suika _could_ be provoked." The younger Hakurei countered.

Scowling, Reimu turns to Suika. "She can, when she wants to be…"

...Hikari blinks. ' _You mean…?_ '

Noticing the questioning gaze of her daughter, Reimu grins. "Mmm. Don't get me wrong, she was probably angry, but Suika knows how to watch herself. Even if she's angry, she usually resolves things with minimal cleaning up needed afterwards." At that, she sighs. "...Which is why I'm upset. She could have just _moved it outside_."

"Maybe she wanted ta make a good first impression on 'er?" Marisa gave a toothy smile.

"They knew each other. They had to have." Reimu counters. "If Suika felt like it, that could have been a _far_ harder fight than it was. We would have had to evacuate the kids."

Osamu frowned. "Hey! Who're ya callin' a kid!?"

...Reimu stares at him dryly.

Marigold fluffs up, ready to object, but ends up just nodding it off instead.

' _We pretty much are._ ' Hikari agrees with that sentiment. ' _Except for Hiyori._ '

"Yeah, I hear ya." Marisa concurs. "Suika seemed ta drop the shit near the end, there."

...They both turned to Suika, who was still chugging from her gourd.

"Explain." Reimu tried.

...Thud.

Suika fell over, a happy expression spread across her face.

...Reimu walked up to her, and punted her. Suika didn't react. "Lazy drunk."

"Bet she ain't even asleep." Marisa gives a half-smirk.

...Marigold stepped towards Suika, taking out her Charm of Sleep. "I'll be the judge of that."

Blinking, Marisa realized her plan. "Y-you got one of them…?"

Looming over Suika, Marigold dropped the charm onto her flat chest. "Yeah, from the shrine."

"Ahah… No problems, right?" Marisa sounded nervous.

"No?" Marigold wasn't sure what she was on about.

…

"A-awuh…?" Suika's eyes blinked open. "...A-ah, shit…"

From the floor, she drew her gourd, and chugged again.

Leaning down, Marigold lifted the charm back up…

Thud. Suika's head flopped against the floor, again.

"Wow." Marigold stares at the small oni… "She's out of it."

Reimu huffed. "Apparently."

This idea in mind, Marigold made her way over to Hiyori, and pressed it to her cheek. The shackle on Hiyori's arm began glowing, but nothing else happened.

…

"Anyway," Reimu's attention shifted back to her daughter. "Did you decide on a punishment for her, yet?"

' _Oh. Uhm…_ ' Hikari felt she had to think fast. "...N-no. I'm not punishing her."

...

The flat, vaguely impatient stare from her mother drilled into her.

' _I-I mean…_ '

…

"I've got an idea." Osamu raises his hand.

Reimu corrects him. "No you don't."

...He slowly lowers his hand.

"...I _guess_ I can't force you to do anything." Reimu finally relents, sighing again.

With that, she began walking idly towards her room. "Let me know if Suika wakes up."

…

"Eheh…" Marisa scratched the back of her head. "I was gonna ask her if I could crash, too, ze…"

"Hnh…"

Hiyori slowly, steadily sat up…

Hiyori tried Lifeup ß!

"Th-there…" She tried to krik her neck again, only for no noise to be produced. "...Still sore."

' _...I want to actually follow my mother's advice this time._ ' Hikari gazed down at Hiyori, looking determined. ' _I've heard that line from her far, far too often. It's about time that I actually did something…_ '

"You." Hikari pointed her gohei at her.

Marigold and Osamu looked at Hikari with bated breath, unsure of what she intended.

"...Hmm?" Hiyori readjusted her hair, as she focused her attention on Hikari.

"Tonight, you have snack duty." Hikari resolves. "...Or drink duty, because I don't think we have snacks."

...Hiyori nods. "Fair enough."

"Du~de…" Osamu begins nodding enthusiastically.

Hikari decides to make an amendment. "Except for Osamu. He has to get his own drinks."

"Wha~t!?" He suddenly hollers.

"...I mean, you're going to be sleeping _next_ to the drinks, anyway." Hikari figures. "It wouldn't make any sense."

"How do _you_ know that?" Osamu folded his arms.

...She gives him a half-grin. "Tell me what other rooms there are in the shrine."

…

"The bathroom." Osamu smirks.

"U~h…" Marisa smirks back at him.

Hikari snorts. "We don't have a bathroom."

…

"Shit." Osamu cursed. "It's not like you guys're poor, though…"

"Shrines are weird." Hikari explains.

Mournfully, Marigold shakes her head. "I feel sorry for you."

"...My house is only one room." Hiyori ponders. "The city has lava-filled toilets, though."

' _Ouch._ '

With that, the girls all began getting ready for bed as the sun set…

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

The three girls of the party were in Hikari's bedroom.

Hiyori stared down at her pajamas, which were a copy of Hikari's. Unfortunately, the shrine maiden was far shorter than her oni friend.

"This hardly even fits me."

...Marigold nods, acknowledging this. "Yeah, it doesn't…"

"I might wanna reconsider the 'drink duty' thing…" Hikari wasn't into the idea of letting Osamu see a partially exposed Hiyori…

"I'd prefer if I had _some_ form of discipline for losing that fight." Hiyori reasoned.

' _...Why?_ ' Hikari wasn't sure what to make of that decision. ' _Guess she's more into honor than I thought…_ '

…

"Idea." Marigold casually brings attention to herself.

' _...Uh oh._ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: OSAMU'S VIEW ====

' _Ma~n…_ '

Drowsily, Osamu laid his head on the bar counter, staring woefully at the empty barrel which had once held soda…

' _Why does she never stock it? What's wrong with soda!?_ '

...As he brooded over the loss of his favored beverage, the door to Hikari's room slid open…

His attention snagged, he gazed at the door in the dark shrine, as a tall figure emerged…

A futon with legs walked out, stumbling around on bare feet as it made its way to the drinks…

"...What." Osamu simply blinked.

Stumbling around, the futon bumped into the counter, then the drink rack, before-

Rip! Rip!

Hiyori's long arms shot out from the futon's cloth, ripping it open. She randomly grasped at drinks, before quickly shuffling back toward's Hikari's door-

Bam!

-denting the wall as she collided with it, then shuffling inside Hikari's door. The door shut behind her, giggling heard from the other side.

…

"Girls are fucking _weird._ "

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIKARI'S VIEW ====

Eagerly, Hikari and Marigold took the drinks from Hiyori's arms.

"Did- did I get enough?" Hiyori's muffled voice came from the walking futon.

"I think so." Hikari voiced, examining the drinks…

' _Cherry smoothie… Banana cream… Ah!_ ' Hikari grabbed the jug of orange juice.

"...Sake." Marigold noted, holding up a vase-esque jug, before setting it aside. "No thanks."

' _Yuck._ '

She sat the sake aside, and began going through the drink types herself.

"...Mango mayhem." Marigold was befuddled.

"Don't ask." Hikari grinned.

Hiyori began sliding the futon from herself, undoing the tight ropes that held it in place. "...Your mother seems fond of juices."

Hikari nods. "Yeah. She kinda went overboard, once we actually started getting money."

' _I'm not sure how old I was, but I was young when Mom put that bar in. She's had to get it replaced about ten times, since. I almost consider it a holiday._ '

…

"Waa~h!" Thumps were heard from her mother's room.

' _Yeah, that's what usually happens._ '

Everyone can hear the progression of the night time combat, as the stomps transition to the shrine's main room…

"Oof!" Marisa lands on the floor, presumably.

"No." Reimu sternly declares. "Not happening."

"But- _c'mo~n!_ I promise I'll be good, ze!"

Reimu slides the kitchen door shut, leaving Marisa in the main room.

"Reimu-ze~!"

...Marigold sighed. "Not surprised."

"It sounds like they were having fun together." Hiyori idly mentions.

…

Hikari and Marigold stare at her with curious, equally idle looks.

"What?"

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

…

It was an early, overcast morning. The damp interior of the Hakurei Shrine was chilly. Were this summer, this day would have been marginally humid and sticky, but the season demanded otherwise.

' _S-so cold…_ '

Hikari rolled over in her futon, trying to sink into it…

' _...Nothing's helping._ '

She sat up in the shrine's dim light, white gloom pouring in from outside the room's large, open window.

Marigold slept in the ripped up guest futon, using her oversized backpack as a pillow. Her regular pillow was on top of her, acting as a pillow.

' _She would._ ' Hikari stared at her dryly. She looked over at Hiyori…

The oni was sprawled out on the floor, in her ill-fitting pajamas. She seemed perfectly comfortable.

' _How._ ' Hikari suddenly desired to be an oni.

...With little other choice than to get up, Hikari raises from her futon, moving over to the shrine's main room…

As she did, she cited the absences of the sake, and of a few other fruit juices that were supposed to be there the other night.

In the main room, Osamu was nowhere to be seen.

' _Wonder where he went..._ '

She power walked to the kotatsu-

' _Woah!_ '

…

She slowly climbed from the ridge in the floor that Suika made the other day.

' _Ugh…_ '

The kotatsu was in reach, and she moved to sit in it…

Her legs were stopped by something lumpy.

' _...That's where he went._ '

...Pushing him out of the way with her feet, she sat under the kotatsu, remaining idle for a good few minutes.

…

' _I almost wish we were underground again. Almost._ '

Suika was, too, sprawled out on the floor across from the kotatsu, apparently fine with the weather.

' _Oni would make good bed warmers._ ' Hikari didn't ponder that sentence very carefully.

…

The door of the kitchen slid open, a tired looking magician stumbling out.

"...Haa~h…" She yawned, before moving towards the kotatsu. Oblivious to the lump on one side and Hikari on the other, she went to slide her legs under.

"Uo~h…" Osamu groaned as he was violently evicted from his kotatsu home.

…

Reimu followed next, clad in a similar pair of pajamas to Hikari's, except a slight bigger. She also held her gohei.

As she approached the kotatsu, she evaluated the situation before her. After a moment, she came to a decision.

She stood behind Marisa for a moment, seemingly idle.

…

In one fluid motion, she slid her arms under Marisa's, and began sliding her out of the kotatsu.

"Wh-wha…!?" Marisa began struggling. "No…!"

Repeatedly, she tried to throw herself out of Marisa's grasp, before-

Bam!

The kotatsu tipped over, landing on Osamu.

…

"Wh-what the hell…!?" He began fighting it.

Marisa deflated, seeing the kotatsu tip over. "Why, Reimu? Why~?"

"Because."

…

Hikari reached for what kotatsu blanket was still near herself, and readjusted to be under it. ' _This is gonna be a slo~w morning…_ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Fully dressed and ready for their days, the party drowsily convened in the shrine's main room…

"It's _cold_." Osamu hugged himself.

Marigold stared at him sardonically. "You have a _bathrobe_ on."

Hiyori was the exception to the rule, being neither drowsy nor cold. "Maybe he's just cold blooded."

"...Yeah." Marigold nods to that. "Like a lizard."

He folds his arms, half-grinning. "Pick on Osamu day again, huh?"

' _Everyday is 'pick on Osamu' day._ '

Reimu yawned from the kotatsu.

"Anyway…" Hikari attempted to get everyone back on track. "Where should we go, today?"

' _We've been to 'old' Hell, and we've been to Heaven. We climbed a mountain in reverse, and we've apparently missed a sanctuary location, or something._ '

Hiyori put a hand to her chin, thinking…

"We could hang at my place…?" Osamu looked inquisitive, grinning sheepishly as he held his arms up in a shrug…

"That'd probably be even _damper_." Marigold slouched.

"...Yeah." Osamu admitted, slouching himself. "...Can we go back to bed?"

"I second that." Marigold agreed with him, for once.

"Aaa~h, yer all just a _buncha_ lazy kids…"

Suika grinned as she stumbled in from outside, holding two sake bottles in each arm.

Reimu blinked at her. "...Where'd all that come from?"

"I won 'em in a drinkin' contest." Suika winked.

...Reimu's stare became critical. "You stole them from the shrine's back rooms."

"...Y'er psychic." Suika accused her, expression freezing.

The two stared off for a few moments.

' _...Is there going to be another battle?_ '

…

Quickly, Suika rushed up to Hiyori, and began trying to shove the bottles into her arms. "Quick, Nori! Save th' _booze!_ "

"Wh-what!?" Hiyori tensed up, grabbing the bottles to prevent them from falling and breaking. "N-no, I'm not…"

Suika began running off with one bottle, which caught Reimu's attention. She floated up from the kotatsu. "Suika!"

The tiny oni froze, almost out the door, with her foot just above the boundary.

"Sui~ka~..." Reimu warningly pronounced her name. "Don't."

...Turning back, Suika smirked, and teased pressing her sandal onto the other side.

Every time it got close to the wooden porch outside, Reimu darted towards her. When she lifted it back up, Reimu slowly floated back over the kotatsu.

…

' _This is silly._ ' Hikari had an idea. ' _...This'll be great._ '

Turning to Osamu, she whispered to him. "Buff me."

Osamu jerked his head back.

She sighed. "The strength."

"Oo~h." He rolled his eyes.

Osamu tried Offense Up α!

Hikari slowly progressed to one of the shrine's side doors. When her party members turned to her, she put a finger to her lips, and gestured for them to stay, only adding to their confusion.

Like that, Hikari went around the shrine's perimeter, before coming up behind Suika…

Said oni was stifling giggles as she rapidly raised and lowered her foot above the outer porch, eyes on the mobile Reimu the entire time.

Osamu beamed once he realized what she was doing…

Osamu tried Offense Up α!

Hikari gestured for more…

Osamu tried Offense Up α!

She continued…

Osamu tried Offense Up α!

Her arm began jerking naturally with the movement…

Osamu tried Offense Up α!

Now, Hikari naturally jittered, her body's subtle movements now amplified to stupid insane levels.

Osamu tried Offense Up α!

Hikari tried to gesture for him to stop, only to almost fling herself. ' _Wh-whoah!_ '

He and Marigold chuckled.

...Reluctantly and carefully, Hikari raised her gohei behind Suika's head. Reimu had stopped, observing what was about to happen…

...Suika rose a brow. "Awwh. She got smart…"

...She turned to Hikari.

The junior shrine maiden swung.

SMAAAA~SH!

"Huwoaa~h!" Suika stumbled back a step, stomping down into the floor-

Crack!

She fell into the floor.

' _Mission completed._ ' Hikari smiled. Upon moving to pump her fist into the air, she accidentally uppercutted into the air-

Thunk…

She fell from the roof, landing on the floor.

' _Ouch._ '

"Waahahahaha~!" The unusually quiet, but understandably drowsy Marisa laughed her ass off, becoming neither drowsy nor unusually quiet. "Wh-... wh' even…!?"

"...Damn!" Suika chuckled from her hole in the floor. "Reimu, whaddaya feedin' her!? Nails 'n' booze?"

...Reimu sighed, trying her best to look pissed, only to break a grin moments later. "I-I don't even…"

…

Everyone became idle after the event, Reimu floating back down to her kotatsu, and the party convening once again.

Hikari tried to get up-

"Whu…?"

Soaring through the air, she landed on the kotatsu, tipping it over as she slid across it.

Bam…

...Landing on her back on the other side, she looked concerned. ' _Maybe this was a bad idea…_ '

...Reimu leaned over her. "You still gotta fix that hole in the front, though."

' _Ugh._ '

Reimu began walking away...

"Is- is there a thing for dispelling enchantments?" Hikari blushed as she called out to her mother.

"Mmm. I was just going to prepare it." Reimu smirked.

' _Dang it…_ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Osamu got his wish and slept in for the day, while Marigold looked over her weapons, and Hiyori scouted the nearby woods out of curiosity.

A bright seal faded over Hikari's form, feathery light leaving her side…

"There." Reimu nods. "Don't do anything stupid like that when I'm not around."

' _I'm pretty sure the buffs faded while she was prepping the seal…_ ' Hikari awkwardly considered. ' _I don't think that'd get translated if I told her that._ '

Hikari sat up from the floor, smiling. "Thanks, Mom."

...Reimu smiled back. "No problem."

Osamu stood up from behind the bar counter. "I'm _ali~ve!_ "

Marigold looked over from the nearby kotatsu, with a snort. "...Someone likes his sleep."

...Looking around the room, Hikari noticed someone absent. "Where'd Hiyori go?"

"Out with Suika." Reimu scoffed. "...You know."

" _Scouting._ " Marigold annotates as she stared closely at the side of her Air Gun…

"Sure." Reimu didn't argue.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIYORI'S VIEW ====

The moist woods were no trouble for the kimono-clad oni, and her tiny companion.

"I'd expect to see more trouble." Hiyori's gaze panned around the peaceful woods…

"Ah. Well, y'know…" Suika put her arms up behind her head. "...I've kinda been up here awhile."

"Youkai learn, then." Hiyori nods…

From the bushes ahead of them, a spider girl skittered out.

…

"Nope. Not human." She sighed. "...Then aga~in, you'd only be close to the shrine if you _were_ human…"

Hiyori pointed up at her horns.

"...Oh." The pink haired spider blushed, before skittering away.

...Suika grinned. "I woulda just thrashed her."

Hiyori rolled her eyes. "I'd prefer to do things the _peaceful_ way."

"Hah. Peace." Suika shook her head…

"I don't see you harassing the Hakurei." Hiyori counters.

…

Suika huffs. "And? I don't feel like it."

Hiyori grins. "...It's not like she's _forcing_ you to stay there, either."

Perking up, Suika holds an arm out. "Exactly! She lets me stay, we drink booze, and she don't freak out like a big baby, and…"

…

"You sound like friends." Triumphantly, the tall oni begins walking ahead.

"I- ah… well, yeah." She sighs. "Yea~h. Alright, I guess peace ain't all _that_ stupid."

' _I win._ ' Hiyori felt proud of herself…

"...But it still ain't right ta be peaceful to just anybody!" With renewed vigor, Suika strikes back. "Reimu's a friend. That itty bitty spider wasn't."

"She was itty bitty." Hiyori countered with Suika's diction.

"Exactly." The triumphant grin was on Suika's face now, but the taller oni wasn't sure why.

' _...I don't get it._ '

…

The two encounter a fallen tree trunk, and Suika just walks through it.

Bam!

…

A green-haired youkai sat inside, gaping. "Wh-waah! Fly, Rumia, fly!"

From the open end of the tree, a blonde youkai girl in black flew out, darting into the overcast day's fog.

…

The bug youkai put up his or her fists. "I won't let-..." He notices Suika staring at him. "I-I…"

Turning, the bug notices Hiyori, and grins. "I won't let you be the boss of me!"

He goes to punch Hiyori in the face, and it connects.

…

Hiyori blinks moments later, staring down at the bug blankly.

Looking up, the bug youkai noticed her horns…

…

"Do-don't hurt me!" Pushing against Hiyori, he bolted away, barreling through the bushes nearby.

' _I will say that the youkai up here sure aren't the same…_ '

"...Wha' was that?" Suika stared up at Hiyori, unimpressed.

She tilted her head.

"...How y'..." Suika shook her head. "Nevermind."

' _Was it how I let her go?_ '

…

The two oni continued through the foggy woods, stomping through wet terrain.

' _The kimono's getting dirty…_ ' Hiyori considered. ' _I wonder if I can just jump in a lake to clean it._ '

"Wha' brings ya up north, anyway?" Suika turns to Hiyori, before stepping into a deeper puddle.

Bloop.

Suika was submerged completely, bubbles coming from where she sank.

…

"Well…" Hiyori began.

As she continued walking, Suika plowed through the dirt beside her, slowly raising out of it as she walked through it and back up to the proper elevation. The mud on her slowly dissipated into mist.

"I wanted a change of pace." Hiyori confessed. "...I wanted to stop drinking, and I wanted to better myself. That, and I wanted to finally learn magic, like I always said I would…"

"...Mmm." Suika hummed.

"Now I'm on this adventure." Hiyori gestures to 'the adventure' as if it were beside her. "...I think I like this better. That, and it's new."

Suika snorted. "Yeah. I guess a thousand years 'a partyin' gets a little old, sometimes."

The two onis neared the Misty Lake, standing at its shore.

Hiyori took a deep breath, taking in the mist's scent.

…

"S'what's with the treasures?" Suika voices her wonder.

"...Right." Hiyori pauses, thinking about how to explain it. "First. Kasen gave me hers."

Suika snorted. "Typical. You'd like her, I know."

"I beat Konngara."

...Suika glared at her. " _Bullshit_. Where's her mace then, ah?"

"She said she lost it. Treasure collectors."

…

"...So y'did beat Konngara…" Suika was at a loss for words. "...Now just _how_ in the name 'a alcohol did a pipsqueak like _you_ pull that off?"

"We tied, actually" Hiyori amended with further thought.

"Oh." Suika was marginally less impressed, deflating. "...Don't tell me Yuugi just gave ya her's just 'cause ya sucked her clit, or somethin'."

' _...I'm not sure what to make of that._ ' Hiyori jerked her head back, but dismissed the thought. "Actually, it was because she was impressed by my progress. That, and recent events…"

Resolute, Suika folded her arms. "What a load 'a bull."

"That's why I'm on this adventure." Hiyori hoped the other oni would come to the realization Yuugi had.

"Fuckin' _bull!_ " Suika bared her teeth, glaring. "Don'cha use lil Hikari's playin' 'n' prancin' about ta justify yer snide, yellow-bellied…"

Trailing off, Suika clenched her fist, holding it up…

…

"Hikari's gotten stronger." Hiyori spoke levelly. "She's got an incident to solve."

Seemingly cooled off, Suika continued debating. "Since when did the Hakurei do it co-op style?"

' _I'm going to take a guess, and say Reimu didn't totally go it alone…_ '

"Marigold's mother." Hiyori's stare became dry.

Suika became equally dry. "When th' hell did other oni get observant?"

Hiyori fired back. "Since one became sober."

…

"Well. Damn." Suika was disgruntled. "Yer too fuckin' good at this 'peace' crap."

' _...What's that supposed to mean?_ ' Hiyori continued to stare dryly.

"...What kinda incident requires an oni wit' all the deva garb ta accompenn- accomfany-..." Scowling, Suika reeled her head back, and chugged from her gourd. "-Aah. Accompahnny?"

Hiyori grinned at her pronunciation trouble. "...One where the incident creator is a formless entity that possesses people."

...Suika nodded slowly. "Ah, shit. The Bunbunmaru was right, fer once, then…"

' _The what?_ '

...With that, Suika sighed. "...Alright. I'll give ya _one_."

' _Not that I wanted more. Also…_ ' "You don't _have_ to give me any, if you don't-"

"Nope!" Suika was absolute. "None of that peace crap! Just- here!"

She unfurled the tiny blue bow from her left horn, stumbling to the side as she struggled with it.

"I mean, really." Hiyori clarified. "You don't have to-"

"Shove it!" Suika shushes her as she begins to work on the big red bow at the back of her head. After jerking her head back trying to tug it off, she found an easier time in actually undoing it slightly and sliding it off…

Once they were both off, she held them as if bowling balls, and tossed them to Hiyori.

Surprised by the velocity with which they flew, she fumbled for them, only to find they weighed _more_ than bowling balls.

' _Wo-woah!?_ '

She fell backwards, onto her bum.

Hiyori obtained Bows of Devas!

...After a moment, however, the bows were as light as cloth again.

"There ya are." Satisfied, Suika folds her arms. "If ya let Hikari get hurt, though, I'll do more then just beat the shit outta ya, treasures or no treasures."

' _...I mean, she's already gotten hurt more than once, but…_ ' Hiyori felt that detail was better left unsaid.

"Absolutely." Hiyori felt a sense of pride well up in her chest. "It would be an honor."

With that, the discussion came to a close.

…

"Also, you gave me two things." Hiyori corrected her previous statement.

"Shut it. Oh, yeah..." Suika twirled to the other oni, again. "That mace 'a Konngara's. I saw it."

' _Wh-what!?_ ' Hiyori's eyes widened. "Really?"

"No, I'm lyin' out my ass." Suika frowned. "Hell yeah I saw it! 'Cross the lake, in that vampire's house! She's got it stashed away real tight."

' _Vampire's house…?_ ' Hiyori blinked. "...I-I see."

"Not an easy feat, y'know. Vampire houses. Unless yer me." Suika looks into the distance of the lake, where there was mist. "S'about thatta way."

Hiyori stared into the mist. "...That helps."

Snorting, Suika rolls her eyes. "No, look…"

She stuck her hand into the air, and began gathering the mist. Gradually, the mist from the overcast, cool day all drew towards her hand.

It kept drawing, the ball of mist in her hand growing bigger, larger, immenser…

' _...Wow._ '

Hiyori backed away as the mist ball reached a size big enough to dwarf the lakeside and surrounding forestry. As more mist flowed into it, it all became water at a certain point.

...Suika bounced it into the air slightly, and then uppercutted it.

BOOM

...The massive water ball slowly ascended upward into the sky. The force of the punch was enough to push Hiyori backwards towards the woods, until she stomped into the floor with both feet.

After a moment, all the water flew up high enough to no longer be visible…

…

"...Whelp! S'gonna rain t'morrow! Hahaha~!" Suika laughed.

Looking around, Hiyori was able to see clearly in all directions, as if it were a clear day. It was still overcast, even in spite of Suika's cloud gathering.

' _So that's how powerful she is…_ ' Hiyori was still in awe at the display.

"...How was that?" The tiny oni was eager to fish for compliments. "Y'ever see _anything_ do somethin' like _that?_ "

...Hiyori briefly paused, but couldn't think of anything quite on the scale of that. ' _I'm pretty sure she's more than an oni, like that…_ '

' _Wait. There_ was _that sun Okuu made..._ '

Hiyori nodded. "Yeah."

...Suika slouched. " _How._ "

"Okuu." Hiyori stated.

...Suika, despite having never met Okuu to Hiyori's knowledge, knew what she was talking about. "Ah. Figures…" She looked back at the lake. "Guess I got someone ta rumble with later!"

"Please, don't." Hiyori'd rather not see the two fight. She wasn't even sure if the _underground_ would survive that.

"Yeah, yeah. Lookit." Suika pointed across the lake…

Hiyori saw the mansion.

' _Oh, wow… It looks bigger than Satori's palace..._ '

...Suika smirked. "Heh. Yeah, good luck wit' that. Them vampire sisters hit like a doozie."

' _Vampires…_ ' Hiyori had never met any before.

…

With that, Suika turned around, and began wobbling home. "I'm headin' back to tha' shrine. Y'can keep 'scouting' or whatever stupid thing ya were doin' before I talked wit'cha."

' _...You'd be surprised how informative this was._ ' Hiyori smiled at her as she hobbled off…

…

' _I should head back, too._ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIKARI'S VIEW ====

"Dude." Osamu looked around outside. "...The hell happened to the _fog?_ "

' _That is a very good question._ '

...Marigold peeked outside as well. "Should we go look for Hiyori?"

"I think so." Hikari decides. "She wouldn't go far."

Reimu stared at the three vainly. "She went far."

...Furrowing her brows, Hikari turns to her. "How?"

"Onis go far." Reimu justified.

…

"You two are so alike that it's scary." Marigold annotates.

They both turn to her with blank expressions.

"...Hee~yaah!"

Marigold and Osamu turn to see Suika stumbling towards the shrine. "A welcoming party, hey? Alri~ght!" Taking this moment, she chugs from her gourd…

...Hiyori followed behind her, moving with purpose towards the shrine's door…

' _There she is._ '

Once everyone was inside, again, they gathered for a plan of action…

"Mo- I mean, that magician, told me she made some new, bigger rockets…" Marigold adds to the discussion. "We should go buy some, some time. She told me I probably couldn't carry more than one, because they were so big."

' _That sounds pretty big._ '

"Suika told me of where the last treasure is." Hiyori informs the party.

...Suika turns to them from the kotatsu. "Oi, oi. That vampire place, yeah? S'dangerous!"

...Marigold rose a brow. "Vampire place?"

"Mmm." She nods. "Big mansion, with blood suckin' bats, and killer maids."

Osamu gapes. "Holy shit…"

...Marigold is unimpressed. "You wouldn't happen to mean the mansion my mother lives at, do you?"

Suika shakes her head. "Marisa? Hahaha~h! Marisa wouldn't'ave the pennies to live there a _day!_ "

...Sighing, Marigold corrects her. "I mean my other mother. Patchouli Knowledge. It's the Scarlet Devil Mansion, right?"

…

"Say whuh?" Suika was confused.

"Yeah, I live there." Marigold nods. "...There's not a terrible lot in the way of 'blood sucking bats', unless you mean the mistress there. Killer maids is not _wrong_ , but… I'd say killer _maid_ is more accurate."

"No, the otha' thing…" She scratches her cheek. "'Bout the mother."

…

Marigold sighs. "It's a long story."

"Did they… like, adopt ya?" Suika was still confused. "...Fer some reason, I can't see Marisa bein' inta that…"

"I have three mothers." Marigold started explaining…

"Oo~h!" Nodding, the oni grins. "So it was a team effort!"

…

Marigold blushed. "We-well, you… could say that…"

Hikari attempted to intervene. "She doesn't-"

"Who's tha' third one?" Suika blurts. "S'it that puppet woman? The toy maker?"

Upon hearing such a description, Marigold fluffs up. "Sh-she's not just a puppet woman!"

...Nodding, Suika looks satisfied. "So it is…"

…

"So're you adopted?"

"No!"

…

Pulling her arms inward, Marigold looks mortified. "A-ah…"

Suika's jaw drops. "Wait, really...?"

Quickly, Marigold whirls around, looking for a way out of the room, before taking the nearest door, which lead just outside.

…

"Huh." Suika blankly watches her go. "...I wanna learn how ta do that!"

' _Okay._ '

Hikari moved for the door after Marigold, done with the situation.

Osamu was wearing a grin. "...Y'know, I could teach ya…"

...Suika scoffed. "Oo~h. I didn't know ya had a _hole_ down there. That'd explain _everything_."

Hikari snorted. ' _Wow._ '

Osamu deflated. "Damn. Geesh… sorry for askin'."

...Hiyori stared at him dryly. "Did you honestly expect that to work?"

He flailed his arms, before holding them in front of himself. "Dude! A dude's gotta try!"

" _Girl_ , ya mean." Suika snidely remarks.

Folding his arms, he glumly follows after Hikari, who moved outside…

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

After everyone calmed down, they decided on their direction at the bottom of the shrine stairs.

"You're gonna love it there." Marigold tells Hiyori. "We have a lot of everything."

Everyone began gathering behind Hiyori, the mansion having been decided on as their destination.

...Hiyori nods, unsure what 'everything' entails. "That's… good?"

"It's big." Hikari fills in the other details.

"There's a ton 'a _fairy girls!_ " Osamu grins. "...Who aren't the totally crazy outdoor kind, I think."

"That's to be debated." Marigold adds offhandedly.

…

Hiyori turns, speaking to the party. "Everyone ready?"

"Mmm." Hikari nods.

Osamu snorts. "Yeah, yeah."

"As ever." Marigold sounds off.

Hiyori tried Teleport ß!

...The party begins getting dragged along by Hiyori's mana, slowly moving in a circle. As they speed up, the path's dirt kicks up, a small dust storm being produced by their repetitive motion.

' _I-I'm still not used to this…!_ '

"Wo-wooaa~h!" Osamu yells.

KraKoo~m!

…

Reimu floats over the shrine's stairs, eyebrows furrowed. "Is this an incident, or what? What _is_ that…?"

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

KraKoo~m!

Once again, Hikari found herself pressed between Marigold and Hiyori.

' _Oof!_ ' On the upside, they were soft.

Osamu was less fortunate, peeling off of Marigold's backpack. "...Du~de… what do you even _carry_ in there? Jagged rocks…?"

"Yes." She dusts herself off a bit. "Specifically for this occasion."

' _...It's better than how we used to do it, by far._ ' Hikari considered. ' _Breaking legs was well and good and all, but it hurt._ '

...Meiling stood by the gate, leaning against the wall.

' _She looks a bit down, today…_ '

...Marigold stepped up to her, before blinking. "...She's asleep, again."

' _Oh._ '

Osamu snorted. "Sleepin'? Out _here!?_ "

...Marigold shrugged. "Yeah. She's strong."

' _Is she?_ '

"I think we could slip inside without her, at this point." She informs the rest of the party. "...Hiyori should be able to push open the gate."

Everyone turns to the oni of the hour.

"...Alright." Hiyori nods compliantly, moving towards the gate…

"Hold on." Osamu interjects. "I _got_ this."

Cracking his knuckles, he moves on the gate, and viciously attacks it with his shoulder.

…

"Hnnngh…!" He tried a different angle. "C-c'mon, I practi~ced…!"

…

"Damn…" The gate had bested him.

Not saying anything, Hiyori takes his place, and gives the gate a nudge.

The metal creaks as it swings open.

Woosh!

In the blink of an eye, Meiling's arm is extended in front of her, blocking her passage.

"Halt." Meiling monotones sternly, before her drowsy gaze realizes who's before her… "...Marigold? Hikari? That, uhm… guy?"

She turned to the oni, before turning back to Marigold, blinking questioningly.

"Hi." Marigold smiles at the gatekeeper. "We came to visit."

...Meiling points at Hiyori. "Friend?"

The blonde magi nods. "Mmm. We found her in the sky."

' _...Anything else you could have told her would have been more believable. Even if it's true._ '

...Nodding, Meiling accepts this fact. "Oo~kay. Just don't let her get into the wine cellar, alright?"

Hiyori furrows her brows. "...I don't drink."

…

Meiling simply smiles back awkwardly.

...

"I dunno what to say about that." Meiling continues smiling awkwardly.

"I'm a buddhist." Hiyori clarifies.

Unfortunately, Meiling did not find much clarification. "I fell asleep, didn't I?"

"Yes." Marigold moves past the two, moving for the manor's main door. "Come on, guys."

Hikari quietly follows along.

As Hiyori moves to follow the two, Osamu falls behind, turning to Meiling. "...Y'know, if yer dreamin'..."

...Meiling stares down at him, still smiling awkwardly. "If I'm dreaming, I could beat you up without repercussion, right?"

Osamu bolts away. "Hey guys, wait up!"

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

"If you keep hitting on women, someone's going to take you seriously, eventually." Hiyori chides the stout human mage.

"Exactly!" Osamu grins. "There's gotta be _someone_ who'll dig this hunk of man meat!"

...Hikari sighed. ' _That expression._ '

Marigold chuckled.

Hiyori gives him a dry stare. "...You know, some youkai have different ideas of reciprocation."

...His face lights up. " _Really!?_ "

"Yeah." Hiyori grins. "Some of them don't even bother to lure you away from civilization before eating you."

…

"S'that eatin' in the good way, or…?" Osamu tilts his head.

"Your innards become outards." Hiyori summarizes. "Or so I've heard."

"...Oh." Suddenly, a pensive look spreads across his face.

The two take a moment to glance around the scarlet halls, fully realizing where they followed the other two girls to.

"Wait…" Hiyori turns, looking down the vast expanse of hallway behind them. "How long were we in here for?"

"Like, two minutes." Marigold huffs. "I wanted you to see the foyer, but you were too busy talking about maiming."

...Hiyori snorts, and grins. "Sorry?"

' _Come to think of it, I never actually saw a youkai kill a person. I've seen robots kill tengu, though, and I think we may have accidentally'd a village guard or two, a while ago..._ '

After a few minutes of hopeless hallway meandering, Marigold began checking random doors…

"The hallways aren't being particularly nice, today…" She swung open a door, and inside was a generic fairy maid's room. A short, black-haired fairy maid blinked at her, before she shut it. "Let's see…"

She moved to the next door, swinging it open…

Inside, there was a large piano, and some chairs.

"Oo~h!" She lit up, ecstatic about her discovery. "It's _this_ room!"

...Hiyori smiled with appreciation. "Do you know how to play the piano?"

Marigold giggled. "Not a chance! It's fun to mess with, though."

' _Pffffft…_ ' Hikari grinned. ' _...That sounds like fun._ '

"...Ah." Hiyori's smile became a smirk. "Well, that makes four of us."

Osamu rolled his eyes. "Dude. I was _born_ able to play the piano."

"And I'm a fairy." Marigold jests. "Watch and learn."

She sits down at the piano, cracking her fingers, before getting to work…

Random keys are mashed as she moves her hands with only vague sense of reason. Eventually, she gives up on whatever current 'song' she was playing, opting to just press whatever she felt like pressing.

...Eagerly spectating, Hikari couldn't take it anymore, and decided to join her, adding to the ensemble of racket.

Seeing no reason not to contribute, Osamu casually walks up to the other side, and begins 'working' on it.

"I can't believe I expected at least one of us to be able to play the piano." Hiyori simply observes, folding her arms…

"Mis- I mean, Remilia always wanted me to." Marigold smiles widely as she bashes down on the same three keys thrice, in rapid succession. "I never really wanted to do it, though. It always kinda feel like a waste of time, to me."

' _Bashing keys is fun._ '

Osamu tries running his fingers across all keys which are available to him, only to hardly manage it due to how the keys on the piano functioned. "...Some fancy snobs in the village played piano. What I'd give ta do this to one of _their_ pianos! They'd probably hire someone for my head!"

Ceaseless banging haunted the halls, the otherworldly factor of which could be debated.

"...Just _what_ are you three doing?"

Sakuya appears behind the three, a befuddled look on her face.

The racket stops, as they turn to the maid.

Hiyori tenses up. "Wh-...?"

…

Hikari presses her hand into some keys behind herself, making an ugly chord play.

"...I see." Sakuya shakes her head. "You've somehow found friends who share the same interests."

Shrugging, Marigold comments. "Who _actually_ knows how to play piano?"

"...For starters, there's the keyboard poltergeist." Sakuya brings up.

" _Aside_ from her." Rolling her eyes, she discounts the ghost. "She's cheating."

...Sakuya pauses. "...Some villagers."

"And?" Marigold looks unimpressed.

"A few fairies, to different extents." She adds.

Marigold blinks, surprised. "Wait, really?"

"I can, too." Sakuya smirks.

"Well, _obviously_ …"

...Gingerly, Hikari holds up her gohei, and presses it horizontally against the keyboard, to press down as many notes as possible.

A loud, violent chord played.

Sakuya cringed from the unexpected noise. "Really…"

' _Hah._ '

"Actually…" Marigold is reminded of something. "Would you happen to know where Remilia keeps treasure?"

…

"Where's this from, all of a sudden…?" Sakuya looks suspicious.

Marigold isn't entirely sure why, though. "We need a specific thing."

"...Ah?" The explanation doesn't do much for Sakuya.

"It's a mace." Hiyori specifies. "Of oni heritage, actually."

"Oh. This visit is for you, then, I take it." Sakuya's suspicious stare shifts to Hiyori.

...Hiyori nods. "I suppose."

"...Forgive me for being apprehensive," Sakuya treads carefully, "but such a request is not to be taken lightly."

Marigold rolls her eyes. "Can't you just go check for us? If it's a mace, it's bound to be somewhere obvious. Or in a pile of weapons."

"For what reason would an _oni_ need weaponry…?" Sakuya shakes her head. "...But, if only to disable you four from hunting for the room yourselves, I'll humor you."

With that, she vanishes.

…

Osamu gets off of the piano chair. "Say-"

Sakuya appears again. "There is no mace to be found."

"Woah!" Osamu leaps back, nearly walking into her.

...It was now Marigold's turn to appear suspicious. "...You su~re?"

"Yes."

"...You aren't saying it just to-"

"I may be called many things, but not dishonest." Sakuya frowns at her.

"...Alright." Marigold folds her arms, dissatisfied.

With that, Sakuya vanishes.

…

' _We got a lot done._ '

Osamu shared Marigold's dissatisfaction. "Why's she gotta be like that?"

"She's always been kind of a prude." Marigold complains.

…

Hikari stands up. "Let's look for it."

"I'm beginning to doubt it's even here." Hiyori voices her own concern.

...Walking for the door, Hikari addresses said concern. "Suika wouldn't lie."

...Hiyori tilts her head back and forth. "It's still possible she could be wrong."

' _...Still._ '

With newfound doubt, the party took to the halls again, searching for the last treasure…

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Random searching and room intruding led the party to the dining room.

' _Oo~h…_ '

Various segments of the table had an occasional group of fairies stationed at it, attending plates of either pancakes, or waffles. Or, in a rare instance, both.

"...I guess we shouldn't search on an empty stomach." Marigold takes this opportunity to have a nice meal.

"Yeah." Hikari sees no problem with that.

"Heheheh…" Rubbing his hands together, Osamu pressed towards the dining room table. "Where'll we get the food from?"

"We _could_ try the…" Upon looking at the kitchen, Marigold realized it had a line. A _long_ line.

' _...That might be a problem._ '

"...Follow me." Marigold gestured for her friends to follow, walking around the length of the table.

The four moved until Marigold paused behind a group of seated fairies…

"They _aren't_ hot shit, you know." A long, black-haired fairy maid tells her orange-haired companion. "The spinnin' ones, I mean. All you have to do is strafe and shoot."

Koi was irate. "That's easy for _you_ to say! You got these stupid spinny orb things, I got bombs! I gotta like, _prepare_ that shit, girl."

"Hey, Komi, Koi…" Marigold smiles as she approaches them from behind…

…

"Where the _fuck_ have you been?" Komi deadpans. "I thought the vampire finally went up and ate you."

Koi grinned widely. "Or maybe Chief took ya to her _sex_ dungeon…!"

A nearby, blue-haired fairy maid turned towards the discussing girls, meekly adding her own contribution. "I-I… thought she ran away…"

"...Bo~ring." Koi objected to that interpretation. "...Oo~h, oh, that succubus! She coulda stashed ya away!"

"If any of the above happened, I would be dead, not just away." Marigold looks unsure what to make of the situation. "...Namori was right, by the way."

Koi furrowed her brows. "Y'wouldn't be dead in Chief's sex dungeon."

"Dead inside." Marigold clarified.

Osamu takes the moment to slide in between Namori and Komi. "He~y, ladies! How's it goin'...?"

…

"H-hi…" Namori quietly greets him.

"He-hey!" Osamu tenses up, getting farther than he had ever gotten before in one brief moment. "Name's Osamu."

He held out his hand.

"..." Namori shook it, shaking.

Then, a pancake hit the back of his head.

"Hey, assface." Komi scowls at him.

Osamu turns to her. "What's your problem?"

...Grinning, Marigold backs away, gesturing for the party to do the same.

' _...Guess we're just gonna watch the fireworks._ '

"What do you want with Namori, huh?" Komi shifts towards Osamu, attempting to intimidate him.

He was oblivious to it. "Nothin'! Just, y'know, get to know her, take her on a few dates…"

"Da-dates!?" Namori suddenly clams up.

...Hiyori steps up behind Osamu, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Please excuse the team idiot."

"Wha- hey!" He turns to face her. "What'd I do!?"

...Hiyori paused, pensive.

"You all but strong-armed the poor bitch!" Komi answers for her.

He whirls back to her. "Strong-armed!? How!?"

Komi's patience wore thin. "Oh, I'll show you a strong arm, alright!"

An audible sigh came from Hiyori, as black danmaku was fired, surrounding the two.

…

"U~hm…" Osamu glanced at the passing black danmaku. "S'that supposed to _hit_ us, o~r…?"

Komi stepped into the ring of black danmaku, and began getting physical.

"Wha- _bitch!_ "

The two exchanged fisticuffs, until Hiyori stepped between them.

"You want some!?" Komi began punching Hiyori, to little effect.

"We came to eat food." Hiyori voiced their intent. She turns to Osamu… "Not molest shy fairy girls."

"Yeah, whatever." He folds his arms, looking away.

…

"Darn." Marigold hunched over.

' _I think Marigold wanted something else to happen, there…_ '

"Act-actually…" Namori fidgeted in her seat. "...I-I wouldn't mind… a date."

…

' _Huh._ '

Komi and Osamu gaped at her, while Hiyori looked mildly surprised.

Hikari turned to Marigold, only to find her looking bewildered, as well.

…

"Hell _ye~ah!_ " He leapt into the air, pumping his fists upward.

Moving towards the party, he grinned. He points to Marigold. "In your _face!_ "

...Marigold blinks.

"In _your_ face," He points at Hikari. " _your_ face..." He points at Hiyori…

"And _you_." His last target is Komi. "...Fuck you."

Komi sticks up her middle finger.

Smugly, he returns to Namori's side.

…

' _That was a surprise._ ' Hikari wasn't sure what to think. ' _I guess it had to work eventually._ '

…

"So, uh…" He scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "What should, we uh…"

"I-I don't know…" Namori holds her arms close, glancing at Komi helplessly…

Komi turned the other cheek. "Nope. Not gettin' involved."

"...Well…" Namori brainstormed. "...We could… go-go for a walk…?"

"I mean, I guess…?" Osamu had no idea what to do from here.

Getting up from her chair, Namori slowly lead the human mage out of the dining room.

…

"I don't even know what just happened." Marigold shook her head, proceeding for Namori's seat… "Let's cannibalize her pancakes."

' _So that was her plan._ ' Hikari grins, moving towards the seat with her…

Their attention was soon grabbed by something else, however. A cyan-haired fairy maid with a multiple foot tall stack of pancakes precariously approached them, the tower wobbling as she neared…

"Oh, hey, Ha-chan…" Marigold stares at the pancake tower warily.

"Mari-chan!" Hana beams. "I saw you guys come in, so I got extra food!"

Hiyori eyed the tower. "Do you need help with that…?"

...The fairy girl ignored her, maneuvering past her and Komi to loom over the table. "Friends."

She dropped the plate on the table, and it shattered. The impact causes the entire pancake tower to fall apart, spreading out across the immediate area.

' _What? No!_ ' Hikari raises her hands in a futile attempt to resist the pancakes.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

With their appetite effectively warded off, the butter and syrup smeared party eventually made their way to Remilia's room.

"We're on the wrong floor entirely, but okay." Marigold lampshaded the insanity of the halls.

"Hmm?" Hiyori didn't know what she referred to.

...Marigold realized this. "Oh. This is where Remilia is. She owns the mansion."

"Aa~h…" Nodding, Hiyori continues towards the door. "I figure I'll have to push it open?"

"Mmm."

Eying the giant door, Hikari's curiosity was piqued. "...Is there actually a reason it's so big?"

Marigold snorted. "Nope."

' _Figured._ '

Moving up to the door, Hiyori turned the knob, and pushed inward…

Creaa~k…

' _I remember that. The squeaky door._ '

...As the door swung open, the three gazed inside.

Inside sat a smirking Remilia.

' _I think she's been expecting us…_ '

"Come in, come in!" The vampire beckoned them. "Do not be shy."

They continued forward, moving into the room's midst.

"...I've been expecting you three." Shifting her legs, the mistress of the manor inspected them with her gaze…

' _Yep. She's very into building tension._ '

One of Remilia's brows raise. "...Though, I do have a question, now that I see you three."

The party waits for her question.

"...Why are you spattered in _butter_ and _syrup?_ " Remilia grinned.

"The dining room was really rowdy today." Marigold noted.

Remilia's head shifted around. "Yes, yes. I know you'd be one to associate with the fairy rabble. But the Hakurei miko partaking in such behaviour? Is your job not to _exterminate_ youkai?"

Hikari shrugged. ' _Kinda bigger things, at the moment…_ '

…

Her face fell. "Hmm. Not nearly as hard-headed as your mother, I see."

"Fairies hardly count as youkai, anyway." Hikari counters.

"Heh… Too true, too true." Remilia is amused. "...Sakuya told me you three were here to, in her own words, 'pilfer through our treasury'. Particularly..." Slowly, she points at Hiyori. "However, because you have me in a good mood, I'll humor you. What exactly did you hope to find, here?"

Hiyori steps forward carefully. "It's an oni treasure. It should be a mace."

…

"Hmm…" Remilia hums idly. "Who sent you?"

...Blinking, Hiyori responded to the unexpected question. "...Myself?"

...She nodded. "Ah. I'm afraid we have nothing like that." Shrugging, she continued. "We _do_ have a few antique sake dishes, but those were purchased only recently. We are in no possession of any form of oni weaponry, nor have we ever been."

...Hiyori furrows her brows. "I see…"

"...Was that everything?" Remilia tilts her head.

"...I suppose." Hiyori sighs.

"Good. Had you come for raw wealth, I would have had to become unpleasant." With that, Remilia seems to relax. "You three may leave, unless you wish to stay for tea."

' _...Never been in possession?_ ' Hikari furrowed her brows. ' _...Someone has to be lying, then. I don't think it would be Suika, either..._ '

Marigold and Hiyori turn to leave, but Hikari stands her ground. "We'll be staying for that tea."

The other two freeze, turning to her curiously.

Remilia smiles. "Very well. I'll have Sakuya serve us."

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

The four sat at a tea table which was mysteriously erected in the middle of the throne room.

Sakuya poured Hikari her tea, before pausing… "What happened to your token idiot?"

Hikari gave it a moment of thought. "...He went to see about a girl."

...To this, Sakuya furrowed her brows, though she didn't reply further, 'teleporting' to pour Marigold her tea.

' _Is moving around the table normally really that big of a deal?_ '

"So, Marigold…" Remilia initiates the conversation. "What have you been up to, recently? Mingling with the wild fairies? Rolling in the mud?"

"Building guns." Marigold grins back.

"...Oh." Remilia snorts. "I'd expect no less."

...After a moment, Marigold begins to recount some previous events. "...We went to Heaven, and fought this girl with a peach adorned straw hat…"

Remilia double-took. "You did what?"

' _Wait…_ '

Disregarding this, the magi continued. "We scaled the side of Youkai Mountain, and helped stop the source of the robots."

Remilia was now sufficiently weirded out. "I was… about to send Sakuya to do that."

"We then went to Old Hell, and fought a sun god… raven thing." She nods her head…

Hikari adds to that. "We almost died to a mind reader."

"Oh, yeah…" Marigold giggles sheepishly. "That was bad."

"They meant well, though." Hiyori clarified. "They were also under the influence."

...Remilia nodded slowly. "I… see. So you've kept busy, then."

Marigold nods casually. "Mmm."

"...For what reason, was all of this?" Remilia tilted her head. "I assume this is all part of solving the incident at hand?"

...Hikari concentrates. ' _I swear we heard something weird about the mansion while in Heaven…_ '

...Glancing at Hikari, Marigold realizes she wasn't going to answer. "A-ah, yeah. Hikari's the driving force behind solving this."

Remilia looks down at her tea, and sips from it. "...Is she, now?" Her gaze locks on Hikari. "Where is your mother, in all this?"

Hikari was thoughtfully panning her own gaze around the walls of the room.

"...Hakurei." Remilia demands her attention.

' _Hmm?_ ' She looks at Remilia.

"Where is your mother?" The vampire demands.

"...Home." Hikari resumes staring at the walls and furniture.

...Irked by the response, Remilia chooses to brood. "Hr~m…"

Scanning the ceiling, Hikari noted the large chandelier. ' _Fancy…_ '

…

' _Why is the ceiling white, but everything else sorta red?_ '

Remilia performs damage control, if only for herself. "...Finding my abode admirable, Hakurei?"

' _It's too big._ ' Hikari never thought she'd think that about a home. "...Sure."

"Fufufu…" Smug, Remilia leans back in her chair. "Don't be afraid to admit it. This mansion is a _thousand_ times better than your paper shrine, is it not?"

...The insult made Hikari pause for a moment, but she didn't take it personally. ' _She's rather eager to brag, isn't she…?_ '

Turning her attention back to the vampire, Hikari readies to say something-

"So?" Marigold folds her arms. "The home is where the heart is."

"Quiet, you." Remilia's brow twitches. "If you have not forgotten, it is by my allowance you live here."

Marigold snorts.

' _...Anyway…_ ' Readying herself again, Hikari speaks. "Does this mansion have any secret passages?"

...Grinning, Remilia elaborates. "Oh, certainly. Aside from the halls being forever in my favor, I've ordered the construction of a myriad of private passages. They make good storage, and they're a good way to keep the fairy maids out of anything important."

Marigold gives Hikari an unreadable stare…

...Hikari takes a moment to consider her next question.

"Could you not simply have locked rooms?" Hiyori wonders aloud. "I feel like that would be more effective when it came down to it…"

Remilia sighed. "Yeah, tried that. One day, the door mysteriously vanished entirely…" Then she scowled. "The door was removed _magically_. For this reason, we don't clearly label our treasuries."

Marigold nodded in recollection, but Hikari and Hiyori were left bemused by the description.

"...Does _this_ room have any secret passages?" Hikari asks before uncomfortable silence can set in.

"Hmm?" Remilia pauses, herself. "...Why? Are you feeling…" She smirks domineeringly. " _Paranoid_ , Hakurei?"

...Hikari stares at her dryly. "Shaking in my sandals."

"Fufufu…" Remilia giggles. "...Why, yes. This room _does_ have secret passages, naturally."

' _Hmm…_ '

…

"I never really found many." Marigold admits.

Remilia raises a brow. "You found _any?_ "

…

"In my defense, they were poorly hidden." Marigold sips her tea…

Hikari scans the walls, again…

' _Walls… secrets..._ '

Then, it struck her.

' _...That man up in Heaven!_ ' She stood from her seat. ' _...He was probably insane, but…_ '

...Remilia curiously watched her as she rounded the table to approach Marigold.

"I need one of your guns." Hikari requests.

"What?" The request takes Marigold off guard.

Remilia furrows her brows. "Excuse me?"

' _Which one would be good for this…?_ '

"Do you still have your Air Gun?" Hikari nears her magical friend.

"...I upgraded it, so no, technically." Her brows furrow. "Why do you need-"

"That machinegun thing?" Hikari guesses.

She's corrected. "NF Burst Gun, you mean. Also, yes, why do you need it?"

"Secret checking." Hikari reveals.

Slamming her arms on the table, Remilia stood up. "You will do no such thing!"

…

Pointing to her backpack, Marigold gave her the go ahead. "You should see it in the back."

"Thanks." Hikari began riffling through it…

"I hope you don't plan to hold up miss Scarlet, here…" Hiyori frowns at the miko. "I had thought you already saw what happens when you try to strong arm people."

' _...Our team mage gets a date?_ ' Hikari grins. ' _That_ is _pretty scary…_ '

Drawing the NF Burst Gun. Hikari aims up at the walls.

' _...How do you use this thing?_ '

Noticing her fumbling with it, Marigold came to the rescue. "Just pull the trigger."

' _Oh._ '

"Now, stop right there!" Remilia begins stomping around the table. "You will not tarnish these walls for-"

PoPoPoPoPop!

Clumsily, Hikari aimed the shots at the upper segments of the walls.

They thunked against the upper left walling of the room, leaving scorch marks.

"You…!" Remilia grabs for Hikari, who then shot at the upper right segment.

PoPoPoPoPop!

The weapon was ripped from Hikari's hands, and she was pushed away by Remilia. "You barbarian! Look what you've done to my-"

Ti~Ti~Ting, Ti-Ti~ng…!

A loud noise echoed across the throne room. The area the danmaku struck shimmered lightly, revealing a box of light under the wall paper.

Rips formed where the danmaku struck, revealing the shimmering segments of a magical circle underneath.

Everyone turned to the spectacle, realization slowly setting in.

...

"Get out." Remilia instructs them.

"What's up there?" Hikari pressed.

"Get _out_." Remilia began pushing her towards the door, which Hikari couldn't struggle out of.

Hikari quickly looked at Hiyori. "Hiyori! Do a triple kickflip into the magical circle!"

' _The crazy man in the sky was_ right!'

Hiyori stood, unsure what to do. "Wh-what?"

Remilia's eyes widened, turning to the oni. "You will do _no_ such thing!"

Pointing at the wall segment, Hikari shouted. "Up there!"

Arms wrapped around the miko, and the door to the room flew open on its own.

' _U-uhm…!_ '

" _Begone!_ " Remilia spun around, tossing Hikari out into the hall.

' _Woa~h!_ '

Thud! Hikari's back collided with the hallway wall.

' _Ouch…_ '

Vacating her chair, Marigold made for one of the nearby pillars. "Woah, woah, woah!"

Hiyori took a glance at the faintly shimmering section of wall. Preparing herself-

"Hah!"

Remilia jabbed towards Hiyori, who was taken by surprise by the vampire's speed.

Her claws dug into the cloth of the oni's kimono, but didn't manage to break the cloth. "Hnh…!?"

Hiyori leapt blandly towards the magic seal on reflex.

Ti~ng!

With the massive impact, the wallpaper was shredded, but the magical barrier shone brightly, denying Hiyori entry. Marigold was clearly able to see it, a hovering magical circle taking up the width of the square indent in the wall.

"...I'll be darned." Marigold examined it…

She felt an arm on hers, and she reached for her Spectrum Shotgun. "He-hey!"

Remilia quickly jerked her into the middle of the room. "You're _not_ supposed to see that! You _aren't_ supposed to _be_ in here!"

Holding up Marigold by her torso and her bum, she began making motions to throw her into the hall…

"Hi-Hiyori!" Marigold blurted for her attention. "You… you have to do a triple kickflip! You have-"

Remilia sent her soaring out into the hall.

Thud!

"Oww-"

Thud. She landed on Hikari.

' _Oof…_ '

Hiyori leapt backwards, preparing to try again…

This time, the vampire went for her face.

Swish!

"Ghh…" Hiyori threw an arm outward to stop the vampire, but she had already leapt away.

Swish! Swish!

Furrowing her brows, Hiyori glanced up at the seal again, as she staggered backwards.

Remilia floated up in front of the seal. "Do not attempt it, you-"

Hiyori leaped, doing a backflip as she kicked through the air.

Eyes widening, Remilia prepares to intercept…

Woosh!

She darts to the side after her claws connect with Hiyori's second kickflip, avoiding the brunt of the strike.

Ignoring the long scratches up her leg, Hiyori executes the third kickflip, soaring into the barrier.

Kraa~ck!

The barrier collapses inward, allowing Hiyori entry to the undecorated hideaway.

Thud.

She landed on her butt.

Inside the room, there were numerous objects present. The most notable of which seemed to be a large portrait of Remilia herself, smirking at the viewer.

Hiyori's eyes darted around the room, glancing at various swords and spears, until she saw-

"The mace!" She stands…

A large, scarlet orb blindsides her, sending her flying. "Gah!"

Bam! She slams into the interior wall.

...Hiyori attempts to take the moment to regain her senses, when she is suddenly bombarded by a series of stabbing sensations.

"A-ah, ah, ah!" She threw her arms outward wildly in an attempt to make them stop, and it was successful.

Remilia shot back out of the room. "I'll have your _head_ , oni!"

Arching back in the air, she brought her arm up, and reeled it back.

Scrambling, Hiyori sprinted for the mace…

Hiyori obtained Mace of Devas!

...She also grabbed the giant picture of Remilia to use as a shield. There was also a small, round object attached to the back of it, appearing akin to a small, antique bundle of cloth.

Hiyori obtained Power of Mistress!

Hiyori obtained Neutron Bomb!

"Haa~h…!"

Hiyori looked at Remilia again, and noticed a large, cackling scarlet spear in her grasp.

"Divine Spear!" A wicked grin spread across the vampire's face. "Spear The Gungnir!"

...With little choice in the matter, Hiyori jumped in place.

Boom!

She fell through the floor, smashing another reflective barrier in the process, landing next to Hikari and Marigold.

"...We need to go." Hiyori summarizes the current objective.

Ba~m!

Dust and rubble falls from above, as the spear violates the upper level of the manor.

' _Yeah._ '

"We should try Mother's library…" Marigold proposes.

Bam!

Remilia flies through the wall. "You're not leaving with _that!_ "

...Marigold gestures to her. "Case in point."

' _If we're not getting outside, somewhere with cover would be the next best thing._ '

The three begin dashing down the halls.

Remilia flies after them, homing in on Hiyori specifically.

...Turning, Hiyori is forced to cast the portrait and the cloth bundle ahead, as she swings the mace back towards Remilia.

Woosh.

Latching onto the mace when it was supposed to collide with her, Remilia then leaps and kicks Hiyori in the face.

"Guh…" Hiyori backs up, and continues running.

Hiyori tried Shield ß!

Hiyori was protected by the power shield of light!

...Hikari snagged the items her oni friend abandoned, darting ahead with them.

Hikari tried Hypnosis α!

She glanced back at Remilia, who actively dodged the hypnotic ripples, sensing the psychic attack before it even began.

' _Woah…_ '

Remilia smirked. "Do you know _nothing_ about vampires?"

Stabilizing herself in the air, she closed the distance between herself and Hikari…

"This way!" Marigold gestured for the party to follow. "The door's just ahead! Even though it's the wrong floor!"

Hikari turned, using what wind she could pick up to carry herself as she ran faster.

Remilia darted ahead, and turned to face Hikari…

" _This_ is a sleeping spell…!" Remilia grinned, as her eyes flashed.

…

' _Wh-wha~...?_ ' Hikari felt her vision blurring violently. ' _N-no…_ '

Thud.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: MARIGOLD'S VIEW ====

Hiyori's shackle glowed a faint purple, before the color faded, leaving it dark again...

"Darn it…!" Marigold grimaced, and took out her Charm of Sleep. "Get up, you lazy bum!"

"Fufufu…" Remilia watched her toss the Charm of Sleep, finding the motion amusing. "Simply throwing things at her will not wake her up, simple child. She is under _my_ spell."

The charm of sleep smacked Hikari in the face.

Marigold watched with baited breath. ' _You better wake up, or so help me…!_ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIKARI'S VIEW ====

' _U-ugh…_ '

...With a jolt, Hikari propped herself up with her arms. ' _Wh-what happened…?_ '

"I've put her under a spell, one which I will _only_ break, if you give me back what is rightfully _mine._ " Remilia triumphantly smiled as she gazed at the two across the hall. "...What will it be, then? The Hakurei… or my possessions?"

Marigold tried to contain her own grin, but failed. Hiyori didn't even try.

Remilia was quick to realize what happened, turning a surprised gaze to Hikari. "...And _you._ What are you doing up?"

Hikari held the Charm of Sleep. "Waking up."

With a snort, Remilia shrugged. "Well, not for long."

Her eyes flashed again.

…

Hikari began dashing past her.

"What- you…!" Remilia gritted her teeth. "Must I dirty the halls simply to _dispose_ of you!?"

Marigold and Hiyori began sprinting as soon as they noticed Hikari had distanced herself from Remilia. Quickly, they gained on the door, which Hiyori voluntarily engaged.

With a single swipe of the mace…

Boo~m!

Cra~ck!

The door flew open, a magical barrier shattering from the force of the strike.

Marigold leaped in, turning and aiming her Spectrum Shotgun at the door. "Get in, get in…!"

Hiyori and Hikari scramble in-

" _Give it!_ " Remilia barks, latching onto the mace in Hiyori's arms, attempting to pry them out…

Unfortunately, Hiyori was an oni, and as it turned out, struggling for objects was one of the things oni did best.

' _Hiyori's also pretty tall… and Remilia's pretty short._ '

After prying it from Remilia's clawed grasp, she tries to kick the vampire away, only to find Remilia has done yet another good job at distancing herself.

The trigger is pulled, giving Hiyori a brief moment to run under one as the seven revolving lasers denied passage through the door.

Or so Marigold hoped.

It only took a moment for Remilia to weave inside and past them.

"...I _would_ be upset at that, but this is technically Patchy's library, now." Remilia smirked. "Any vandalization of the walls shouldn't reflect on me, then."

...Begrudgingly letting go of the trigger, Marigold had an idea. "Hikari. Get her down here."

' _...Yeah, okay._ ' Hikari furrowed her brows. "How."

"Try." Marigold gave her an in-depth strategy.

Once again, Remilia went for the mace. Before she grappled it, however, she stopped. Hiyori readied herself…

"This is no longer the time for games." Remilia threw her arm aside, her eyes glowing. "God Art! Vampire Illusion!"

Almost as if to compliment Marigold's shotgun-esque weapon, Remilia let out a shotgun spread of massive, purple bullets.

"Wh-wa~h!" Hikari wailed, barely grazing the side of one. The giant orbs left red orbs in their wake, which convened and created waves of scarlet magic, centered on Hiyori.

"Aaa~gh…!" Hiyori was unable to avoid the big orbs, her body crackling with colorful, red energy as she began to kneel.

Marigold glared at the vampire. "Th-this will have to do…!"

Slowly, she began attempting to close the distance between herself and the manor's mistress…

A bright shockwave of aesthetic scarlet energy bloomed from Remilia, before she fired another shotgun spread of giant, purple orbs.

"Ha-ah…" Marigold felt her heart race as her arm was clipped. She felt a small line of three smaller red orbs float into her back… "U-uuh…"

Hikari adopted the strategy of running in circles to avoid the smaller red orbs. ' _So many…!_ '

"Guaa~h!" Hiyori was flung back into a nearby shelf, one which the bullets dissipated upon when they struck.

The shelf shook lightly as she hit it, but soon stabilized.

Energy bloomed forth from Remilia again, and she formed another spread…

Marigold shook as she stopped before the generating line, and was grazed on both sides as the spread shot mobilized. "Gaa~h…!"

She was as close as she could get without getting stuck in the line the orbs spawned in, so she tried to make her final steps forward count.

Dashing forward into the red orbs that swam around Remilia, the young mage gritted her teeth…

"Ow-ow-ow-ow-ow…" She whimpered as she closed the distance, and held her Spectrum Shotgun up to Remilia's face.

"...A-aaa~h!" Marigold's attempt at a quip became a scream of pain, instead.

She fired the gun, Remilia smug face being wrapped in rainbow light.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

...Patchouli sipped her tea.

Across from her, Marigold sat at the table, face down with her arms sprawled out on it.

Next to her, Hiyori jittered in her own seat, scarlet energy still triggering her muscles.

Hikari was no worse for wear, sitting peacefully next to Hiyori…

' _Honestly, running in circles worked perfectly fine. I got hit a few times, but we coulda timed out her card if we tried._ '

...Next to _them_ , was Remilia, her face wrapped completely by bandages.

…

Osamu walked by in one of the nearby aisles, Namori trailing him with a large book of some kind.

"Dude, how the _hell_ is this place organized…?"

"A-ah…" Namori looked up. "We-we have to take a left, coming up…"

The two wandered into the shelves again...

…

"What happened?" Patchouli vainly stared up from her tea.

"Mmph." Remilia states.

' _...I should probably heal everyone up, now._ ' Hikari contemplates…

…

' _I like this silence, though._ ' Hikari holds up her own tea. ' _I think I'll let them be tired for a few moments longer…_ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

END OF CHAPTER 23

Protagonist: Hikari Hakurei, Disciple of Paradise

-Inventory-

Weapon: Miracle Gohei - Ability to whack stuff really hard. Amplifies whacking power, too! Able to deal magical damage. Adds an increased chance to deal critical hits.

Arms: Iconic Hakurei Arm Sleeves - Keeps arms warm. A Hakurei tradition. How they stay on is a Hakurei family secret.

Body: Combat Miko Outfit - A black leotard and hakama combination worn by the previous-previous Hakurei miko. Designed to be suitable for excessive physical activity and close combat, it slightly improves physical combat prowess. Now with less sideboob!

Misc: Royal Red Ribbon - A ribbon made with rich materials, with a floral pattern.

-Skills-

Attack: Quickly! Swing your gohei at them for massive damage!

PK Fantasy α, β, γ - Bombards the enemy with pain in the form of flashing colors. Deals magical damage. Heavy mental strain that increases with each tier. Third tier forms a barrier, which breaks upon moderate damage.

PK Flash α, ß - A bright flash that distributes very random status effects to enemies. Usually makes people cry. Higher tiers increase chances, and introduce possibilities of fainting or dispel.

Hypnosis α, Ω - Puts weak enemies to sleep for a short time. Works better on tired or exhausted foes. Can also be used in a far more costly form that works on multiple opponents.

Shield α, ß - Halves damage the target takes. Only works against physical attacks, and enough strikes, or powerful strikes, will dispel it. Higher tier turns it into a power-shield that protects even better and even reflects a fraction of protected damage.

Lifeup α, ß, γ - Heals target a little. Higher tiers heal more grievous wounds, like bone fractures.

Healing α, ß, γ - Heals basic status ailments. Higher tiers can cure more dire effects, like burning alive.

Teleport α - Allows instant transport to the general location of an area remembered by oneself or one's party members. Requires a long, fast run-up to execute, however.

Ofuda Toss - Throw a holy ofuda that does massive holy elemental damage to youkai and dark elemental foes. Effect lessens the more holy the thing you're attacking is, to the point of healing holy things. Only works if you actually have ofuda, though.

γ-γ-γ-γ

Mage: Osamu Katsumi, the Wannabe Mage

-Inventory-

Weapon: Fisticuffs!

Arms: Nothing

Body: Dated Village Magician Robes - An old robe from the days when the village respected the medium of magic. Now actually looks navy blue, instead of black!

Misc: Yukkuri Beanie - Resembles a really tacky tablecloth, made in the Yukkuri theme. Lime green and has tons of fun yukkuri decals!

-Skills-

PK Thunder α, ß - Very random thunder attack that deals limited damage. Higher tiers increase number of bolts, and sometimes power.

PK Hydro α, β, γ - Gets everyone wet. Usefulness with PK Thunder and PK Freeze depends on whether you hit yourself or not! Creates whirling water spirals at higher tiers.

PK Freeze α, β, γ, Ω - Generates ice crystals at the target's location. Medium damage and effect; may freeze some targets, especially wet ones. Highest tier has a near-guaranteed freeze chance and immense ice damage, at the cost of being very taxing.

Fireball - Manipulate mana to make a shoddy fireball. Low damage and effect.

Static Hands - Not a real spell. Result of a very undercharged PK Thunder that can accidentally go off.

PSI Telepathy α - Speak to friends you haven't met yet! Unstable connection and only works if they have the skill or are asleep.

PSI Shield α, Σ - Halves damage from magical and psychic attacks. Thunder spells fry it instantly, and harder blows dispel it. Second tier applies basic shield to entire party at higher mana expense.

PSI Magnet α - Costs no mana to use, and steals a very tiny amount of mana from the enemy. Enemy has to have mana in the first place for it to work, though.

Offense Up α - Get pissed! Boosts strength and confidence depending on caster's power and receiver's power.

Defense Down α - Throw the enemy off their game. Makes them slightly more vulnerable to physical attacks.

γ-γ-γ-γ

Inventor: Marigold Knowledge, the Tri-Magi Love Child

-Inventory-

Weapon: Spectrum Shotgun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Filled with foil chip bags to conduct the mana, and it is transmitted into a wind stone. Upgraded to draw mana from a simple wooden block filled with immense magic reserves, giving it virtually unlimited ammo. The addition of a battery and a prism allow it to fire seven rainbow colored beams at a wide spread, which deal non-elemental damage. Firing long enough allows them to focus and deal incredible damage, at the cost of insane recoil and instability.

Arms: Nothing

Body: Custom Adventure Dress - A custom dress made by Alice. Provides slight defense against magical and psychic attacks. Now allows freer movement with a shorter skirt, and a more flexible material.

Misc: Swirly Glasses - Lets Marigold not be blind.

Backpack - Allows extended inventory. Aged relic from the Kourindou.

Unnamed Lock Opening Device - Opens locks very precariously. Made with steel, burnt cloth, packaging peanuts, thumbtacks, string, and wooden wheels. Don't even ask…

Ruler - Lets you measure the world around you!

Protractor - Lets you find the angles of anything ever. Totally overpowered.

Scotch Tape - Transparent adhesive from the outside world. Weak, but handy!

Deck of Cards - Allows Marigold to play Strip Poker with the party. Just kidding… or am I?

Shield Killer - Electrical device used to subdue harassers. Has settings ranging from Tickle Torture to Arse Blaster. Fires electrical projectiles, of unknown power.

NF Burst Gun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Uses a Pop Gun as the base, but amplifies its power with an array of random batteries jammed into the base with the Pop Gun. The more batteries, the better, but the typical yield is about five bullets per trigger. Spamming the trigger doesn't make it go any faster, unfortunately. Has no foreseeable ammo limit, and the batteries are only there for mana circulation, meaning their power is really inconsequential.

Holmes Brand Designer Hat - Village swag! A retro village hat that ceased production ten years ago. Sells for a pretty penny nowadays, but it's pretty useless otherwise.

Slime Generator - A bulky box that shoots a small splat of slime. Doesn't seem good for much.

Counter-PSI Device - A weird device Marigold found from a flying saucer. Works in strange ways, and seems to disrupt everyone's concentration. Marigold is immune to its effects.

Charm of Sleep - Grants immunity to sleep while equipped, or held. Can be equipped to Arms or Misc.

Microwave Gun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Constructed with a controlled flame crystal and metal parts, it fires a beam of sustained microwave energy that cooks biological foes alive. Fire-elemental at its core, it's also very inefficient against machines.

Lotion Dispenser - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Made of a broom, a showerhead, some magnets, and uses jars of water as ammo. Slapped together with ofuda, giving it unknown holy properties. The jars are usually filled with Talcum Powder, for no discernible reason. The liquid that is dispensed becomes auto-applying lotion, as a result of the above.

-Skills-

Participates in Finny Fun - Isn't it neat?

Knows How to Drive Gummi Ships - Licensed Gummi pilot!

Fluffs Up to Appear More Intimidating - ...She's freakin' snuggly, dude…

Pioneer of Gensokyian L'oreal - She's an entrepreneur!

Part of Backpacking Culture - Avid practitioner!

γ-γ-γ-γ

Fighter: Hiyori Hashimoto, the Buddhist Oni

-Inventory-

Weapon: Mace of Devas - The last of the four treasures held by the Devas of the Mountain. Ability to whack stuff really hard. Increases critical hit rate by lieu of being a really big, blunt, spiky weapon. Allows partial blocking of magic attacks.

Arms: Shackle of Devas - The first of the four treasures held by the Devas of the Mountain. Grants immunity to sleep-inducing magic. Grants fifty percent resistance to wind and thunder magic.

Body: Kimono of Devas - The second of the four treasures held by the Devas of the Mountain. Grants immunity to paralyzing magic. Grants fifty percent resistance to fire magic. Insanely durable. Has a floral design to it…!

Misc: Bows of Devas - The third of the four treasures held by the Devas of the Mountain. Grants immunity to confusion-inducing magic. Grants fifty percent resistance to ice magic.

-Skills-

PK Starstorm α - Summons forth the stars from the night's sky to rain down upon enemies. Hits all enemies, and deals high magical damage, at the cost of being highly mentally taxing. Can hit allies if they're in the effective area, as the white stars don't have homing properties. Power proportional to amount of enemies, as well.

PK Fire α, ß - Creates an igniting blast of flames at the target's location. More impact comes with higher tiers.

PK Freeze α, β, γ - Generates ice crystals at the target's location. Medium damage and effect; may freeze some targets, especially wet ones.

Shield α, ß, Σ - Halves damage the target takes. Only works against physical attacks, and enough strikes, or powerful strikes, will dispel it. Higher tier turns it into a power-shield that protects even better and even reflects a fraction of protected damage. Highest tier applies a basic shield to the entire party.

Lifeup α, ß - Heals target a little. Higher tiers heal more grievous wounds, like bone fractures.

Healing α, ß - Heals basic status ailments. Higher tiers can cure more dire effects, like burning alive.

Teleport α, ß - Allows instant transport to the general location of an area remembered by oneself or one's party members. Requires a long, fast run-up to execute, however. Higher tier is largely automatic and requires little room to execute.

Martial Arts - Skilled in hand-to-hand combat.

γ-γ-γ-γ

Author's Note:

hi friends

that is the END of the DEVA WEAPON SIDEQUEST; hiyori is now as ready as she'll ever be to go off to war to fight the big bad eldritch abomination

still a little bit of PREPARATION TO GO before we can begin the MIGHTY END GAME; it's been a long road, yo, and i hope you've all enjoyed the ride, 'cause if you didn't, why are you here

ANYWAY

progress might slow a slight because college is stronk; lemme tell you right now, it's not school levels of busy work but it's INVOLVED and and definitely leaves less room for error than high school (although you get to do things like get up and go to the bathroom whenever you want without asking anyone, so it all evens out)

also y'know it's just your CAREER on the line this time, so NO PRESSURE

(though usually everything's in place to kinda HELP YOU this time around- butcha still gotta do that work)

...yeah

oo~h, gensokyians don't have to worry about SCHOOL or JOBS… just DYING VIOLENTLY

so which is the lesser evil

as always, see you all next time!


	24. Hakurei in the Lamp

Hikari tried Lifeup α!

...Slowly, Remilia unraveled her bandages, to Patchouli's curiosity.

' _That's everybody._ '

"...Achoo!"

Scrunching her face, Remilia wiped her nose. "Those bandages are so stuffy…"

Marigold moved her stiff limbs. "...Sorry about, uhm…"

Waving her hand, Remilia dismisses her. "No, no. I hadn't considered you'd take a page from the witch. I underestimated you."

At that, Marigold simply settled for looking awkward.

' _...Everyone's still tired, just not in pain._ '

Hiyori leaned on the table lazily. "...Why did you hide the mace?"

Remilia snorted. "Straight to the point, are you? Because it is a quality decorative mantle, and oni such as yourself couldn't appreciate that." She frowned. "When I had learned of oni presence on the surface, years ago, I hid it with my prized possessions as soon as I could. Speaking of which…" Raising from her chair, she pointed at Hiyori. "You learned of it through that _stout brat_ , did you not?"

Marigold snorted.

' _That's… kinda on the nose, there..._ ' Hikari grinned.

Containing her own amusement at the statement, Hiyori nodded. "Yeah. I need the treasures to help Hikari in the latest incident."

...Remilia narrowed her eyes, smirking. "Incident, hmm? The red fog and the robots, yes?"

Hikari nods.

"...In that case, I _suppose_ I could exempt you." Sitting back down, Remilia adopts a haughty posture, leaning back a bit. "I'm interested to see if the do-nothing shut-in of a Hakurei miko has what it takes to get this incident solved."

...Hikari furrows her brows. ' _Wow. What'd I do to her?_ '

"Now, now, Remilia." Looking away from Hiyori, Patchouli chides her friend. "There's being condescending, and then there's just being rude."

"Am I not right?" The vampire holds up her arms. "Tell me I'm not right."

"You're not right." Marigold contributes.

...Remilia slowly pans her gaze to her. "...Nobody _asked you_ , magi."

Marigold simply smirks back in response.

Hikari fends for herself. "I may've been kind of a shut-in before, but I at least went to the village, and stuff. Recently, I've kinda been all over the place."

"Not that there's anything wrong with being a shut-in." Patchouli adds her own two cents.

Remilia furrows her brows, turning to her friend. Before she can reply, Patchouli continues, "You hardly leave the mansion ever yourself, Remi."

...The vampire's brow twitches, before she gets up from the table. "I see how it is. You four are no fun."

She turns to Patchouli. "Also, you. Did I not say that I am not to be referred to casually around guests?"

"My daughter, a Hakurei disciple, and some oni." Patchouli rattles off the esteemed guests.

…

"Even so." Remilia rebukes, floating away in retreat. "I expect that mace _back_ , however, oni. And make sure there's not a _scratch_ on it!"

"Mmm." Hiyori indifferently hums her agreeance, examining the mace.

With that, Remilia floated off.

…

"...Remi can be a jerk." Marigold adopted her nickname, too.

"Don't call her by that often." Patchouli appears vain.

"Why not?" Marigold pouts. "I think it fits."

Patchouli shrugs. "It does, but she'd rather only close friends call her by that, and I wish to respect that."

...At that, Marigold nods. "Fair enough."

...

"Say…" Marigold stands up, moving towards her mother. "I wanna know how to improve this…"

She takes out the Lotion Dispenser she crafted the other day.

Hikari stands up. "I'm gonna go look for Osamu."

Hiyori stands, too. "...I guess I'll go with you. I'm not very keen on technology."

Marigold snorts at her comment, sparing her a glance, before looking back at her mother.

' _Time to get on the move…_ '

Hikari begins moving for the shelves, Hiyori trailing behind her.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: MARIGOLD'S VIEW ====

Patchouli sighed once the two were out of sight. "...I'd like to know for _what_ reason you brought an oni to my library."

Surprised, her daughter takes a moment to process the sudden hostility. "Wh-what?..."

' _She hates oni. I would have remembered that, if we hadn't just run from an angry vampire…_ '

...Marigold paused to take in the sheer surreality of that sentence. "...Well, she's calm."

"Calm." Patchouli nods serenely… "Remind me to carefully monitor your diet. You seem to be either delirious from fatigue, or completely insane."

Marigold snorted. "She's a buddhist, sober, and happens to hug kittens."

"Definitely insane." Patchouli grins. "...At this point, I'll assume you have your reasons. Don't expect me to like her here, though. Keep away from Marisa's mushrooms, if you've been seeing her."

"Noted." Marigold sighs. "Can we just move on to my invention? Hiyori's _fine._ "

"Yes, yes..." Looking down at it, Patchouli furrowed her brows… "What, exactly, am I supposed to be looking at?"

' _Eheh, right…_ ' Marigold clears her throat. "Ahem… so this, for now, is a lotion dispenser-esque thing. The jar of water on the bottom-" She taps on the empty jar. "-gets fed up through the hose, magically. The liquid's filled with Talcum Powder."

Patchouli furrows her brows. "What powder?"

' _Right…_ ' "Basically skin smoothing powder."

"Ah." Patchouli nods. "Continue."

' _Oh, right!_ ' "It's powered by holy magic."

...Patchouli furrows her brows once more. "Where on Earth did you obtain holy magic…?"

Marigold stares at her mother dryly.

…

"I travel with…?" She begins cycling her hands through the air.

Blushing, Patchouli realizes the implication. "O-oh, right. Hakurei. But… she's rather inept at everything a Hakurei should be at, is she not?"

"Hey…" Marigold props her arms on her hips. "She's not _that_ bad. She did this thing with ofuda." The Lotion Dispenser is raised in demonstration. "She's got some crazy non-Hakurei magic, too."

"I'm sure." Patchouli dismisses the discussion. "What is this device's purpose?"

"I don't know." Marigold consents. "I just kinda made it."

...Giving her daughter a flat stare, she moved to examine it herself. "...Hmm." She examined the jar at the device's bottom. "...Magnets?"

"Mmm." Marigold nods. "I got them underground."

"Underground." Patchouli echoes. She moves to detach the jar, and does so with a few twists. With a few taps of her hand, the jar fills with water…

Marigold moves next. "Hold on, let me get out the Talcum Powder…"

Her backpack is rested on the table, and she sifts through it… "Ah! Here…"

Taking the Talcum Powder, she begins shaking it into the jar. After that, she takes the jar from her mother's grasp, and reattaches it to the magnet slot…

"There." Smiling, she reaches for the trigger…

"Ho-hold on…" Patchouli fluffs up. "Don't use that in here."

"It's safe for clothing, and fades if it doesn't hit skin." Marigold provides. "It's not gonna get anything wet, I'm pretty sure."

...Patchouli sighs. "If you're wrong about this, you will be cleaning it up."

' _...I hope those ofuda still work._ '

Marigold pulled the trigger. As the water travelled up the hose, the ofuda began glowing in order, spiraling up the broom shaft until the water reached the shower head.

It rained up into the air, and then fell down upon the two fluffy mages. Patchouli winced, shielding herself with her hands, before noticing the liquid didn't actually wet her.

...Nodding appreciatively, Patchouli begins rubbing her skin. "Hmm…"

' _It's pretty good lotion._ ' Marigold grinned. ' _Maybe I can sell it, or something…_ '

"...This is more than just lotion." Patchouli announces. "The liquid is enchanted."

...Marigold nods. "Yeah. It is."

Furrowing her brows, Patchouli gives her daughter a sardonic grin. "No, I mean, I don't think you've realized… The liquid has a defense spell cast upon it."

...Curiosity piqued, Marigold's brow rose. ' _...Defensive spell?_ '

"Probably a side effect of the holy magic." Patchouli lamented. "...Mixed with the powder, I would assume. This water would be less pleasant otherwise… if we can still call it water."

' _...Why would that be?_ ' Marigold appears conflicted. "...Is holy water bad for us?"

Her mother nods. "...Not exactly, but since we're youkai, it's not entirely healthy. It won't kill us, though. Someone like Remi would suffer a lot more."

' _Probably shouldn't use it around her, then… unless I feel like it._ ' A grin begins creeping onto Marigold's face…

"No." Patchouli deadpans. "If you use it on her intentionally, you will be disciplined. Unless you have to."

' _Dang._ ' Marigold deflates. ' _I-I mean, that's what I was thinking anyway- egh…_ '

...While her daughter cringes awkwardly, Patchouli gives the device another once over. "...There's not much I can do to improve this. Holy magic is not my field of study; particularly the Hakurei brand."

...Even so, Marigold was satisfied. ' _I still know more about it than I did._ '

Smiling, she took the device back from her mother. "Thanks, Mom."

...Patchouli paused, surprised.

' _...Wait._ '

"...Say, uh…" Marigold had a thought. "I might need a bunch of water jars."

' _And a new name, for this thing. Lotion dispenser seems a little misleading…_ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIKARI'S VIEW ====

' _If I was illiterate, and in a library, where would I be…?_ '

Pensively, Hikari strutted down the shelf-derived halls of the library.

Gaping at the lines of knowledge on the shelves, Hiyori realized just how massive the library was. "...I didn't have time to properly appreciate this when we entered, but… wow."

Hikari gets the urge to snark back, but then she pauses to marvel, herself. ' _...She's not wrong. Seriously, can Marigold's mom even read all of this…?_ '

…

She stopped marveling. ' _Where_ is _he?_ '

"Woa~h!" Osamu's wail was heard across the library.

...Hikari and Hiyori give each other a glance, before they begin running in the direction of their friend's voice.

...Noticing Hiyori was running far faster than her by default, Hikari was forced to apply what wind she could to herself to keep up.

' _He-hey…_ ' She quickly began expending her stamina to keep up…

Fortunately, it was only after a few corners that they found the scene they were looking for…

"Fuck you!" Osamu threw his arms forward.

Osamu tried PK Freeze γ!

KaKaKoo~…

A snowflake pattern formed around-

' _What is that supposed to be…!?_ '

Before the four, was a large tome. Spider-like appendages stretched out of it, resting upon the top of the shelves as a large, yellow eye looked down at them from above.

Boom!

The spider creature was blown back by the icy blast, held from flying too far by its grip on the shelves.

"Hah!" Namori flew up, and point at the creature.

FwiChoo~m!

A blue laser slowly expanded to meet the eye, poking it.

The eye screeched, somehow. "Greeher!"

...Hikari slowly reached for an ear with one hand. "O~w."

Slowly retracting into the book, the eye made way for a large pair of mandibles, which slid out from the confines of the book.

Hiyori wasn't sure what to think. "What is this doing in the library…?"

"I dunno!" Osamu backpedalled towards the two, as did Namori. "It just fuckin' came outta this book with locks and shit on it! Legit!"

' _...He cracked open a cursed tome._ '

"Greeher, greeher!" No longer a screech, the creature's voice came out mechanically. It then shifted its 'head' into the aisle, and began slowly snipping its way towards the party, with the intent to consume.

Hiyori moved forward voluntarily, holding her mace high. "Hya~h!"

As the mandible clamped to her torso, failing to inflict any amazing amount of damage, Hiyori brought her mace down.

SMAAAA~SH!

Squelch!

The tome was embedded into the floor, yellow goo from the eye splattering around and onto Hiyori.

…

Twitching, the long spider legs slowly retracted back towards the tome, writhing as they folded back into it.

"Dude…" Osamu grinned. "What's with the club?"

"It's a _mace._ " Hiyori stresses. "The last of the Deva treasures."

"I'll say!" He grins wider. "That's a _big_ fuckin' mace!"

Namori simply stared at it, eyes wide.

…

"So, what're you guys doin' here?" Osamu suddenly looked a bit awkward. "I was kinda, uhm…"

"We're leaving soon." Hikari spoke. "Leaving you behind is probably not in anyone's best interest."

' _Including your own._ '

...Turning to his fairy friend, he smirked. "...Sorry, Namori. The guys need me."

...Namori nods gingerly. "O-okay..."

With that, Osamu began stepping back towards the party, looking pleased. "Y'guys eat tea and cakes while I was out?"

"If only." Hiyori lampshaded the previous chaos.

The three turn, and begin moving to leave the shelves-

Namori grabs Osamu's sleeve.

"Whuh…?" Osamu turns around…

The timid fairy stares at him. "...Co-come back… s-soon…"

Hikari is taken aback. ' _...Wow. That's… genuine, isn't it?_ '

…The two stared at each other.

' _Watch Osamu screw this up with a cheesy comment._ '

"Ye-yeah. No problem."

'... _What._ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

They soon began the relaxed strut back to the study their two magician friends resided at. Since Namori needed to leave the library, too, she followed them.

' _How anticlimactic._ '

"So…" Namori was inquisitive. "...Hi-Hikari…"

' _Huh?_ ' She turned to the shy fairy…

"I he-heard you… read books." Fidgeting, Namori continued. "...Wo-would you recommend any…?"

' _Oh, wow… uhm…_ ' Put on the spot, it was hard for Hikari to think of any good books. "Th-there was this one book, I really liked. It was European Daily Life."

Namori lit up. "O-oh! Pa-Patchouli-sama wrote that…"

' _...What!?_ ' Hikari's brows furrowed. ' _I read that just before I started this adventure. There's no way…_ '

"It was about the mansion, al-although, she kinda… took some liberties…" Namori described.

' _About the mansion? It-..._ '

Hikari suddenly realized who the two vampires in that book were. Along with the green gate guard, the purple librarian, and the blue maid.

Between this, and Osamu finding a girlfriend, Hikari's expectations were shattered. "My life is a lie."

At that, Namori quieted back down, simply moving towards Osamu. He grinned at Hikari, who stared at them...

"...Jealous?" Osamu was back to normal in no time, though.

' _What?_ '

…

"I'm gonna pretend you didn't just say that." Hikari focuses on the path ahead.

' _Seriously._ '

Hiyori snorted.

"Why?" Osamu tries to approach her. "Is it 'cause-"

He's cut off by Namori tugging on his sleeve.

"...S'up?" Immediately, he becomes a slight more sedated.

"...I-I don't think you should bully Hikari…" Namori quietly decided. "...She's nice."

"Awwh…" Osamu smiles, before setting his sights on Hikari again, ignoring the fairy's advice. "Is it 'cause ya can't get a guy? Or is it 'cause… ya lost a chance to get _this?_ " Turning around, he flexes.

…

' _I'm done._ '

Hiyori senses the hostility, attempting to intercept before Hikari attacks. "Hey, hey, Hikari, he was just-"

SMAAAA~SH!

Thud.

"Os-Osamu-kun!" Namori blanched. "No!"

...Hiyori folded her arms, giving Hikari a displeased stare.

"...It had to happen." Hikari declares.

…

"Do-don't look at me like that…" Hikari blushes, turning away from Hiyori's judgmental stare.

…

"Look…" Hikari sighs. "Sorry?"

Hiyori sighs. "We've got a long way to go, when it comes to diplomacy…"

"Osamu-ku~n…" Namori mourned her unconscious boyfriend.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

It took effort, but the conscious members of Hikari's party met up with Marigold and her mother. Hiyori had to carry Osamu the rest of the way.

They arrived to see Remilia there again, reclaiming her portrait and the blue christmas tree decoration that was associated.

"Can't we keep _one?_ " Marigold smiles compromisingly.

"No." Remilia frowned. "These are items back from my rowdier years, and I'd prefer if they weren't laid to waste by some _infants._ "

' _You are a tiny midget woman._ ' Hikari dryly jabs mentally. She gives Remilia a patronizing stare, instead.

"Really…" Marigold folds her arms.

"Yes, really." Remilia places her portrait behind herself. "If you want loot of your own, you'd best go exploring for it. Thievery gets you nowhere."

Patchouli amends Remilia's statements. "...Remi, you got both of those things from treasure chests while on the hunt."

Remilia freezes up.

A finger was brought to the mage's lip. "...I'm not sure why a portrait of yourself was even stored away in someone else's possessions."

"It was that one vampire's manor, remember?" Remilia recalls the scenario, glazing over her previous charisma break. "The tall, bald one, with the dungeon full of little peasant girls?"

' _I don't even want to know._ '

"...Ooo~h." Patchouli nods. "...Still doesn't explain why it's infused with your power, now."

"Because I like it." Remilia grins. "Disgusting wretch he may have been… but deceptively talented artist."

Adding to that, Patchouli points out something else. "I don't think you really need that Neutron Bomb…"

Marigold's eyes widened. She knew it meant nukes. "Neutron Bomb!?"

' _Neutron Bomb!?_ ' Hikari thought it sounded intimidating, also because of Marigold's apparent surprise.

...Grinning at the party's reaction, Remilia soaks it in. "Ye~s. The mighty Neutron Bomb is at my disposal! This is just a fraction of my resources, Hakurei!"

Hiyori hadn't heard anything of the Manhattan Project yet, fortunately. She was simply confused.

...Patchouli sighs. "We just call it that. It's actually a simple knockback spell in a ball."

' _...Oh._ ' The excited party members relax.

Remilia slouches. "...Why must you do these things to me, Patchy? Where's your sense of fun?"

"I'd rather my daughter didn't believe we had nukes at our disposal." Patchouli deadpans. "In any case, I can literally make you fifty of those in minutes, if I desired. They are not treasure."

...Remilia huffed. "Yea~h, alright… Fine." She moves to toss it at Marigold, but Patchouli stops it telekinetically mid-air.

"...Make _sure_ it doesn't feel sudden impacts." Patchouli stared at Remilia sternly.

Remilia looks innocent.

Slowly, Patchouli floated it towards her daughter…

Marigold obtained Neutron Bomb!

"There you are." She nods. "Most effective on weak enemies. Big ones, not so much."

"...Cool." Marigold didn't have much else to say.

' _...You know, that goes for a lot of things._ ' Hikari realizes. ' _Can we get something that's effective on big enemies?_ '

…

"Mari~chan!"

Hana suddenly stood in the middle of the party, surprising everyone.

"Wo-woah!" Marigold's eyes widened.

' _Huh…?_ ' Hikari turned to her.

Hiyori tensed up, before relaxing again…

"Wha-huh…?" Osamu began stirring. "Du~de, my hea~d…"

Hikari tried Lifeup α!

"...Suddenly feels good." Fully awake, he nods in satisfaction.

"I'm back!" Hana exclaims, having respawned from the previous thrashing she received from Hikari and company after she had spilled an entire tower of pancakes on everyone.

...

"...Hello." Hikari greets her gingerly.

Turning around, Hana glomps Hikari. "Awwh! That bow makes you look so _fluffy!_ "

' _...Wh-why?_ ' Hikari was confused, but the hug was welcomed.

…

Hana gasped. "Oh? Oo~h…!"

She reached a hand into Hikari's pocket-

' _Hey, hey, hey!_ ' Hikari began struggling, inflicting pain on Hana.

"Ouch, ouch- ahah!"

The heart gem Hikari had obtained earlier was plucked from her pocket by Hana, who gleamed at it. "Did Koishi-chan give this to you?"

' _Wh-what…?'_ Hikari narrowed her eyes. "...Yes. I'd like it back."

"O-oh!" Hana handed it back to her. "Sorry! I just felt it, and like, I _really_ wanted to see her again, so I thought she was in your pocket. Sorry."

…

' _Oh. Makes sense._ ' Hikari sees nothing wrong with that reasoning.

"It's rude to assault people, Ha-chan." Marigold chides her.

"I said sorry!" Hana covers her head and does a partial crouch, despite not being under attack. "Don't yell at me…"

...Marigold melts. "...Ok-okay."

Hikari stares down at the gem. Patchouli's eyes widened, as she hovered towards Hikari… "That gem… She said you got it from someone?" She struggled to find Koishi's name.

"It's not for sale." Hikari monotones.

"I do not desire it." Patchouli deadpans in return. "I will tell you that it's magical, though."

' _Really, now?_ ' Hikari was not surprised. ' _Why wouldn't it be?_ '

"Unfortunately, I couldn't identify why it has magic without proper examination." Patchouli shrugged. "If the magic isn't simply ambient. Numerous stones are like that."

"...Could I just channel my mana into it?" Hikari guessed.

"Well, if you don't know what it does, you could be writing yourself a death sentence, for all we know." Patchouli warns her.

Marigold adds her own thoughts, though. "I don't think Koishi would give us something that explodes."

"How can you simply trust some stranger?" Patchouli voiced what was likely coming from what motherly side she had. "I've never heard of any individual by the name of Koishi myself. What last name might she bare?"

"Komeiji." Marigold specifies.

Patchouli jerked her head back. "...That's…" Then, she shook it. "You're _certain_ of this?"

"Channel mana into it, Hikari." Marigold decides for her.

' _...I didn't decide anything yet._ ' Hikari was put on the spot. ' _I-I guess I should, though…_ '

Hikari begins focusing on the gem…

Patchouli grimaced. "Hakurei, you fool! At least allow me to create a-a proper testing environment first!"

Scrambling, the purple mage began summoning random walls of stone from the floor, haphazardly surrounding the party.

One raises in front of Osamu's face. "Oh, shit!"

Hiyori sighed. "...I think this is a little heavy handed."

"Mom can get like that." Marigold looks relaxed. "She's just looking out for us. And her books."

Hikari was still focusing on the gem, brows furrowed. ' _...Ugh. This… is a lot of mana, an-and it's not working yet..._ '

…

The gem abruptly lights up a bright pink, glowing in Hikari's hand.

"W-wa~h…" Hikari felt uneasy from the amount of mana that was suddenly expelled from her body.

...It tried to jerk itself from Hikari's hand.

' _He-hey!_ ' Hikari clamped another hand on it. "Ba-bad stone…!"

' _You're supposed to work with me! I-I… magic stones are my thing!_ '

Tufts of magical, green clouds shot from the gem, trailing off into the air and jerking Hikari's arms in multiple directions

Poof! Paf, poof!

Marigold stared at the action nervously. "U~hm... "

' _Woah, woah, woah…!_ ' Hikari braced herself for pain as the gem began flashing brightly, more bursts of cloudy magic fighting her grip on the gem.

Namori clammed up. "Hawawawa~!"

Hiyori cast Osamu to the floor-

"Oof!"

-and moved to aid Hikari, when-

Poo~f!

A large, green cloud of mist was expelled from the gem, whirling in the air over Hikari…

" _Heeyyaaa~h!_ "

Koishi floated above the party, pumping her arms into the air. She took a few glances around, before floating back down to Hikari…

"Boop!" She poked her on the nose, a small ring of green mist expanding outward from the contact.

...Hikari crossed her eyes trying to stare at her nose.

"Ko-Koishi…?" Hiyori stared up at the floating girl.

"That's my name!" She winked at the oni, before staring down at Hikari. "...Kinda surprised how fast she figured it out. The stone, I mean… not my name. Heehee!"

"What're you doing here?" Hiyori blinked at her in surprise. "You were underground… There's no way you could've…"

Koishi giggled. "...I mean, I actually _could've_ flown here. But that's besides the point- I made it so someone could summon me through that little gem there!" Koishi pointed at the glowing gem. "Y'see, I kinda saw what that-" Her voice went monotone, " _-Giygas_ …" before returning upbeat, "guy did when she, he, whoever was all like 'we are one person mwahaha!', and I copied it!"

...Hiyori didn't follow. "What?"

"Basically, I tried to copy guy gas' shtick, and like, poke around in Hikari's mind and help her, and stuff." ...Koishi stared at her her arms, then down at Hikari. "Didn't really work so well. This is cool, too, though!"

' _...I'm not even gonna ask._ '

...Then, Koishi's eyes widen. "Oh- just one more thing, I-"

"Koishi-cha~n!" Hana couldn't contain herself, leaping up to glomp the satori.

"Oompf!"

They collided with one of the earth pillars.

"Hello~!"

...Koishi beamed. "Ha-cha~n! What're you doing here!? Aw, man, this is awesome! All my friends are here!"

' _...That's a rather small bank of friends._ ' Hikari considered. ' _...I'm one to talk, though._ '

"...An-anyway!" Koishi looked back down at Hikari. "I'm not, like, actually here! It's just kinda a-a _thing_ using Hikari's mana!"

' _...I feel swindled._ '

"That's so cool…!" Osamu gaped from the floor. "Summoning shit _works!?_ "

"Are you… draining her mana? Right now?" Marigold seems apprehensive.

Koishi pauses, breaking from Hana. "...Well, not _her_ mana. This form eats it like a beast man eats the food he eats. It's greedy!"

Marigold nods. "...So it's a one time cost."

"Mmm!" Koishi hums in agreeance. "...I'm a one-time, limited offer! _Ten_ easy payments of about a _third of your mana_ , and I'm here! I can stick around longer if I talk and do absolutely nothing useful." ...She seemingly loses energy. "I wouldn't mind that, personally…"

...Patchouli hovers over the rock pillars, staring at Koishi. Koishi smiles back.

Hikari looks up at her. "...I think you would have knocked me out, if you took that much."

She glances down at Hikari, but Patchouli engages her in conversation.

"You are Komeiji's supposed sister, correct?" Patchouli looks inquisitive.

Koishi is charmed and re-energized. "O~h, yes! Are you a friend of her's? It's kinda hard for me to keep track sometimes, 'cause-"

"Unfortunately, you see, I am skeptical." Patchouli counters, smirking. "...For, from what I can tell, you cannot read minds."

...Koishi looks a little awkward. Her voice changes drastically to a more timid one. "U-uhm… ye-yes. I can't…"

"You see why I'm skeptical?" Patchouli frowns. "...For this reason, I believe you _aren't_ who you say you are."

Hiyori didn't like the sound of that. Koishi floated down for a moment, glancing at Hikari with a glare. "Hey, uh… Ari? You mind tellin' me to _defend myself_ here?"

Marigold rose a brow. "Defend yourself?"

"Come back out here, phantom." Patchouli remains in place, speaking with veiled malice. "I have a few things to discuss with you."

...Koishi nods exaggeratedly, speaking meekly. "Sh-she's plannin' 'a _smoke_ me out… I'm, li-like, a goner…"

"...W-well," Hikari scratched her cheek, put off by her whirlwind of emotions. "Defend yourself, then. You don't need my permission."

Koishi giggled. "Yeah, uhm, I kinda do. Look, there's like-" She took out a scroll which emitted cloudy green magic. "It's complicated. I'm kinda breaking familiar rules, summoning rules, reality rules..."

She dropped the bottom of the scroll. It bounced off the floor, and rolled forward, passing the entire party before it weaved out of the stone pillars, rolling off into parts unknown.. On it, was very, very, _very_ tiny font, in Japanese.

' _Wow._ '

Hiyori and Marigold gaped.

Hana and Namori had their eyebrows raised.

"Fuck." Osamu summarized.

Koishi grins, and taps it again, poofing it away. "Basically. The whole 'permission' thing is both so ya can strategize, and _basically_ 'cause physics says so."

...Hikari nods. "Alright, then. Be gentle with her, alright?"

"She's my mother." Marigold adds. "If you hurt her, I'll have Hikari summon you just so I can shoot you."

"Ahahah…" Koishi blushes. "Don't worry. I'll treat her _ultra~ soft!_ "

Floating back over the pillar, Koishi greets the mage.

"He~y, there, angry- woah!" Koishi bends out of the way to dodge a blue sphere of energy. "...Ain't it a little early to be callin' war!?"

"You have my daughter under your influence." Patchouli decides. "For that, you will die."

...Koishi giggles. "Oo~kay, lady. We usin' chopsticks, or silverware?"

' _Koishi, attack!_ '

Hikari's mental command forces Koishi's arms to move. "Hey- wha!?"

Patchouli floats back, as Koishi launched her offensive.

The short satori's arms moved involuntarily, swiping at the air and sending out foggy, trailing beams of green energy "Hyah, hoo, hah!"

Koishi tried HK Uneasy α!

Koishi tried HK Nervous α!

Koishi tried HK Bravery α!

Poof!

Each bolt was absorbed into Patchouli's body, causing her to dissipate the fireball she was casting. "Wh-what…?"

Poof!

The next bolt changed her emotions. "I-I shouldn't be…" Patchouli stared at Koishi timidly.

Poof!

"...I-I have to do it for Marigold!" She resummoned the fireball with renewed vigor, glaring at Koishi.

Koishi smiled widely out of fear. "And _this_ one may leave a mark!"

Koishi tried HK Happy ß!

Patchouli stared at Koishi.

…

The fireball whirled in her hand, slowly shrinking.

…

"Is everything alright up there?" Marigold called out.

The rock pillars slowly lowered back into magical circles, revealing an untarnished library floor.

"...On second thought…" Patchouli smiled, letting the fireball fizzle out. "I think I'll be willing to negotiate."

...Koishi was jerked back towards the stone. "E-eep! Out of mana!"

A stream of gaseous, green magic between her and the stone formed.

"Hikari, always remember, I always loved-" Koishi began getting pulled towards the stone, "-your pretty red bow!"

Ti~ng!

Koishi became a cloud of green mist, which traveled back into the pink gem, which promptly went out.

…

"That happened." Hikari was running out of disbelief.

...Patchouli landed on the floor ahead of the party, looking pleased, if a bit confused. "...Wh-what just happened? I summoned those rocks, and…" She grimaced. "...My memory _cannot_ be degrading."

That said, she begins walking towards Marigold. "I feel pleased and worried at the same time, however. I'm also really in the mood for a hug."

Marigold is taken by surprise as the fluffy mage hugs her.

…

"Y-yay…" Namori celebrated the snuggling in the background.

Awkwardly, Patchouli broke the hug. "...Awkwardness. _Now_ I'm back in my element."

' _...All's well that ends well._ ' Hikari figures. ' _...Summoning Koishi eats almost as much mana as my fantasy lightshow attack. I guess I'll have to use it sparingly..._ '

...Floating up off the ground, Patchouli retreats towards her study. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go forget my previous blunder ever happened."

…

"Koishi-chan's so cool…!" Hana hugs herself.

"...Wh-who?" Namori tilts her head.

Everyone turns to face her, slowly.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

"Come back soo~n!" Hana waved over enthusiastically at the manor gate, practically knocking herself over with each throw of her arm.

"Ye-yeah!" Namori gives her best attempt at raising her voice.

"Don't be strangers." Meiling smiles at them as they depart. "Make some noise out there, Marigold."

Marigold turns to her, and grins. "No problem."

"...Don't die, either." Meiling amends. "That's kinda important."

"...No problem." Marigold deadpans.

The four march away from the manor gates below the bright noon sky, the overcast of earlier having faded.

Hiyori takes the lead. "Hikari… where do you think we should go next?"

Marigold walks faster. "I think we should head to my Mom's place. Mostly so we can get that dirt rag we got for Osamu refurbished…"

"Sounds good." Osamu had no problems with this.

...Hikari hums in agreement. ' _We could also visit Marisa's, and get Marigold that big rocket._ '

With that, Hiyori comes to a stop ahead of the other three. "Grab on, everyone. We're gonna teleport there."

==== GENSOYKOBOUND ====

Meiling and the two fairies watched the four line up behind the oni…

"...Ha-chan, you know what they're doing?" Meiling wondered.

"No clue!" Hana beamed.

"...Gr-group hug?" Namori guessed.

"...More like a group conga." Meiling snorted. "Cute."

...The party began getting tugged around in a circular pattern, Hikari and company acting like a limp rope as they held onto the oni.

Meiling's eyes widened. "Wh-what…!?"

Hana clapped her hands. "Yea~h! They're dancing!"

Namori clapped her hands around her mouth. "U-uhm…!?"

…

KraKoo~m!

A circle of flames was left behind as the party vanished, a streak of light blinding those observing.

"Ghh…" Meiling shielded her eyes. "...What was _that?_ "

"Fun." Hana looked in the wrong direction, temporarily blinded.

"Ow…" Namori held her eyes.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

KraKoo~m!

They touched down outside Alice's house, where Hiyori loudly skidded to a halt in the dirt with the heels of her sandals.

Bam.

Hikari was squished against her.

' _I'm an idiot._ ' Hikari noted that Hiyori smelled of rocks.

' _Considering I was underground for who knows how long, I know what rocks smell like._ '

...Alice's door swung open. "What in the world…?"

...Marigold shook her dizziness off, turning to wave at her. "...Hi, Mom!"

"...Hi." Alice unsurely greeted them. "...You just appeared outside my house with a loud bang, and you brought an oni with you."

Hiyori notices her, and grins awkwardly.

"I think this calls for an explanation." Alice's tone conveys finality.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Inside, the four all sat around a wooden table. Hiyori and Hikari doubled up on one side, because the table did not have five sides.

"...So…" Alice took a deep breath. "The moment you left my house, you flew to heaven, scaled the entire mountain, went to Old Hell, destroyed a robot factory, met an oni, and came home."

…

' _We didn't actually destroy the factory._ ' Hikari reasoned. ' _That's also not the right order of events…_ '

"I mean, basically…?" Osamu grinned sheepishly.

…

Alice sighed. "I've got a feeling something's not right here, but I can't exactly call you liars…" She stared at the oni. "What's your name, anyway?"

"Hiyori." She supplied. "I'm a buddhist. I do not drink alcohol."

…

"Kids, I'd like you to step outside for a moment." Alice monotoned. "Hiyori and I have something to discuss together. Alone."

' _Yeah, this was inevitable, wasn't it?_ '

...Osamu huffed. "I'm startin' ta think _Hiyori's_ the one who needs ta learn diplomacy, here…!"

"Summon Koishi." Marigold immediately requested. "It worked last time."

"No." Hikari denied. "She eats my magic."

"Summon the dragon." Osamu beckons.

Alice's motherly senses began mobilizing her into action. "I said _let us talk_."

Strings began lifting Marigold, who was slowly dragged from the room. "M-mom! She's alright! She- woah!"

Marigold was rocketed out of the room.

...Hikari felt herself begin to be lifted. ' _For the love of…_ '

Pulling out the heart gem, Hikari focused her mana into it. ' _Hnngh…_ '

She was positioned in front of the door, when-

Poo~f! Paf, poof!

She was jerked around, displacing Alice's carefully strung wire, and forcing her to shake in the air. Green, gaseous magic flowed from the gem and shot outward, until-

Poo~f!

" _Heeyyaaa~h!_ "

Koishi twirled out, pumping her arms into the air. She looked around…

An angry Alice paused. "...Wh-who are you? Where are you people coming from, all of a sudden…?"

"Oh, hey!" Koishi beamed. "It's the crazy puppet lady!"

"Hey!" Marigold called from outside.

Hikari was then thrown outside by the strings, landing next to Marigold.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: OSAMU'S VIEW ====

' _Whelp, there goes Hikari._ ' He nods as she leaves the room.

"Oh! Whelp, see you, Ari." Koishi waves at her. "Geesh. Hakurei maidens, am I right? Always flyin' all over the place..."

' _How the hell should I know?_ ' Osamu grinned.

"...I'll question you next." Alice dismisses Koishi's presence. "I'm more concerned by why my daughter's suddenly being escorted by an oni."

"What have I done?" Hiyori stands up, holding her arms out. "I've done nothing but _protect_ your daughter."

...At this, Alice seems to relent. "...Re-really…?"

...Hiyori huffs. "Yes. I know it sounds crazy, but… I don't drink, or anything."

…

Alice sighs. "I-I guess I was being a little rash, there…"

Koishi's arms began moving. "Wh-whoops! U~hm… what boss lady says goes! Sorry 'bout this!"

' _I got no idea how her gem thing works._ '

...Alice furrows her brows. "I'm sorry?"

Koishi tried HK Sorrow α!

Koishi tried HK Lust α!

Koishi tried HK Happy α!

Slinging her arms around, Koishi sent out streamed, cloudy beams of green energy. "Heh! Hah! Hoo!"

The first beam approached Alice on a curve, and she tried to block it with her arm…

Poof!

...Alice grimaced. "Wh-what have I done…?"

She didn't acknowledge the next beam sneaking around the other angle…

Poof!

Her eyes widened. "O-oh, my…!"

Clutching her skirt, the final beam struck her in the chest.

Poof!

"...We-well…" She looked around, then at her hands. "What was _that_ all about?"

...Gulping, Koishi reeled her arm back, suddenly becoming solemn… "I-I'm sorry about this…"

Koishi tried HK Sorrow ß!

…

Alice dropped to the floor in front of Hiyori, bowing. "Please forgive me."

' _Woah!_ ' Osamu grinned down at her.

...Hiyori sighed, turning to Koishi. "You can manipulate emotions, can't you?"

"Ye~p." Koishi winks. "I can do all sorts of amazing things! Like, make people laugh...!"

…

"Wow. Short resume..." Koishi notes.

' _She's sellin' herself short, there. She can beat people up!... Indirectly, I mean…_ '

…

"Ye-yeah…" Koishi rubs the back of her head. "I'd fix this, but uh… not a lot you can do over gem-spirit doohickies. It's like, like tryin'a call while you're in a tunnel! Some of it gets through… but only when it feels like it!"

' _Yeah, I'd imagine._ ' Osamu observed from his seat. He didn't get the call analogy, but he knew what it was like to live in a tiny house. ' _It's probably pretty cramped in there._ '

...Hiyori stares down at Alice. "...I-I forgive you. Please stand up."

Slowly, Alice raises to her feet. Then, she feels her head… "...U~gh…"

...Then, she blinks, and locks eyes with Hiyori again… before settling her gaze on Koishi.

"You." She addresses her. "You're far more dangerous than that oni."

...Koishi shrugs. " _Every_ one's a critic, today…"

"Leave." Alice requests of her.

"Would you like fries with that?" Koishi grins.

...Strings begin pulling her towards the door. "He-hey, could I interest you in a subscription to-"

She was expelled. "Woa~h!"

The door slammed shut.

…

"Ya know…" Osamu began, before he idly scanned the table for snacks. He found none. "...Marigold and Hikari're outside."

The door swings back open, and Alice rushes outside, not bothering to touch the floor.

He chuckles, while Hiyori simply shakes her head. "...I hope every other place we go doesn't end up like this."

' _...The village'd be a riot!_ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIKARI'S VIEW ====

"Apparently, the lotion dispenser has this defense spell in it…" Marigold made idle conversation.

' _People like kicking us out, as if we wouldn't walk right back in._ ' Hikari reflected. ' _...I mean, we don't, but that's not exactly the point._ '

"I think it's because of your ofuda." Marigold states.

Hikari was snapped out of her thoughts. "...Really?"

Koishi flew outside, over them. "...I received your message, Hikari, ma'am!"

' _...Good?_ ' Hikari was skeptical. "...How did she take it?"

...Koishi ducked, as a lance flew over her head. "Ahaha~h… Not well."

Alice was at the door, appearing resolute. "What do you want with us?"

"Nothin'!" Koishi objected, snarling. "Honestly! Gah!"

' _I wonder…_ ' Hikari had an idea.

"You don't attempt to hijack someone's emotions _just because._ " Alice frowns.

' _Koishi, return!_ '

...Koishi turns to Hikari. "Uu~hm, the command's 'dismiss'. Yeah, picky, I know."

...Hikari stared at her dryly. ' _Koishi, dismiss._ '

"See ya!" Koishi waved to Alice, before her form came undone, becoming a cloud of green mist which returned to the gem.

The gem went dark.

…

"...Something very suspicious happened just now." Alice announced. Then, she blushed. "...But I have no idea what."

...Grinning, Marigold went up to her. "Ahah… C'mon, Mom. Let's go inside…"

Alice paled. "...I-I'm not… How did I get here?"

' _I might wanna save Koishi for actual fights…_ ' Hikari decides. ' _Using her for diplomacy's just kinda asking for trouble…_ '

She slouches. ' _That... and she really tires me out… in both respects._ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

"...I keep forgetting how fickle Gensokyo is, despite having lived in it for well over multiple decades, by now." Alice sighs. "I suppose weirder has happened."

"I was surprised by how surprised _you_ were." Marigold adds. "Seriously."

Alice smiles. "It's not every day your daughter, whom had comfortably come home on a routine basis and without change, suddenly comes home after travelling a good portion of the world with an oni. That, and that… girl that Hikari summoned, according you four…"

...Marigold looks awkward. "Ri-right…"

Osamu shrugged. "I dunno. Could be worse."

"As if I didn't know that." Alice shot back.

...Hikari and Marigold just gave him a flat stare.

"Not _that_ worse!" Osamu protests, holding up one hand to gesticulate, and using his other to reach for a nearby snack bowl. "Like, damn. I mean, what if she came home with two oni? Ah? How about _them_ marbles?"

...Alice relaxed. "...Mmm. I was never into 'what if' questions, myself. I can recommend you to someone who is, though."

' _Situation salvaged._ ' Hikari relaxes, herself. ' _And I didn't have to hit Osamu, this time._ '

"...If you all plan on heading to the village, though…" Alice held a hand to her chin. "...Actually, I think Keine would be receptive. Somewhat."

Hikari snorted. ' _Don't jinx us, please…_ '

"Mom," Marigold began, "You see that red rag on Osamu's torso?"

"Yes, I do." Alice notices it. "I'm genuinely curious as to what he did to the adjusted robe I made him."

"It got blown up." Marigold summarized.

" _Blown up_." Alice broke into a grin. "As a robe does."

Marigold grinned, as well. "...We'd like it if you fashioned that rag into a new robe… or at least, patched it into his old robe. It's sturdy."

"Is it, now?" Alice struts over to Osamu, and examines the material. "...You're not wrong. The enchantment wasn't made to last more than a year, though. Rather cheap thing…"

...She lifts it from Osamu's shoulders, folding it up. "Let me see what I could do with this, first… Keep your robe on."

...Osamu rose a brow as she claimed the rag. "Don't we hafta do measurements and all that shit? Not that I'm complainin', but…

Alice waves him off. "Oh, I've recorded those, already."

He double-takes. "Wait, what?"

"You were here before." Alice explains. "I kept your measurements from then."

...He was in an argumentative mood. "We-well, what if I grew!?"

"In three days." Alice grins. "Considering how tall you are, I doubt that you've grown in the past year."

Osamu steamed. "Grrh…"

Turning towards her table of projects and materials, Alice folded up the red cloth, and sat it down in an empty space. Dolls moved to clear room and rearrange supplies, plopping them in places Alice moved to grab from before they were even placed.

"...I'll probably be needing you robe, too." Alice decides. "This rag has surprisingly little cloth to work with."

...Standing, Osamu moves for the guest room. "You got any, like… spare stuff?"

"Check the closet. Throw on anything." Alice dismissively waved him off. "It's going to be a little while."

' _A little while, huh…?_ ' Hikari began looking around the room.

…

' _So many dolls…_ ' Hikari observed the doll armada on shelves again. ' _The way all the ones on the top shelf are in uniform is kinda cool…_ '

...Marigold stretched. "...We could play chess."

' _Chess, huh? Kinda western, but all things considered..._ ' She furrowed her brows. ' _Wait, are we in the east? West…? Somewhere in between?_ '

"Is that a no?" Marigold pouts.

"A-ah…" Hikari realizes she has to say words to get responses. "N-no, I was just thinking. Sure."

She began scanning the room for the chess board…

Marigold turns to her mother. "Mom, we want to play chess."

Alice glances over. "Oh? Very well…"

' _...Is Chess important, or something?_ ' Hikari was beginning to get confused. Twisting herself around in her chair, she began looking for the board more avidly... ' _I can't even see the board…_ '

A nearby vanity opened up, and dolls dressed in blue and red hovered out, in uniform lines.

The table was soon cleared of remaining debris by two similarly dressed, but oddly colored white dolls.

"Wha- hey! No!" Osamu reached for the snack bowl which was whisked away. "Get back here!"

Each color of doll filed into two lines, and each line was two dolls wide.

Once they stopped shifting, Hikari gazed at the bigger picture…

' _O~h… We're playing some fancy Chess, then._ '

Hiyori nodded at the Chess game. "...That's actually pretty cool."

Osamu tried PK Freeze γ!

KaKaKoo~...

A snowflake shaped pattern of ice crystals materialized around the white-clad chess doll, freezing and thawing rapidly.

Boom!

The doll was blown to smithereens, icy chunks raining across the room. The snack bowl dropped to the floor, encased in a block of ice.

A few ice shards landed on Alice's desk.

…

Marigold shook her head. "Wo~w."

Osamu grinned sheepishly. "Hehehe~h…"

...Alice sighed, expression unreadable due to facing away from the party. "I'd recommend you _didn't_ go around blowing my dolls up. Let me just say that _they_ do not appreciate it."

Osamu furrowed his brows. "They?"

Shi~ng!

The other white-clad doll amassed a lance out of nowhere, and pointed it at his face, inches away from contact.

"Wo-woaa~h!?" He flailed his arms, falling backwards.

Thud! "...Ouch."

...Smiling, Alice turns to face him. "So, please, treat them how you would like to be treated."

…

"That's Mom's way of telling you to not touch her stuff." Marigold simplified it for him.

"Oh." He relaxed. "Well, shit. Tell it not to touch _my_ snacks!"

Alice's smile became ironic. "...That _I_ provided for you." She turned to her daughter. "Did you really have to ruin the fun?"

"You weirded him out." Marigold sat her eyes on the board, and blinked. "...You wanna go first, Hikari?"

Hikari nodded, and examined the board…

...Alice shrugged, and went back to work over her counter.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

...Hastily, Osamu ran back inside, slamming the door shut behind himself. Since he had changed out of his torn up robes, he now wore a mixture of generic clothing and some random odds and ends from certain unique outfits he saw in the closet. Namely, he took out a single Hakurei arm sleeve, and decided to attach a maid headdress to his arm.

' _I have no idea what he was thinking, but it's temporary, anyway. I probably would have done something similar…_ '

Idly, Hiyori and the two Chess contenders glanced at him, before looking back at the game.

' _I wouldn't have been caught_ dead _going outside in it, though._ '

...Hikari made a strained face as she thought about her move. ' _...If I go there, my queen'll be open. But I have to, I think…_ '

...Wincing, Hikari makes her move.

…

Marigold proceeds to take her queen with a bishop.

"No~..." Hikari whines.

"I'll be honest. I haven't played Chess for years, and I hardly know what I'm doing." Marigold smiles casually.

' _...Is that supposed to make me feel better!?_ '

The door bangs loudly, as Osamu presses his back up against it.

…

Hiyori stared. "What was-"

"Nothin'!" Osamu gives a big, cheesy smile. "I just, uh-" Bang, bang! "...fell into the door?"

...The party's stares were dry.

...Bang, bang!

On the other side, a woman's raspy voice came out. "Open up, human! Your precious puppeteer seems to not be home!"

Alice turns from the counter, looking vaguely annoyed. "Oh, it's one of _those_ ones."

...Hikari decides to get up. "Hiyori, watch my pieces."

Hiyori gives her a thumbs up, while Marigold gives her a pout.

...Stepping up to the door, Hikari pushed Osamu aside.

"Dude, be careful." He cautioned her. "I don't even know what that bitch _is._ "

' _...What?_ '

Shaking it off, Hikari swings the door open.

On the other side, a large worm topped by a woman's torso loomed over her. "...Oo~h! Is this your _girlfriend!?_ Appetizing…!"

...Hikari's jaw dropped. "Wow. You're… slimey."

' _I was about to call her ugly, but that would be rude. Besides, her human half doesn't look that bad…_ '

Grinning, the worm girl revealed her smashed teeth. "Come to Kamiya, baby~!"

Before the worm girl could even engage Hikari, a lance flew into her.

Shink!

"...Hgh-huuh…?" Still grinning, her eyes widened as she contorted to stare at her new piercing. "...Da-damn…"

A few more whizzed past her, but the worm girl turned around and began slithering along the floor, the lance embedded in it forcing it to move awkwardly, partially dragging itself whenever it got caught against the forest floor. Purple blood created a trail into the brush.

…

Hikari shook her head. "That was necessary."

Alice paused, turning away from her work again. "...You'd have rather me let that youkai _hurt_ you? Good to know."

' _...I don't think she's absorbed that bit about 'exploring half of Gensokyo', yet…_ '

Moving to resume her game, Hikari sat down on her end of the Chess board.

' _Or that thing about healing myself. Healing magic seems pretty uncommon…_ '

...Osamu glanced out the door, before resolving to close it gently, coming to terms that the Forest of Magic wasn't quite a place to frolic in without friends nearby.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

"It is done." Alice declares, holding up the new dark blue and red robe. "The enchantment should last a little longer, too."

Osamu grinned. "Cool. Thanks."

...Alice stared at his 'temporary' clothing.

"...Du~de, this is awesome!" Osamu unfurled the robe, examining it.

Osamu obtained Rugged Robe!

"...Why are you wearing an arm sleeve? Better question, what's that maid headdress doing as a bracelet..?" Alice observes with a grain of salt.

Osamu grins. 'I dunno! I'm just tryin' out styles."

' _Styles._ ' Hikari's brows rose, as she looked up from her Chess game. ' _Sure._ '

Marigold moved her king to capture Hikari's last pawn, leaving the two with nothing but their kings.

...Hikari moved hers,and Marigold moved hers. They continued to move like this for a few moments…

"I think it's a stalemate." Hiyori comments.

Before Hikari can say anything, the dolls suddenly break from their position, and begin attacking each other with regal staves.

Clink! Clink!

Then, they pulled out large, decorated broadswords. They were silver and gold, with fancy red and blue designs running up the blades.

Cla~ng!

The table vibrated as their swords clashed. The pieces placed on the sidelines began moving, cheering their respective faction's king as the two struck each other repeatedly.

Blow from each king landed upon one another, their armors protecting them from excessive battle damage, until they both held their swords high.

Pillars of flame and ice emerged from the table's surface, engulfing both dolls, until both were encased, in cinder and frost respectively.

The dolls on the sidelines stopped moving, cupping their hands over their mouths.

…

' _Wow._ '

"...That was dark." Marigold grinned. "I don't remember that stalemate animation."

"I actually had Patchouli help me with that some time ago." Alice explained, smiling smugly. "She helped me perfect the final bits, with the fire and ice spells. You just wouldn't see it often, because stalemates are uncommon."

Hikari stood from her chair, finding her back stiff. ' _Wo-woah…_ '

Marigold was used to sitting in chairs for long periods of time, finding herself fine after an extended sitting session. "...I think we'll be heading out soon."

Alice nodded. "Very well. Try not to go anywhere off-road again, though, okay? You're exceedingly fortunate to not have anything encounter you on the way…"

' _You'd be surprised._ ' Hikari slouched, rubbing her back…

"Lemme throw this robe on…" Osamu moves for the guest room, again.

"We'll try." Hiyori makes no promises.

...Alice noted that, but chose to ignore it, instead sighing. "...Right."

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Outside the house, Osamu strutted around while gazing at his new duds.

"I'm _such_ a badass, dude…" He grins. "When we walk into the village, I'm gonna look like an evil wizard!"

' _When did we decide we'd go to the village, later…?_ ' Hikari furrows her brows. ' _...We should probably make some stops around other places, though. The kappa valley could probably help with Marigold's stuff, and…_ '

She notices Osamu's yukkuri beanie.

' _We're buying him a new hat._ '

The four continued on the path towards Marisa's abode…

"Yo~u!"

Stopping at the sound of the long, raspy yell, the party turned towards the brush.

From it, the worm girl emerged. "Hahaha~! It's my lucky da~y!"

She slithered towards Hikari, who reeled her gohei back…

SMAAAA~SH!

"Guh!?" The worm girl flinched from the strike. "...Meals _don't fight!_ "

Recovering quickly, the worm girl lunged at Hikari as a counter attack, sinking her teeth into the arm she raised in defense.

With a strong pull, flesh was ripped from Hikari's arm.

"Aa-aaaa~h!" Hikari's eyes widened, her arm shaking.

' _Ow, ow, ow…!_ '

Hiyori immediately threw herself into action, coming to her side.

Hiyori tried Lifeup ß!

...The chunk of flesh missing from Hikari's arm slowly began to heal. "O-ouch, ouch…"

This time, the worm girl went for Hiyori, biting at her throat. " _Mine!_ "

She clamped her teeth around Hiyori's neck.

…

Again, she attempted to pull strongly, but only managed to leave some red marks on her flesh. Displeased, the worm girl bowled herself into Hiyori, to little effect.

Hiyori attempted to pick her up, but she slithered out of her grasp, attempting to engage the other party members.

"Hahaha~!"

Osamu tried PK Freeze γ!

KaKaKoo~...

"Huh!?" The worm girl was locked in place by a rapidly freezing and thawing snowflake-shaped pattern of ice crystals…

Boom!

"Hunh…" She locked up, parts of her body frozen. "H-hah…"

Flopping on the floor, the worm girl was unable to do much more. "...Hnh!"

' _...Awful thing._ ' Hikari rubbed her arm where the flesh wound was, finding dirty teeth marks still there.

...She began firing danmaku from her mouth, brown bullets flying straight forward into a tree trunk.

Hikari considered hitting her again, but Hiyori moved to stop her. "We've won. Let's leave it at this."

' _...Fine._ ' Hikari shook her head, moving forward on the path to Marisa's house.

"Stupid fuckin' worms… I didn't even know worm youkai were a _thing!_ " Osamu complained.

"Ga-gaagh!" She snarled at the party as they left, marching off to Marisa's house.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Nearing the shack, Hikari glanced at her funds…

' _Seven thousand, three hundred yen…_ ' She counted. ' _That's good._ '

Marigold knocked on the door.

…

It swung open. "Aa~h? O-oh, hey!" Her eyes widened upon seeing her daughter. "You're here for the new rocket, right…?"

"Mmm." Marigold hummed. "I still have one of the last ones, too…"

Marisa whirls inside, digging through books and rubbish. "Hold on, I got it… Where the hell…"

...Victoriously, she yanked it from the books. "Haha~, ze!"

...The book pile began rumbling.

Marisa scowled. "Ah, shit."

The party stood back as the mountain of books bowled over, Marisa rapidly stomping up the flat covers of books as the pile flowed towards her.

Eventually, she slid outside, surfing atop an oversized tome, gritting her teeth as she held the giant rocket.

' _Tha~t's a big rocket…_ '

...Marisa dropped it to the floor, producing a small vibration. "Haa~h… S-so yeah, it's big."

...Marigold gazed upon it with wide eyes. " _That's_ more like a siege weapon…"

"Speakin' of nukes…!" Osamu grinned at it. "Think we could knock over an oni with this?"

...Hiyori gave him a curious stare. "I'd rather we didn't find out."

Marisa giggled. "I only got this one, and lemme tell you, it _wasn't cheap._ "

Closer inspection showed Hikari that it wasn't just a colossal rocket, but along the base, a ton of smaller bottle rockets were tied to the base, string connecting the inner portions with precisely cut holes.

"How am I supposed to carry this?" Marigold stared at it apprehensively herself. " _You_ can barely carry it."

"Well…" Marisa scratched her cheek in idle contemplation. "We could try a lightweight spell, or somethin'. Or shrinkin' it. I figured Hiyori there'd just carry it."

...Hiyori shrugged. "I'm not sure about that…"

"Aw, c'mon!" Marisa tried to pressure her. "Just strap it to yer back!"

Hikari intervenes. "Hiyori kinda needs to be able to move. I think that lightweight spell'd work."

"...Yeah, that sounds good." Marigold agrees.

"So, between the kappa stuff, and the parts... " Marisa nods. "Sweet! That'll be two thousand yen."

…

The disagreement was universal.

" _Wha~t!?_ "

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

' _...I didn't need that money anyway…_ ' Hikari comforted herself.

Marigold's backpack had the oversized rocket strapped to the back of it, but it was manageable after the lightweight spell was cast on it. "...How much farther is the village…?" Marginally more manageable, anyway.

"Not too far." Hikari spoke.

Osamu grinned. "Hiyori, yer gonna like it there."

...Hiyori snorted. "Sure."

That was when they were interrupted by the most unstoppable of forces.

"Hey, you!"

Cirno descended from above, accompanied by fairy friends. "Eye heard what you did to Rumia, the other day!"

...Hikari turned to her friends, who shrugged.

"What did we do?" Hikari asked her.

"Don't play dumb!" Cirno jabbed a finger in the air at her. "Eye know all, and Eye see all! Eye'm the strongest on this here path!"

"...I think that would be my Mom." Hikari counters.

Osamu folded his arms. "What's a puny little fairy like _you_ gonna do to us? We've got an oni!"

...Hiyori snorted. "...As happy as I am to be treated as a weapon of destruction, I'd like to know if we can resolve this matter peacefully."

Cirno glared at her. "There can be no peace!"

Osamu chuckled.

' _Well, there's that question answered._ '

Stomping up to the four, Cirno gestures to the fairies behind her to follow suit. "Everyone! Introduce yerselves!"

The blue-clad fairy walks up to Osamu, looking conflicted. "...Star Sapphire. You can't see me."

...Osamu blinks. "I can?"

The orange-haired fairy in the back growls. "Sta~r! That was _my_ line!"

"O-oh, bloody…" Star sighs. "I mean, I can see _you_."

...Osamu nods. "Wow. You have eyes."

"...Told you that line was stupid." Star addresses Cirno.

"Shut up." Cirno counters.

The blonde fairy lazily floats up to Marigold. "I'm Luna Child. I… forgot what I was going to say."

The orange-haired fairy maid growled, running up to Hiyori. "Sunny Milk! You can't _see_ me!"

...Hiyori grins. "I wouldn't be so sure about that…?"

Finally, Cirno approached Hikari, with a big, cocky grin. "Eye'm Cirno! Yer not sending _me_ back to the ice age!"

' _...What?_ ' Hikari was confused by her attempt at wit.

Marigold can't contain her grin. "You certainly look like a dinosaur."

...The three fairies of light give polite giggles.

Gritting her teeth, Cirno begins the battle. "Fairies, _attack!_ "

Instantly, Sunny disappeared as she leaped backwards, causing Hiyori's eyes to widen.

Luna Child tried Silence α!

Marigold stepped back as magical prisms formed around her. They dissipated, and traveled back to Luna, becoming a solid, blue orb of cloudy magic. "Magician neutralized…"

Attempting to speak, Marigold opened her mouth, only to find no words could come out.

Star ducked back, avoiding Osamu's fist, as she retreated towards her party members. "Good! Luna, can you seal the others?"

"No can do~..." Luna pouted. "I collected as much mana as I could…"

Sunny's irate voice came from nothing. "What!? I thought you said you could seal any of them!"

"...I never said that." Luna denies outright.

Cirno lunges forward and pushes Hikari over.

Hikari lands on her bum. "Oof…"

' _...That was just uncalled for._ '

Grinning, Cirno leaped back towards the other three fairies. "Which one's got the most fight in 'em!?"

Star squints… "...I think it's either the one with the horns, or the shrine maiden…"

Cirno targets Hiyori. "On it! Ice Sign, Icicle Machinegun!"

Holding out both of her arms, they both begins unleashing rapidfire ice danmaku, forcing HIyori to begin strafing linearly…

Frustrated, Marigold reaches into her pocket, and begins fishing around…

Smug, Osamu sat his eyes on the ice fairy. "How's a taste of yer own medicine sound…!?"

Osamu tried PK Freeze γ!

KaKaKoo~...

Cirno was engulfed by the snowflake shaped pattern of ice crystals, which began rapidly freezing and thawing...

Boom!

...Cirno was untouched, looking more alert. "S-so~ good…!"

...Hikari and Marigold gave him dry stares. He shrugged.

' _Using their own element on them is obviously not strategically viable._ '

...Brandishing her gohei, Hikari began running towards the fairies from the side…

Star perked up. "Look out! Shrine maiden on our right!"

Eyes widening, Cirno fires to their left, inadvertently clipping Hiyori with the ice bullets as she did so.

"Gh…" Hiyori was left slightly uncomfortable.

Hikari sprinted towards Star-

Bam!

Sunny flickered back into visibility, her fist held out in front of Hikari's face. Hikari stumbled backward…

"Hahaha~! I can't believe that worked!" Sunny mirthfully cheered. "Like- hahaha~! Wo~w…!"

Osamu tried PK Thunder ß!

Thwaa~sh!

Boom!

A tree fell over, struck by lightning.

Thwaa~sh!

Pi~chun!

Luna became a concept.

"O-oh, bloody hell!" Star flinched violently. "Th-they got Luna!"

Sunny's mirth was over. "Wh-what!? How!?"

...She flew back as Hikari swung her gohei at her.

' _Darn it._ '

"They summoned lightning!" Star shouted.

The blue orb Luna dropped shattered on the ground, and the magic traveled back to Marigold.

...Marigold said words. "Of all the fairies we had to meet, we met the ones with annoying, obscure support spells."

Sunny got angrier. "Shut up!"

Sunny Milk tried PK Flash ß!

Osamu began feeling strange! "...Wh-what the hell…?"

Marigold began crying! "Wh-what? M-my eyes…"

Hiyori fainted, collapsing on her side.

"Yeah!" Cirno beamed. "Eye got her! Eye got her!"

...Hikari was unaffected.

' _Oh, boy…_ ' Hikari watched her party instantly dismantle.

"Three to go!" Star reports, because it wasn't obvious.

Sniffing loudly, Marigold wiped her nose, and pulled the Neutron Bomb from her pocket. "He-here…!"

She tossed it forward blindly…

Hikari silently retreated behind Osamu, who absent-mindedly turned to her. "O-oh, hey, Hikari…"

The Neutron Bomb hit the floor.

Kri~ng!

A loud, shrill noise made everyone flinch…

Pi-Pi~chun!

Subtly, a blue orb expanded outward. The two fairies of light were instantly destroyed, and Cirno was simply knocked backward into the blast, backflipping into a faceplant.

...Leaves settled around her, floating to the floor gently.

Hikari tried Healing ß!

Marigold stopped crying. She still needed to clear the snot, however… "Achoo! A-achoo! Achoo~... ugh…"

...Osamu slowly turned to face her.

"...Ho-how annoying…" Marigold wiped her nose, again.

Cirno leaped from the floor, standing tall again. "Ey-eye'm not done, yet! Ice Sign, Fairy Spin!"

' _Really?_ ' Hikari glared at her wearily.

The ice fairy began spinning in place, a spread of icicles flying outward from herself, towards the party.

Grimacing, Marigold fiddled with her backpack, trying to get a gun out. "C-c'mon…"

...Osamu hugged her.

"Wh- _what!?_ " Marigold was bewildered.

Hikari began running towards Cirno, doing her best to weave through the bulky danmaku icicles…

She was clipped on her arms and legs in a few places as she sprinted towards Cirno…

"A-agh…" Hikari felt frost build up on her limbs.

Hikari tried Hypnosis α!

' _So-so tired…_ ' The effects of mana overexertion began setting in…

Energy rippled around Cirno…

"Aa~h…" Thrown off balance for a moment, the ice fairy's spinning became awkward, and her danmaku quantity lessened.

At the very end, Hikari dashed straight through the danmaku, tanking the hits…

' _O-oou~ch!_ '

SMAAAA~SH!

Pi~chun!

Cirno was sent back to the ice age.

…

Hikari dropped to her knees, exhausted.

' _I-I knew I shouldn't've summoned Koishi, earlier…_ '

…

Marigold pushed Osamu away. "Pervert. Get off."

"E-eh, I-..." Blushing, he seemed at a loss for words as he walked towards Marigold again…

Slap!

…

"Ow!" He objected. "What the hell was-..."

Promptly, he fell into his trance again.

Marigold rolled her eyes. "Abnormal status it is, then. If you're listening, help me pull them to the village."

Hikari tried Healing α!

…

Nothing happened.

' _Da-darn…_ '

...Osamu moved towards her, and began dragging her along.

Hikari was glad her hakama had long pant legs, or else her knees would be getting vaporized by the dirt path by now.

...Marigold began pulling Hiyori, only managing to pull her along with individual tugs, rather than consistent pulling.

' _Th-this sucks…_ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

END OF CHAPTER 24

Protagonist: Hikari Hakurei, Disciple of Paradise

-Inventory-

Weapon: Miracle Gohei - Ability to whack stuff really hard. Amplifies whacking power, too! Able to deal magical damage. Adds an increased chance to deal critical hits.

Arms: Iconic Hakurei Arm Sleeves - Keeps arms warm. A Hakurei tradition. How they stay on is a Hakurei family secret.

Body: Combat Miko Outfit - A black leotard and hakama combination worn by the previous-previous Hakurei miko. Designed to be suitable for excessive physical activity and close combat, it slightly improves physical combat prowess. Now with less sideboob!

Misc: Royal Red Ribbon - A ribbon made with rich materials, with a floral pattern.

-Skills-

Attack: Quickly! Swing your gohei at them for massive damage!

PK Fantasy α, β, γ - Bombards the enemy with pain in the form of flashing colors. Deals magical damage. Heavy mental strain that increases with each tier. Third tier forms a barrier, which breaks upon moderate damage.

PK Flash α, ß - A bright flash that distributes very random status effects to enemies. Usually makes people cry. Higher tiers increase chances, and introduce possibilities of fainting or dispel.

Hypnosis α, Ω - Puts weak enemies to sleep for a short time. Works better on tired or exhausted foes. Can also be used in a far more costly form that works on multiple opponents.

Shield α, ß - Halves damage the target takes. Only works against physical attacks, and enough strikes, or powerful strikes, will dispel it. Higher tier turns it into a power-shield that protects even better and even reflects a fraction of protected damage.

Lifeup α, ß, γ - Heals target a little. Higher tiers heal more grievous wounds, like bone fractures.

Healing α, ß, γ - Heals basic status ailments. Higher tiers can cure more dire effects, like burning alive.

Teleport α - Allows instant transport to the general location of an area remembered by oneself or one's party members. Requires a long, fast run-up to execute, however.

Ofuda Toss - Throw a holy ofuda that does massive holy elemental damage to youkai and dark elemental foes. Effect lessens the more holy the thing you're attacking is, to the point of healing holy things. Only works if you actually have ofuda, though.

Summon Koishi - Using the Heart Gem's power, Hikari summons Koishi Komeiji. Casts three random HK spells on enemies, before using a higher tier one that depends on her current mood. Typically can manage two uses before she's out of mana. Costs sizable mana.

γ-γ-γ-γ

Mage: Osamu Katsumi, the Wannabe Mage

-Inventory-

Weapon: Fisticuffs!

Arms: Nothing

Body: Rugged Robe - A sturdy robe enchanted to resist damage. Made partially with sturdy cloth from deep underground.

Misc: Yukkuri Beanie - Resembles a really tacky tablecloth, made in the Yukkuri theme. Lime green and has tons of fun yukkuri decals!

-Skills-

PK Thunder α, ß - Very random thunder attack that deals limited damage. Higher tiers increase number of bolts, and sometimes power.

PK Hydro α, β, γ - Gets everyone wet. Usefulness with PK Thunder and PK Freeze depends on whether you hit yourself or not! Creates whirling water spirals at higher tiers.

PK Freeze α, β, γ, Ω - Generates ice crystals at the target's location. Medium damage and effect; may freeze some targets, especially wet ones. Highest tier has a near-guaranteed freeze chance and immense ice damage, at the cost of being very taxing.

Fireball - Manipulate mana to make a shoddy fireball. Low damage and effect.

Static Hands - Not a real spell. Result of a very undercharged PK Thunder that can accidentally go off.

PSI Telepathy α - Speak to friends you haven't met yet! Unstable connection and only works if they have the skill or are asleep.

PSI Shield α, Σ - Halves damage from magical and psychic attacks. Thunder spells fry it instantly, and harder blows dispel it. Second tier applies basic shield to entire party at higher mana expense.

PSI Magnet α - Costs no mana to use, and steals a very tiny amount of mana from the enemy. Enemy has to have mana in the first place for it to work, though.

Offense Up α - Get pissed! Boosts strength and confidence depending on caster's power and receiver's power.

Defense Down α - Throw the enemy off their game. Makes them slightly more vulnerable to physical attacks.

γ-γ-γ-γ

Inventor: Marigold Knowledge, the Tri-Magi Love Child

-Inventory-

Weapon: Spectrum Shotgun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Filled with foil chip bags to conduct the mana, and it is transmitted into a wind stone. Upgraded to draw mana from a simple wooden block filled with immense magic reserves, giving it virtually unlimited ammo. The addition of a battery and a prism allow it to fire seven rainbow colored beams at a wide spread, which deal non-elemental damage. Firing long enough allows them to focus and deal incredible damage, at the cost of insane recoil and instability.

Arms: Nothing

Body: Custom Adventure Dress - A custom dress made by Alice. Provides slight defense against magical and psychic attacks. Now allows freer movement with a shorter skirt, and a more flexible material.

Misc: Swirly Glasses - Lets Marigold not be blind.

Backpack - Allows extended inventory. Aged relic from the Kourindou.

Unnamed Lock Opening Device - Opens locks very precariously. Made with steel, burnt cloth, packaging peanuts, thumbtacks, string, and wooden wheels. Don't even ask…

Ruler - Lets you measure the world around you!

Protractor - Lets you find the angles of anything ever. Totally overpowered.

Scotch Tape - Transparent adhesive from the outside world. Weak, but handy!

Deck of Cards - Allows Marigold to play Strip Poker with the party. Just kidding… or am I?

Shield Killer - Electrical device used to subdue harassers. Has settings ranging from Tickle Torture to Arse Blaster. Fires electrical projectiles, of unknown power.

NF Burst Gun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Uses a Pop Gun as the base, but amplifies its power with an array of random batteries jammed into the base with the Pop Gun. The more batteries, the better, but the typical yield is about five bullets per trigger. Spamming the trigger doesn't make it go any faster, unfortunately. Has no foreseeable ammo limit, and the batteries are only there for mana circulation, meaning their power is really inconsequential.

Holmes Brand Designer Hat - Village swag! A retro village hat that ceased production ten years ago. Sells for a pretty penny nowadays, but it's pretty useless otherwise.

Slime Generator - A bulky box that shoots a small splat of slime. Doesn't seem good for much.

Counter-PSI Device - A weird device Marigold found from a flying saucer. Works in strange ways, and seems to disrupt everyone's concentration. Marigold is immune to its effects.

Charm of Sleep - Grants immunity to sleep while equipped, or held. Can be equipped to Arms or Misc.

Microwave Gun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Constructed with a controlled flame crystal and metal parts, it fires a beam of sustained microwave energy that cooks biological foes alive. Fire-elemental at its core, it's also very inefficient against machines.

Defense Shower - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Made of a broom, a showerhead, some magnets, and uses jars of water as ammo. Slapped together with ofuda, giving it a holy defensive effect. The jars are usually filled with Talcum Powder, for alchemical purposes. The liquid that is dispensed becomes auto-applying lotion.

-Skills-

Relatively Nuzzlable - But it depends…

Happy Mask Salesman - Except with guns and bombs.

Knows the Art of War - Only vaguely.

The Magi from The North - Augusta per angusta!

Is Iron Magi - Actually, that'd be Byakuren, wouldn't it…?

γ-γ-γ-γ

Fighter: Hiyori Hashimoto, the Buddhist Oni

-Inventory-

Weapon: Mace of Devas - The last of the four treasures held by the Devas of the Mountain. Ability to whack stuff really hard. Increases critical hit rate by lieu of being a really big, blunt, spiky weapon. Allows partial blocking of magic attacks.

Arms: Shackle of Devas - The first of the four treasures held by the Devas of the Mountain. Grants immunity to sleep-inducing magic. Grants fifty percent resistance to wind and thunder magic.

Body: Kimono of Devas - The second of the four treasures held by the Devas of the Mountain. Grants immunity to paralyzing magic. Grants fifty percent resistance to fire magic. Insanely durable. Has a floral design to it…!

Misc: Bows of Devas - The third of the four treasures held by the Devas of the Mountain. Grants immunity to confusion-inducing magic. Grants fifty percent resistance to ice magic.

-Skills-

PK Starstorm α - Summons forth the stars from the night's sky to rain down upon enemies. Hits all enemies, and deals high magical damage, at the cost of being highly mentally taxing. Can hit allies if they're in the effective area, as the white stars don't have homing properties. Power proportional to amount of enemies, as well.

PK Fire α, ß - Creates an igniting blast of flames at the target's location. More impact comes with higher tiers.

PK Freeze α, β, γ - Generates ice crystals at the target's location. Medium damage and effect; may freeze some targets, especially wet ones.

Shield α, ß, Σ - Halves damage the target takes. Only works against physical attacks, and enough strikes, or powerful strikes, will dispel it. Higher tier turns it into a power-shield that protects even better and even reflects a fraction of protected damage. Highest tier applies a basic shield to the entire party.

Lifeup α, ß - Heals target a little. Higher tiers heal more grievous wounds, like bone fractures.

Healing α, ß - Heals basic status ailments. Higher tiers can cure more dire effects, like burning alive.

Teleport α, ß - Allows instant transport to the general location of an area remembered by oneself or one's party members. Requires a long, fast run-up to execute, however. Higher tier is largely automatic and requires little room to execute.

Martial Arts - Skilled in hand-to-hand combat.

γ-γ-γ-γ

Author's Note:

nugget people

a BIT SLOWER THAN USUAL because freakin' COLLEGE but oh well yo, it got DONE

i hope this chapter was as ENTERTAINING AS OTHERS; if not, hit me up

with blunt objects, in the shape of words

(though i should KNOW it to be entertaining and not HOPE, it's easy to get CREATOR INFATUATION and CONSUMER APPEAL mixed up sometimes)

anyway, summonable koishi! pretty much like GENIE from KINGDOM HEARTS 1, except instead of time / thunder / gravity / pink laser, it's PSYCHOLOGICAL ATTACKS

also mana thing so she's not used too often

our next stops are basically gonna be IN PREP for the END-GAME as well; basically getting marigold one more big pre-end-game item and getting osamu SOME new armor

i'd be more hype about the end-game but COLLEGE REALLY THROWS YA FOR A LOOP, lemme tell ya that much

as always, see you all next time!


	25. Hakurei Tracking

The door to Keine's house swung open, shaking on its frame slightly from the sloppy manner in which it was opened.

Keine looked up from the files on her table. "Hmm?"

...Osamu walked in, blushing like a tomato, holding a drowsy Hikari. He walked up to the table, and sat her down on it.

"...Hi-Hikari?" Keine was taken by surprise.

…

Fidgeting, Osamu backed towards the door.

...Keine sighed. "What did you do to her?"

"I- ah…" Osamu stumbled back, looking dazed. Then, he pointed outside.

…

"I'm going to have to apprehend you, if you don't start speaking." Keine frowns.

…

"Engh!"

…

"Hnngh!"

Marigold appeared in the door, pulling along an oni. "Haa~h!

…

She tugged again. "C'mon…"

…

Marigold noticed Keine. "Do-don't just stare… help!"

"Who-who is she…?" Keine was bewildered.

"Fr-friend…" Marigold flopped onto the floor.

Keine got up, rushing to kneel next to Marigold. "Are you okay!?"

Osamu nervously danced in place, unable to form words.

"...M-my favorite letter is _seven._ " Hikari grinned, staring up at the ceiling from the table.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

…

' _U-uugh…_ '

...Hikari lifted her face from the bed she was sprawled out on. Next to her, Hiyori laid on a pile of blankets on the floor.

Hikari tried Lifeup α!

She sat up. "Better…"

…

Hikari tried Lifeup α!

Hiyori groaned. "Wh-whuh…"

...Across the room, Osamu sat tied to a chair.

Hikari walked up to him.

"...Whan-shormana-snorshki?" Osamu spoke in a strange dialect.

' _What._ '

Marigold peeked into the room. "...Ah, Hikari! You're awake!"

' _Thankfully._ '

...Hikari tried Healing γ!

Osamu's eyes widened. "...Ho~ly crap. Thank you, dude. I'm fine, now…"

Marigold rose a brow. "What was all of that, anyway?"

Osamu looked away. "Nothing."

…

"No." Marigold rose a finger. "You don't just hug me out of the blue and call it nothing."

Hikari blinked. ' _What?_ '

Osamu wiggled in his rope bindings. "I don't know! That _thing_ did it!"

...Bobbing her head back and forth, Marigold conceded. "...Depends on the status. I don't know what one you wound up with, so I guess I'll drop it."

Abruptly, Hiyori sat up.

Everyone turned to her.

"...G'mornin'." Hiyori drowsily greeted them. "...What happened?"

"You got knocked the _fuck_ out." Osamu informed her.

Hiyori's eyes widened. "I-I did? A-... How? Who?"

"Fairies. Fuckin' _bullshit_ magic, that's how." Osamu expressed his displeasure.

...Hiyori relaxed, looking reflective. "...There are spells for that, then…"

Osamu grinned. "Yeah. Shitty spells. And I'm a mage."

Marigold rolled her eyes. "I'm _this_ close to not untying you."

Osamu nodded. "Yeah, okay. I don't even need your help. I'm an _expert_ at gettin' out of chairs, dude!"

Skeptical, Marigold backed away. "Alright. Keine told me all about that, so… good luck."

Eyes widening for only a moment, Osamu quickly relaxed again. "...We-well, Keine hasn't had me in a classroom for years now! She can suck it!"

...Keine leaned out from around the doorway.

"...Fuck." Osamu looked vain.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

The four walked out of the house, Osamu still stuck to the chair with a bump on his head. He could move his legs, though.

"Keine sure knows how to make a good breakfast." Hikari basked in her comfortable afterglow.

"Yea~h…" Marigold, too, was satisfied.

Hiyori picked her teeth with a toothpick. "...It was alright."

' _I'm sure she's ate better underground. Oni probably have big meals… or don't need meals. I don't know…_ '

"You guys are assholes." Waddling alongside them, Osamu complained. "You let me fuckin' _sit there_. That was torture! Evil!"

"When you figure out how to untie yourself, we'll get you something to eat." Marigold sternly negotiated.

"Dude- there's like fifteen different kinds of knots here!" He paused. "...And some of these I don't even recognize!"

' _Teachers are scary._ '

Passing into the town square, Hikari thought back to the reason they visited the town in the first place, before fairies violently assaulted them with support magic.

' _...Oh, right. We're here to get Osamu some gear._ ' Hikari nodded subtly to herself.

"We're here to get snacks, right?" Marigold smiled.

"We're here to get the lump some stuff." Hikari amends her statement.

"...Right." Marigold sighed. "...Snacks, too?"

Hikari saw no fault in that idea either, though. "Snacks, too."

Idly, the four of them followed Hikari to the job board…

Hikari began reading it.

'Sing Of His Final Stand - Long Live Wolfman Rex!'

' _Doesn't sound like something I'd be interested in…_ ' Hikari snorted at it.

'Dream Eater Molladonathan - I See Dead People In My Sleep. Free My Eyes!'

"Sucks to be him." Osamu shrugs.

'Giant Enemy Crab on Misty Lake Shore. Help!'

Marigold furrowed her brows. "...When? We were there before…"

...Hiyori puts her finger on a high-up poster. "Look at this one."

Hikari stares up at it…

'Broken Dreams So Grand - Feral Hakurei Miko and Magicians On The Loose'

...Hikari nodded. ' _I'm not sure what to think about that title. I'm not feral_ _, though. How could that even happen?_ '

Grinning, Marigold found amusement. "You're feral, Hikari."

...Hikari turned to her. "Roar."

She decides to read the job offer further…

'Hakurei Miko "Hikari Hakurei" to be found guilty of: Harboring A Fugitive, Associating With a Feral Magician, Assaulting Town Protection, Government Corruption, Treason, Extortion, Murder, Money Laundering, Illegal Fairy Harboring.'

' _...Wow._ ' Hikari slowly leaned back. ' _...When you put it like that…_ '

"Pfff~t!" Reeling back, Osamu pointed at the board. "Go-government corruption!?"

"Wow." Marigold's eyebrows rose as she scanned the crime list. "We're apparently very bad people."

' _What does treason even mean? Who did we supposedly murder…?_ '

...Hiyori turned to the party. "What did you three _do?_ "

...Calming down, Osamu turned to her. "None 'a that! I mean, _some're_ true, but…"

...Hikari gave him an impatient stare. "It's exaggerated."

"Yeah, 'zactly." He's pleased with that word. "Exaggerated."

...Hiyori shrugs. "I take it this town is as pleasant as the others?"

All of the other party members nod.

...Hiyori sighs. "Figures."

…

With little other consideration, Hikari finishes reading the job offer.

'Send only the strongest youkai hunters. Hakurei are not to be taken lightly, nor are their associates!'

' _They got that part right._ '

"...Youkai hunters, huh?" Marigold read it over.

"Buncha pushovers." Osamu summarized, folding his arms. "The whole lot of them."

' _I never really saw any of them. Marisa's one of them, but..._ ' She looked into the dimming day sky. ' _I hardly knew about any of them._ '

Like poetry in motion, the inevitable struck. "Stop!"

...The party turned, facing a bearded man with an iron sword. He wore a trench coat, for some inexplicable reason, even though combat armor probably would have been more appropriate.

"...Hi." Hikari greeted him casually.

"So it was you..." He guided his hand to his sheathed iron sword. "I didn't want to believe it to be true."

"...Oh." Hikari didn't even bother making an intelligent reply.

' _What does he mean?_ '

…

"I must destroy youkai at any cost." He pledges his resolve, bringing his sword to his face. "It is to honor what you once were."

"...That's rude." Marigold doesn't appreciate that sentiment.

Hiyori steps forward. "We're not the youkai you're looking for. We-"

"Nothing you will say can stop me!" He reels his sword am back, glaring. "Prepare to die!"

Villagers turned to the shout, and began funneling away from the five, noticing the Hakurei miko.

"Looks like _another_ fight…"

"Aa~h…"

"I have my bets on the _sexy_ one!" ...His wife turned to him, bopping him with a purse. "Ow!"

Osamu stared from his chair idly, as he took a seat on it. "Woo~."

Running towards Marigold, the man tried to thrust with his sword, only for Hiyori to intercept, standing in the way.

The sword struck her flesh, doing little but rubbing against it.

"Guh…" The human leapt backwards, flinging himself into the air. His trench coat fluttered and opened, ofuda being revealed inside. "Begone, youkai!"

Ofuda floated out, and shot towards Hiyori. She blocked them with her mace, the ofuda exploding into small bursts of holy energy.

Marigold began taking out her Spectrum Shotgun…

"I don't think using that here's a good idea." Hikari decided for her.

...Marigold sighed. "Fi~ne." Instead, she slipped out the NF Burst Gun.

Floating back down, the man took his sword stance again, running towards Osamu.

Osamu shook his head. "Fuck that!"

Osamu tried PK Freeze γ!

KaKaKoo~...

The rapidly freezing and thawing snowflake pattern of ice crystals stopped the charging swordsman in his tracks.

Boom!

He was frozen solid, turned into a big block of ice.

…

"See?" Osamu was smug. "Pushover."

...The ofuda inside his coat began glowing.

"Jinx." Hikari blamed him.

The ice chunk shattered, the man being freed. Once again, he leapt into the air-

PoPoPoPoPop!

He wasn't given the chance to send out another wave of ofuda, getting bombarded by the party's own projectiles instead.

"Hua~h!?" Falling to the ground without grace, he landed on his bum.

Hikari gingerly approached him as he struggled intensely to reorganize himself, distracted by the potions and ofuda dropping from his trench coat.

Thwack!

"Take that." Hikari monotoned.

"Gah…" He swatted her gohei away, before scrambling away from her and getting back into a standing position.

Hikari tried Shield ß!

Hikari was protected by the power shield of light!

Taking towards Hikari, he planned to put her to the sword.

"D-die…!" Conviction boomed from his voice.

Broad swings met her shield, the swordsman finding it hard to even move it within the shield.

...Hikari attacks!

Thwack!

"Bonk." Hikari monotoned, again.

"Damn it…!" He nearly fell over as he backed up. A beam of light shot from the shield, meeting his chest. "Guah!?"

...The party watched him clutch his new wound.

Dry stares emanate from them, with Marigold commenting. "...I think you're a little out of our league."

The man's eyes flared. "...I-I'll free you… Hikari."

' _How does he-... job posting._ ' Hikari answered her own question.

Raising his bland, stock steel sword into the sky, he calls for help. "I-I'll protect the holy line! For the home of the holy! For the way of the sword!"

...His trench coat vaporizes, outlines of armor forming around his form. The ofuda whirl around his side, and slap onto the armor.

"In the name of the _Hakurei!_ " The man boasts. "I'll free you!"

Taking to the air with a mighty leap, the holy swordsman readies to strike down on Osamu again...

Osamu tried PK Thunder ß!

Thwaa~sh!

"Guh…" The floating swordsman was staggered, floating gently to the ground after being struck…

Thwaa~sh!

Boom!

Part of the job board was blown away.

...He landed before Hikari again, ignoring the stream of colorful danmaku bullets drilling into the side of his armor.

Then he began yelling. " _Hraaaa~h!_ "

Hikari tried Shield ß!

Hikari's power shield of light got stronger!

Whirling around as if his blade wasn't controlled by his own hand, the swordsman's equipment began glowing a warm, yellow color as he flailed wildly at Hikari.

Unfortunately, Hikari's barrier far transcended his human skill, slowing his unstoppable flurry to a moderately impressive but still mediocre series of slaps. Hikari was able to slowly guard against it with her gohei.

Clink.

"Wh-what is this power…!?" Bafflement filled the youkai exterminator's mind.

"Good." Hikari declared. She brought her gohei back once his onslaught ended-

SMAAAA~SH!

-and proceeded to finish him with an onslaught of her own.

Stumbling back, the man's light armor fell apart into tiny fragments of glass, and he fell to his knees. Digging his sword into the ground, he stared up at Hikari…

"...My-my skills… have failed me." He sighed.

...Hikari stares at him gingerly. "Who're you?"

…

"Probably some no name youkai hunter." Osamu resolved.

"...If you care to remember, the name is George." George introduced himself.

…

' _Oh. Oo~h!_ ' Hikari's eyes widened. "You're that one George I talked with once in awhile, weren't you?"

...Eyes widening, George stared up at Hikari. "...You… you remember?"

She shrugged. "You were at the meteor site. That's… pretty much the only reason why. I hardly know you."

…

Standing, George turned, "I see." and walked away.

...

"This place seems to be par for the course." Hiyori concludes. "Everyone's just weaker than underground."

Looking like he wants to object, Osamu turns to her, but shrugs indifferently.

' _...Good enough._ ' Hikari supposed the pedantics didn't matter.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

"We need a new hat for you." Marigold decides. "I'm going to die from embarrassment if you keep toting that vomit in clothing form around."

"Hey!" Osamu objects, now free from his chair by the grace of his party members, "It's cool! I'm bringing lime green back!"

"In _what_ culture was lime green ever _in?_ " Marigold dryly tilted her head. "Genuinely."

"...Mine." Osamu grinned.

"Thought so." Marigold shook her head. "There's gotta be something here for you."

Approaching a store side, the party trusted that Osamu knew where they were going.

"Rela~x, guys." Osamu puts his arms behind his head. "They got some _awesome_ swag in this place. They never even know I steal from 'em!"

...Hiyori slowly focuses on him, frowning.

He tries to cover for himself. "...I~ mean steal… their-"

"As long as you aren't stealing any _more_ , I guess…" Hiyori sighs, shaking her head. "I find it hard to believe someone like _you_ was a petty thief."

...Osamu grinned. "What? Really?"

Marigold began pushing him inside. "C'mon, already. Hikari's gonna get bored of staring at the sign sooner or later."

' _Too late._ ' Hikari ingrained her vision with the building's sign. ' _I'm highly doubting that 'Shwifty Designs' will have anything suitable._ '

The two remaining party members watch Marigold and Osamu enter the building, before becoming idle.

…

"We could probably get those snacks now." Hiyori suggests.

...Hikari nods. "The square's right over there, so sure."

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: OSAMU'S VIEW ====

Immediately, Marigold's eyes were greeted by an explosion of colors. "...What _is_ this place!?"

Neon-colored shirts lined the walls. Seven colors of trench coats, identical to the one worn by George, hung on racks. Detailed but not too detailed other niches of clothing sat on shelves, ranging from fruity colored ninja gear to fruity colored pirate outfits.

' _So fucking cool…_ ' Osamu gaped at the tacky designs.

Marigold shook her head. "This is stupid."

...Osamu furrowed his brows at her. 'You're _stupid._ ' He didn't dare say that, though.

...He looked at the price tag under a large, neon-green top hat.

The price made his jaw drop. ' _Twenty thousand yen!? Holy shit!_ '

"...I just realized…" Realization dawning on her, Marigold slung her backpack off, and dug through it… "I still have this _doofy_ hat of yours."

She lifted the Holmes Brand Designer Hat from her backpack, and Osamu's eyes lit up. "Holy- that's right!"

' _Man, that shit was so cash!... years ago, I mean. Almost none exist now, though, so they're kinda back in style…!_ '

...Osamu coughed. "A-ah, well… it's old!"

...Sighing, Marigold stuffed it back into her backpack. "Fi~ne."

...After a while of ceaseless shelf gawking, an attendant with sparkly purple hair and cyan villager garb approached him. "Like, he~y!"

Osamu grinned, only for the woman to approach Marigold and shake her hand.

Marigold blinked, never having put her hand out. "He-hey…"

"Ni~ce clothes!" The attendant beamed. "Are you the new model fro~m…?"

...Marigold fluffed up. "Wh-what?"

…

Face falling, the attendant rattled off fashion company names. "Kirisame~, Littlero~ck, Pea~r?"

Marigold blinked. "...Pe-Pear?"

...The attendant's eyebrow rose. "...That doesn't look like a Pear design, girl. Like… too little _everything_ Pear related. It… looks more like a Margatroid, but that's just me." She shrugged.

"Margatroid?" Marigold was further confused. Taking a moment, she sorts herself out. "...We're talking clothing lines, right?"

"Mhm." The attendant nodded. "...You _do_ know what company you're from, ri~ght?"

"Ye-yeah, I misspoke earlier." Marigold amended herself. "...Ma-Margatroid… I think."

Her response provoked a dry stare. "You _think._ "

Osamu quickly took his magical friend's side. "Yeah! She's totally from Margatroid! I'm, uh, her agent!"

The attendant snorted. "Aa~h. You look it, dude. No offense."

"Ye-yeah." Osamu looked slightly disappointed by that comment.

"C'mon, then." She gestured for the two to follow. "I'll take you to the back."

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

They moved through halls until they reached a large room with a big mirror.

Bright, vibrant clothing designs sat on hangers which hung from racks on one end of the room. The walls were also a bleak periwinkle, but the wall in front of the mirror was white.

"...What're you _doing?_ " Impatient, the attendant pulled an observing Marigold along. "...Stand in front of the mirror, girl."

Doing as instructed, Marigold became displeased with the bossiness of the attendant. "Al-alright, fine. Would it kill you to be a little nicer?"

...The attendant walked in front of her, giving her a dry stare. "I don't get paid to be _nice._ "

' _...What a bitch._ '

Donning a tape measurer, the attendant got to work at measuring Marigold's waist and height…

"...You're the first human model Margatroid's ever sent." The attendant commented. "What's your name?"

"...Marigold."

She snorted in response. "She name you, too? Or is that a pen name? Whatever."

Marigold half-grinned at that, but didn't comment.

' _Pffft._ ' ...Osamu was unsure how long this was going to take. "Sa~y, do you think we could, like, get some trial stuff…?"

...The attendant paused, and turned to him. "Do I _look_ like a retard?"

He was very tempted to say yes, but resisted the urge. "..." He didn't say otherwise, either, though he did make sure to grin sheepishly.

Rolling her eyes, she got back to taking Marigold's measurements…

…

Finishing up, the attendant sighs, standing before Marigold again. "All set, honey. Where's the spare outfits?"

...Confused again, Marigold tilts her head. "Spares...?"

"Margatroid always sends a copy in every size. We just order more of what we need… which is usually the same every time." She pauses. "...So, where are they?"

…

"This outfit was kinda made for just _me._ " Marigold broke it to her.

...The attendant was _not_ amused. "... _Bitch._ "

Both Osamu and Marigold jerked their heads back. ' _Hey!_ '

"You're not some fucking special little _snowflake_. I'm supposed to expect _Margatroid_ made that just for you? You'd have to- you'd have to be her fucking _daughter_ or something!" Taking the tape measurer, she throws it across the room.

...Marigold gave a small smile. "...I-I happen to be her daughter."

…

"Get out."

Osamu tries to save the situation. "Can we at least buy some-"

It was unsuccessful. "Have Margatroid make it for you, asshats. Hell, have her open a store for you! Like, get _out!_ "

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Osamu and Marigold run outside, as small, blunt objects are tossed at them. Hanging out of the front door, the attendant shook a brush in the air. "Like, don't come back, dudes!"

' _...Damn. Didn't even get to steal anything…_ '

The two came to a stop just before the center of the town square.

...Hikari and Hiyori walked up to them, holding corn dogs.

"We found these." Hikari states. "Here."

Osamu lit up. "Ooo~! Don't mind if I do…!"

Marigold and Osamu took their food stuffs, and began munching.

"I realized that I never gave you two any money." Hikari informed them.

' _...Holy shit._ ' Osamu just now realized this.

"...Oh, wow." Marigold was similarly bemused. "We wouldn't have left with anything, then. If we weren't kicked out, that is."

Hiyori blinked. "You were kicked out?"

Osamu was quick to fill her in on the details. "Yeah! This total bitch at the counter was all like- 'are you a model that was supposed to show up today'- and Marigold was like 'no' and-"

"Osamu." Marigold spoke over him. "...I think we can condense it a little. But basically, yeah. The attendant there was kinda rude, and we made her upset."

...Hikari was skeptical. "Are you sure she didn't make _you_ upset?"

' _Well…!_ '

Marigold nodded casually. "It was just kinda surprising."

' _...Yeah, that._ '

…

"You still need a hat." Hikari pointed at Osamu.

"...Yeah." He sighed. "That was the coolest place in town, though…"

...Marigold furrowed her brows. "That's why I see _no one_ in town wearing any of what was on the shelves."

' _Hey. Bein' cool's expensive!_ ' He shrugs, grinning.

"...I'd recommend we go somewhere within our price range." Hiyori advises. "For Hikari's sake, if anything."

...Osamu huffs. "Fine…"

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

The only similarity the fancy store and the average store shared were the unassuming exteriors. In this case, however, it was justified.

Comparatively more boring, the store's interior was full of average clothes, common necessities such as towels, and some hats. Common villager clothing was seen on racks.

Marigold stood before the hats, a hand on her chin. "...Let's see~..."

Osamu stared at the hats, bored. "...Can ya just pick _somethin'_ , already?"

"Not unless you want a big, heavy knight helmet." Marigold countered. "...I think a wizard hat would look good on you."

Osamu shook his head. "Duu~de. Fuck no."

...Marigold snorted. "Why?"

"...Okay, I know you didn't hear 'bout this in the village…" He raised his hands in the air. "Wizards don't get laid, dude."

…

Marigold gave him the dryest of stares. "Explain my _multiple_ moms."

"They're _mages_." Osamu counters. "There's, like, a difference. I think."

…

"We're getting you a _magician_ hat." Marigold rolled her eyes. "Better?"

' _...I feel like an asshole, now._ ' Osamu turned away. "Ye-yeah, whatever…"

She took a modestly sized, red mage hat, and brought it to the counter. "We'll be buying this."

A brown-haired girl manned the stand. "Ooo~! He's goin' for the old tyme _wizard_ look, ain't he?"

Osamu groaned.

"...Eh?" She tilted her head.

"Nevermind him." Marigold lifted the yen Hikari gave her. "How much will it cost?"

"Two thousand yen." Gingerly, the brown-haired girl lifted a pouch of her own. "...We don't have one of those cash shelf things, so I just use my wallet!"

' _...Wait, what?_ '

Marigold exchanged the goods, smiling. "...O~kay, then."

"Thank you for shopping Urara Necessities!" She bows. "Please come again!"

With that, the two left the store.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIKARI'S VIEW ====

Osamu wore his wi- _mage_ hat with a mixed expression.

...Hikari nodded. "It fits."

Marigold handed her back her remaining funds. "It was two thousand yen."

' _Four thousand yen left…_ ' Hikari nodded. "Mmm…"

…

Hiyori notices Osamu's displeased state. "...Hey."

He turns to her.

"...Nice hat."

...He beams. "Really!?"

Marigold chuckles.

...Continuing down the road towards the village's exit, they're stopped by a girl who yells for their attention from behind.

"Hear! Hear thee!"

...Turning, the party turns to notice a girl with long sleeves and a tall hat moving towards them, smoothly navigating past villagers as she did so.

"A-ah…!" She nearly trips over herself, noticing the party stopped as she requested. Taking the moment, she composes herself. "...Wh-what art thou doing in peace's sanctum?"

…

' _I'm sorry?_ ' Hikari took a moment to process her speech.

"...Passing through." Hiyori replied. Osamu and Hikari turned to her curiously.

"A-ahem…" Marigold knew how to handle this. Sort of. "Th-thy thriends- friends, rather- and thyself seek passage out of… your sanctum?"

...The girl gives Marigold a flat stare for her attempt. "...Mononobe no Futo. It… would be most opportune of me to consider the Hakurei judgment. To associate and derive companionship by only the most unkempt and sly youkai... " She gives Hikari a patronizing smirk. "Thou mother must be ashamed, zo!"

…

' _I didn't get half of what she said._ ' Hikari liked literature, but she didn't speak old.

...Noticing Hikari's confusion, Marigold filled her in. "I think she insulted your mother."

It didn't help her. "Well, I _got_ that…"

...Futo snorted. "It seemst thou is simple, as well. A pity. Thy will is not to trouble you in your final hours."

Hikari readied her gohei. ' _Those sound like fighting words._ '

"Hey, lady." Osamu spoke up. "Start speakin' in a language we can _understand!_ "

"Very well!" She smiled. " _Aero!_ "

Wind kicked up, and a sphere of wind formed around her. It constantly swirled around her form, protecting her.

Noticing the wind armor, the villagers navigated to the far ends of the path on muscle memory.

Hikari felt this become a matter of pride. ' _Wind magic's kinda my thing. Sorta._ '

"Haha!" Leaping back, Futo flung her arms outward, giant discs materializing and flying towards the party.

Hiyori was very easily able to lift her mace to attack the incoming oversized plates.

Cra~ck! Sma~sh! Shatter!

Futo's eyes widened. "What brute strength! It is a shame my wind will whittle it down so!"

From the distance, she sent more discs towards the party. Marigold attempted to use them as target practice, only for the discs to ignore the bullets.

"Stupid big plates." Marigold jabbed at the super plates.

Hiyori guarded again, this time deflecting the plates which spun into the floor, before dematerializing.

A plate formed under Futo, and she sat on it with her legs crossed and a haughty grin. "I will _travel_ over you! Ah~ohohoho~!"

Hikari resisted the urge to giggle at the exclamation. ' _I-I'd rather you didn't…_ '

The large plate began spinning rapidly, Futo accelerating toward the party, intending to 'travel' over them with it.

Hiyori quickly moved to block, swinging at the plate.

Ti~ng!

Both weapons parried, the plate flying back a bit, and Hiyori recovering from the recoil. "Hnh…"

...Focusing, Futo tried to guide the plate around the side of the oni to collide with the other party members.

Hikari tried Shield ß!

Hikari was protected by the power shield of light!

' _Two can play at that game._ '

Ti~ng! Hiyori and Futo clashed again.

"Hmph…" Hiyori staggered back from the block.

' _How much power does that have?_ ' Hikari was offput by the force the disc apparently exerted on Hiyori's mace…

...She snapped to attention as the large plate whirled past Hiyori, who barely whiffed a swing at it.

"Aa-ah…!" Hikari was put on the spot to dodge. Using her own wind, she attempted to leap out of the way-

Swish!

"Guh!?" Hikari clutched her new gash. ' _O~w…!_ '

Ti~ng!

"Ha~h!"

Hiyori leapt up, and slammed her mace down on the plate from above.

Cra~ck!

"Hwa~h!?" Futo flailed wildly, being flung to the dirt. "Vi-vile! Disarm thyself with haste!"

Hikari tried Lifeup ß!

The bloody gash on her side slowly began to heal, and she felt less hopeless about the thick stream of blood running from it.

' _Ow, ow, ow…_ ' Hikari stayed as still as she could. ' _Even the hit itself didn't hurt this bad…_ '

Osamu tried PK Thunder ß!

"I've got this!" He exclaimed gleefully.

Thwaa~sh!

"Hyan!" Futo was knocked into the air by the bolt, most of it dissipating on her wind shield.

Thwaa~sh!

"Gu-guah!?" Her wind shield consumed it again, but she was still rattled.

...Osamu smiled. "That was like, the third time my thunderbolts ever actually _hit_ the freaking target!"

Marigold fired up at her while she was in the air, the wind consuming the pellets…

By now, all of the villagers had already identified the road as unsafe, and word had spread that there was battle. That, and everyone remotely nearby could hear it.

Refusing to let herself be juggled around, Futo performed an aerial recovery, twirling in the wind as she distanced herself from the party. "...Thou art most formidable as a team! However, I've many decades more experience than you, inept disciples of youkai origin!"

...Colorful bullets whizzed past her face, and she pouted. "...Thou needn't be so daft about it... it is simple fact."

"Rather full of yourself, aren't you?" Hiyori stared at her.

"Simple fact!" Futo smirks. "...Though, I have one simpler, simple so that even the primates may discover meaning."

' _Words…_ ' Hikari was lost by the strange dialect.

"Wind Sign!" Fluffing up, Futo zoomed towards the party.

Hiyori tensed up, raising her mace…

"Miwa Plate Storm!" Crossing her arms in a fancy motion, giant, green plates popped into existence around her, flying around in a whirlwind of air."

Hiyori blocked as best she could.

Ting! Ting! Ting! Ting! Ti~ng…!

Hikari and her friends fell back as Hiyori was slowly pushed back by each impact. However, the spell card ended quickly, the plates vanishing.

"...Hmph." Futo pouted. "Oni are _such_ bores."

Hiyori snorted.

"Throwing Dishes…!" Futo fluffed up, again…

' _Here we go…_ '

"Mononobe's Eighty Sake Cups!"

She flung her arm in the air, and a large spread of sake dishes flew straight for the building side.

A symphony of shatters rang out, and the fragments of the sake dishes flew straight for the party like deadly shrapnel.

Hiyori's eyes widened. "Everyone! Get behind me!"

Quickly, Hikari practically magnetized to Hiyori's back.

Marigold and Osamu were not so lucky, with their assorted brands of sluggish movement. "Hagh!" Marigold winces as shards of ceramic sliced her side, covering her eyes as she darts towards the oni.

"Ow- fuck! Dude- dudu _dude_!" Osamu flails wildly as ceramic shards outright slice through his robing, trailing behind Marigold.

They were given little time to recover as Futo tossed more sake dishes at the other wall, as the other barrage of glass-thin shards was still in play.

"Hohoho!" She expressed her mirth. "Do you four not know how to _pla~y?_ What unfitting antagonists you are, zo!"

Hiyori tried Shield Σ!

The unshielded party members were protected by shields of light!

Hiyori and the party members turned to guard against the new barrage…

"Fu~ck…!" Osamu objected to being sliced and diced, even if the damage was mitigated. " _Enough_ already!"

Osamu tried PK Freeze γ!

KaKaKoo~...

Futo's eyes widened, as the snowflake-shaped pattern of ice crystals began freezing and thawing around her. "Wh-what is…?"

Boom!

"Hawah!" She flinched back, but recovered with a twirl. "Feeble magi!"

Osamu retorts with his middle finger. "Take your stupid dirty dishes and go _home!_ "

Osamu tried PK Hydro γ!

Above everyone, a large blade of water formed. The clear-blue, oversized shuriken glimmered in the day's light as it rained heavy drops across the battlefield.

Everyone got soaked. The shuriken's rain weighted some of the shards down, making the barrages more viable to defend against.

"Oo~h, how _damned!_ " Futo was outraged. "Annoying caster!"

' _I don't think she likes other mages much. Or at least Osamu… I can understand that one._ '

Hiyori tried PK Freeze ß!

KaKaKoo~...

A smaller series of icicles formed around the tower-hatted individual.

"Yo-you…!" Futo's eyes widened.

Kra~ck!

"Guhuaa~n!"

The shards generated by the spell card fade, as Futo flies back a short distance, her card broken.

...Soggy and covered in small cuts, the party leers at the girl from afar, before slowly closing in.

' _Tiny fragments of glass are not cool._ '

...Futo's expression flares at the party nears her. "Stop, zo! Miscreants! Stay at distance!" Desperately, she falls onto her back, and tries to clamber away, wet dirt clinging to her robes.

Marigold raised her NF Burst Gun. "You asked for this."

She fired, Futo's face getting filled with colorful bullets.

...Once the burst fire was over, Futo glared at Marigold with teary eyes. "Aw-awful…"

Hikari snorted. "...U~hm…"

Hiyori was taken aback by the sudden change in Futo's disposition. "...We're not trying to hurt you. We just want to-"

"Ha~h!"

Suddenly, Futo lashed out, conjuring plates from the air. Her eyes glowed with a faded green light. Spinning around, she created small tempests as she spun towards each party member, intent on slicing with her plates.

" _Ooowww~!_ " Osamu was sent flying by her first move, Futo slapping him aside with a direct swipe of a plate. Then, the accompanying wind sent him flying across the road…

Her next target was Marigold, who began backing away while returning fire-

Cra~ck!

Futo broke the plate on her head, sending Marigold sprawling "Wh-woa~h…"

Hikari guarded pre-emptively. ' _Wo-woah!_ '

Instead, she targeted Hiyori, attempting to slice her with a plate, only for the plate to break on Hiyori's shoulder instead.

The oni's retaliation was too slow to connect with Futo, who drifted just out of the way.

"Take this!" Futo barked.

Holding onto a central handle, plates generated outward into a sort of dual-bladed plate staff, which stretched to both ends of the street, held together by sheer wind manipulation.

Hikari ran in the opposite direction. ' _Nope! No, no, no!_ '

"Ha~h, hraa~gh!" Futo grunted her heavy exertion out, as she spun the weapon of dishy destruction around. Plates broke on Hiyori multiple times, but regenerated the moment the main staff broke collision with her.

Despite Futo's effort, the shoddily constructed wind weapon bended with great girth and laziness, the wind struggling to make it do more than do fancy spins in place. As such, Hikari managed to avoid the radius.

' _Th-that wind…_ ' Hikari felt outdone, feeling the wake of the wind from Futo's plate arts.

Finding herself achieving little, wasting her physical attacks on the oni, Futo leapt and took to the skies, riding atop a snake composed of plates.

" _Hakurei!_ "

Glaring down from her glowing trail of plates, Futo hovered menacingly overhead.

Hikari gazed up at the now mobile girl.

' _This escalated quickly…!_ '

Osamu tried PK Thunder ß!

Thwaa~sh!

Futo was moving too fast, the lightning bolt striking the plates behind her.

Thwaa~sh!

Plate fragments fell to the ground below, blown away by lightning. Futo still had innumerable more, though…

"Damn it!" Osamu cursed at the fluffy plate-rider. "You _suck!_ "

Upon reaching the other length of the street, Futo's plate mechanization shifted and transformed, turning into a large, three-pronged cannon. Futo stood atop it, grinning victoriously.

" _Don_ the face of despair!"

"Ev-everyone! To me!" Hiyori yelled out for her other party members.

Osamu moved to latch onto her side without comment. Hikari moved to do so-

' _Marigold!_ ' She realized her other party member was still sprawled out on the floor, dizzily trying to get up.

Deviating from the other two, Hikari ran towards Marigold.

The wind cannon activated.

WOOSH

Hikari had only a split second to hug Marigold before they were all sent flying at high speeds.

' _Woaaaa~h!_ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Bam!

"Hu- whah!?"

Old man Kirisame shot up from his midday nap on the shop counter.

...The ceiling promptly gave way, two girls falling through it before him.

Thu-thud!

"Aah- aa~h…" Hikari whimpered.

Hikari tried Lifeup ß!

' _I almost forgot that we get brutalized regularly. I thought having an oni friend would change that._ '

...Hikari stiffly sat up, her digits and limbs no longer experiencing indescribable horrors.

...She turned to old man Kirisame, who had his jaw dropped.

...Then, she turned to Marigold, who was bent in bad places, crying silently.

' _O-oh…!_ '

Hikari tried Lifeup γ!

...

' _O-oh my god…_ ' Hikari began freaking out-

Kri-krik!

...Marigold slowly bent back into shape, her limbs contorting in normal ways again.

…

" _Aaaaaa~uuuch!_ "

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

"...So." Kirisame sat back at a chair behind his desk. "...The _hell_ was all that!?"

Hikari couldn't find many words to describe what she just experienced.

"Pain." But that was one of them.

...Kirisame nodded. "Yeah. Pain, alright… You've got some double-joints, Mari. Damn."

Marigold's eyes were still reddish. "He-heheh… yeah."

"Seriously, you looked like you were dead!" Kirisame chuckled. "Don't scare me like that… Heart's not what it used ta be, y'know?"

"So-sorry…" Marigold muttered. "It wasn't entirely my decision."

Snorting, Kirisame reached under his desk. "Yeah, looked like it. I'd be more surprised if it was."

...He pulled out a bottle. "Drink?"

...Marigold shook her head. "No. I may have nearly died, but no."

Rolling his eyes, he took a cup from a nearby adjacent counter and poured himself a glass. "Pffft. Marisa really not teach ya to drink yet?"

' _I didn't think of this before…_ ' Hikari realized. ' _These two_ would _know each other, wouldn't they? They're family._ '

"I'd prefer not to drink." Marigold declared. "The times I have, it was in moderation. Even so, I've seen what it does."

...He shrugged. "Fair enough, I guess. Can't force ya to do anything. Learned that the hard way with Marisa! Hehehe~!"

…

Sipping from his glass, Kirisame sighed. "After what I just saw, I jus' thought t'myself: I'm'onna need a drink after that one!"

Hikari pivoted around, taking in the store's clutter. ' _...I wonder what he offers? I haven't been here in forever…_ '

"You doin' some incident huntin', Hikari?" Kirisame spoke to her daughter's friend's daughter.

"Hu-huh?" Hikari wasn't paying attention.

"Bustin' some youkais?" He grinned.

"O-oh." Hikari shrugged. "Yeah. Sorta. I guess?"

Chuckling, he took another sip. "Atta girl. Y'remind me, of Reimu."

' _...That was rather blunt._ '

...Hikari began walking into the store's shelves unannounced. Marigold turned to converse with her, only to find her walking away. "He-hey!"

"I wanna see what's for sale." Hikari stated simply. "There's a lot of interesting stuff, here…"

Kirisame watched with bated glee as the newest Hakurei miko took to his wares. He also hoped she actually brought money.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

"Where do you think the others are?" Marigold wondered aloud, as Hikari stared at some stacks of colored construction paper...

"Probably beating up that fluffy lady." Hikari decided. "I dunno whether or not that attack of hers was her last hurrah or not, though."

...Marigold nodded. "It could have been, couldn't it?"

With that, Hikari went back to staring at the construction paper…

…

She got bored of the construction paper. "Is there anything… useful, sold here?"

Marigold shrugged. "He does sell Hakurei ofuda and stuff."

...Hikari furrowed her brows. "How?"

' _No wonder my mother never gets money from donors._ '

Marigold shrugged.

...Hikari marched back to the front desk. "How and why do you sell ofuda?"

Kirisame paused, looking up from his drink, before he shrugged himself. "Dunno. Probably a good idea at the time."

...Hikari slouched.

"Ooo, ooo!" Marigold's voice rang out from the shelves.

Hikari stared at them dully, in anticipation.

…

Marigold scurried out, holding a long, metal tube. "I found this!"

"Metal." Excitement seeped from Hikari's voice. "Good."

Snorting, Marigold took it to the counter. "A cylinder like this could be used for _so_ many things!"

"How much even is it?" Hikari inquired…

"A mere thousand yen." Kirisame smiled. "For you, anyway."

Eager, Marigold turned to Hikari. "Can we get it? Please?"

...Hikari shrugs. "Alright. It's cheap enough."

"Yea~h!"

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Marigold obtained Steel Cylinder!

' _Three thousand yen left…_ ' Hikari stared at her dwindling pouch with an ironic smile. ' _Friends are expensive._ '

...Turning to her friend as they strutted down the village road, Hikari gave the magi a cynical stare as she hugged the metal cylinder. "...You sure you can carry all of that in that big bag?"

Marigold shrugged. "I've probably got good back and leg muscles, by now. It honestly sucked a lot harder days ago, but you get used to it. Just don't ask me to move fast. Or turn sharply."

...Hikari grinned. "You're tubby."

"I guess so." Marigold grinned back.

In the village square, they came upon Mononobe no Futo, who had a plate smashed around her head. She was lying on the floor with a dazed expression on her face.

' _Guess Hiyori won._ ' Hikari deduced.

"...Cr-crown Prince…?" Futo managed. "Art… art thou here?"

...Hikari crouched next to her. "No."

…

"Ho-how…" Futo stared at Hikari with wide eyes. "How are you living?"

Standing back up, Hikari dusts herself off a bit because she feels like it. "Just fine. Thanks for asking."

Futo glares at her.

"Hey!"

The two heard Osamu's shout from across the square. Hiyori came out from around an alley with Keine, and the three quickly jogged over to the other three.

"See? _Toldja_ she'd be fine." Osamu smiled.

"...If that's how you want to put it." Hiyori hinted at otherwise, but smiled herself.

...Osamu gave her a quick glance.

"I heard about what happened." Keine sighed. "I was terrified…"

...Futo glared from the floor, before attempting to stand. "...H-hah! I knew- woah!" She fell backwards, the plate around her neck breaking on the process. Cra~ck!

Rubbing her neck, she got back up again… "As thyself began, I knew Keine of association with the feral!"

Keine marched towards Futo, and grabbed her by her tower hat. "Eep!"

"Come with me." Keine smiled patiently. "You and I are going to have a long talk about village rumors."

"Bu-but it were posted! Even sealed!" Futo argued back hastily. "By decree of the village proper! She is _recognized_ , I decree! Recognized!"

"...Take me to the job board, then." Keine declared. "I'd like to see whoever posted it, and talk with them."

...Futo sighed. "Ve-very well… give me due time." She slowly trudged to the job board, which was only a few feet away due to them being in the village square.

...

As the two women walked away, the party convened proper. Hikari took the initiative to speak first. "Where should we go next?"

"I wanna see if the Kappa Valley can update my tech." Marigold decides. "The microwave gun's _cool_ , but if I wanna avoid _killing_ people and don't wanna make too much noise…" She trails off, leaving the rest of the sentence to implication.

"That's cool." Hiyori agrees.

"...As long as we have the money left." Hikari regains her cynical grin.

...Osamu folds his arms. "As long as they don't shove no more industrial night lights in our face. That shit had to have damaged my eyes… and I need those for _seein'!_ "

At Hiyori's questioning stare, Hikari shrugged.

Marigold was set on going before night fell. "Should we leave the village to teleport?"

"Unless ya wanna freak everyone out even _more_ , then yeah." Osamu answers… before breaking out into a grin. "Actually, that-"

"We're leaving the village before we teleport." Hiyori finalizes their plan of action.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

KraKoo~m!

Having planned ahead this time, Hikari hung onto Hiyori's side as they skidded to a halt. Unfortunately, this halt was in a shallow creek, leaving the party sans Hiyori to fall into it and get soggy, again.

"One of those cold, wet kind of days, I suppose…" Marigold expresses her discontent as the sun begins to set.

"Goddammit…" Osamu grumbles, trudging back onto his feet. "What _ass_ hole invented creeks?"

"Fri~ends!"

The party looks up from the creek, spotting Nitori with a wagon of parts. "Hello!"

Marigold breaks from the water, moving as fast as her big, wet backpack will let her.

After everyone's marched onto the shore, Nitori greets them proper. "What were you all doing in the water?"

"Havin' a fuckin' bath." Osamu snips.

...Nitori grins.

"We- uh, we came to get my stuff upgraded." Marigold explains. "I'm pretty excited about it."

"...By having a bath?" Nitori tilted her head.

"Yes." Marigold dryly responded. "By which I mean no. I-"

Nitori cut her off. "Actually, I could help you with that!"

She lit up. "Really!?"

"Yeah!" Nitori got hype, too. "C'mon, friend! We're gonna make _guns!_ "

' _...Something's weird about that sentence._ ' Hikari can't put her finger on it.

Leading them across the length of the Kappa Village, Nitori brought them along the path to her underground abode, again.

' _The woods are pretty at dusk…_ '

Eventually, they reached the deep, dark pit of water. "Hop in, guys!"

…

Nitori notices them not hop in. "...I'm tryna be polite, you know."

"I'd like to remind you that none of us can swim." Hikari reminded her.

"...Ooo~h! That's _right!_ " Nitori giggled. "Sorry. That kinda thing just slips my mind sometimes. That, and I gotta fix the elevator."

' _Uh oh._ ' Hikari stared at Nitori. ' _I don't wanna know what happened to it._ '

Osamu's curiosity was piqued. "What even happened to it?"

"I ki~nda stuffed too many robot parts on it." Nitori scratched her cheek, seeming slightly embarrassed. "So it just fell and was crushed into the Earth. When I dug it out, it, uh… we'll call it dead. That sums it up."

...Marigold nodded slowly. "Great. How will we get down, now?"

Nitori raises her brow. "Can't you guys fly?"

"Nope." Osamu looked smug.

"Hold on, hold on…" Nitori furrowed her brows. "You can't swim, sure… but you can't _fly!?_ "

"We were dropped on our heads as children." Hikari comments, earning dry but amused stares from her party members.

...Nitori sighs. "Alright. Well, can't… can't your oni friend hold you and just jump down? Unless she's somehow incapable of jumping, too…"

"I can do that." Hiyori insists before she's belittled further.

Perking up, Nitori moves towards the water. "Great! See you guys down there!"

Splash. With a quaint dive, she creates a tiny splash, vanishing into the dark water below.

Osamu's eyes widened. "...She-she can just do that?"

"Kappa and water are good friends." Marigold summarizes.

…

"The elevator was aro~und…" Hiyori walks around the side of the rock behind the pond, the party following. She eventually comes to a shaft. "Here."

...Hikari stepped up to it, and stared down. "...Like that one time in heaven?"

' _That's a long way down…_ '

Hiyori nodded. "Basically."

Quickly, she moved to grab the three, scooping them up in her arms.

Surprised, Osamu and Marigold reacted. "Eeah!?"

...Hikari lept into the bundle of people in Hiyori's arms. "The goal is to not let us shatter into a million pieces."

Moving awkwardly over the gap, Hiyori acknowledged this. "Mmm. I've got an idea, I think…"

...Suddenly, Hiyori leapt down the hole. Darkness quickly engulfed the party...

' _Woaa~h!_ '

A grinding noise was heard as Hiyori twirled around, and dug her back into the farther wall. Like that, she was able to control the speed of their dissent, at least enough to keep the bottom impact from injuring the party in her arms.

Bam!

They hit the bottom, dim light flooding from the open door ahead.

"...Damn! Warn us first!" Osamu objected to her practice.

"Sorry." Hiyori expected complaints.

"That was smart." Marigold complimented.

Hiyori blinked. "...You're welcome."

...Wiggling from Hiyori's broad grasp, Hikari stepped into the dim room ahead. The other party members did similarly, as Hiyori pulled her sandalled feet from the rock they were embedded into.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: MARIGOLD'S VIEW ====

' _Still so dark down here… how does Nitori get any work done?_ '

Glancing around, Marigold's eyes set on a protrusion on the right side of the room. She began approaching it…

Splash!

Nitori leaped from it, nearly flopping into Marigold as she got out. "Hawawa!?"

Marigold stepped back. "A-ah!"

...Once Nitori realized the scene, she began chuckling. "Wo-wow! You guys got down here _fast!_ Maybe I don't even _need_ that elevator!"

"Please add another elevator." Marigold pleaded, adding an exasperated grin.

Nitori rolled her eyes. "Alri~ght… What did you want me to help you with, anyway?"

Perking up, Marigold reached for her backpack, taking out the large, metal cylinder. "I-I wanted to either upgrade one of my current weapons, or do something with this…"

...Nodding, Nitori reached for the metal cylinder. "Hmm. Hmhmhm." She grabbed it. "Oo~h! Nice metal, here…!"

Flipping it around, Nitori tapped on it, rapped her knuckles on it, and then held it up to her nose…

Marigold blinked. "Wh-what are you doing…?"

"Checkin' for stuff." Nitori sheds light upon the matter. "...Ya didn't enchant the metal, so we can do what we want with it. Cool."

...Hikari and friends begin moving towards the long hallway behind the two, to their ignorance. She makes a 'shhh' motion with her lips, leading the other two.

"Would it be different if it was enchanted?" Marigold tilts her head…

"Yeah, magic can do screwy stuff to metal. I mean, steel's usually fine with whatever, but I've had some crazy people come up to me with stuff enchanted to explode." She giggled. "That stuff's fun to work with! I mean, the exploding kinda sucked, but the guy's face afterward…!"

Marigold just gave her a flat stare.

"Hahaha~! O-okay, okay, back to the work…" Nitori calmed down. "I mean, I can do unenchantments bing bang boom, no problem. If it's simple enough, anyway. Bigger stuff I just gotta tough out. Honestly, though, some of it's fun to work with!"

"Please don't make me reconsider coming here." Marigold's grin became awkward.

Nitori's excitement dulls. "...Ahah. Yeah, okay… What do ya wanna make?"

...Marigold shrugs. "Well… can we brainstorm, first? I didn't get much time to think about it…"

Nitori's mouth almost shifts into a frown, for a moment… then she beamed. "Oo~h! I've got a _perfect_ idea!"

"Brainstorm." Marigold insists. "As in, discuss."

"We could make a _bazooka!_ " Nitori gushes, mouth open with excitement. "It's been a long time since I made a bazooka!"

Turning to the kappa, Marigold fluffs up. "No-now wait just a-"

"C'mon." Nitori pleads. "A _bazooka._ "

…

' _Well…_ '

"Al-alright…" Marigold gives in. "But if we _do_ do that, make it have infinite ammo."

"Hehehe~!" Nitori rubbed her hands together. "Leave it to me, friend!"

…

Quietly, Nitori spoke again. "What's your name again?"

' _Really, now… I guess I can't blame her._ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Boo~m!

The splash of raw explosive energy collided with the wall, eating away the metal exterior. Rock was revealed on the other side.

"Woo~heheheh!" Marigold grinned widely. "I didn't know explosion propelled explosions were a _thing!_ "

"You can do a lot with temporary matter compression." Nitori was smug. "...You knew more than most people. I mean, you knew pretty much nothing, but at least you didn't suggest springs. _Every_ newbie suggests springs…"

' _...Why springs?_ ' Marigold shook it off. "We-well, I was right about those fire stones being combined with gravity stones."

"Yeah, and I was right about gravity existing." Nitori bit back with sarcasm. "...Just keep practicing, alright, friend? I know humans can learn fast."

"Magician." Marigold corrected.

...Nitori's jaw dropped. "Why didn't you say so!?"

Marigold was taken aback by the comment. "What do you mean…?"

"You coulda, like, made this thing have more mana than there is metal!" Nitori gushed. "This thing could be shooting _tiny suns!_ "

...Sighing, Marigold broke the truth to her. "I can't cast magic."

…

"Tiny suns?" Nitori tried, gazing questioningly at the magician.

"No. Sorry." Marigold shook her head.

...Nitori appeared crestfallen. "Dang…"

Marigold obtained Heavy Bazooka!

Running her hand along the shiny, laser-painted side of the tube, she took in the aesthetic. The room's lighting may have been dim, but she could make out the faint green color, along with neon blue rings that adorned it for adornment's sake.

' _I still don't know why the room's this dim, but she seems to be fine with it._ '

At the bottom, there was a simple pistol-esque handle with a trigger. There was no exhaust port like a typical bazooka might have; it simply ended in the smooth backside they had added to the cylinder.

' _In retrospect, Nitori really didn't go past the size of the cylinder very much. While this hand-sized handcannon's great and all, the recoil's still pretty intense…_ '

"What did you do to mitigate recoil?" Marigold questioned.

Nitori blinked. "...Why would you do that? Recoil's part of the cool factor!"

' _...It would be._ '

"How does this even _have_ recoil?" Marigold pressed further.

Nitori grins. "You know that layer of smaller stones and plates I put behind the gravity stones?"

...Marigold nods. "You said that was to keep it from breaking."

"I lied. It was just to add recoil." Nitori amended.

' _...Good. Straight priorities._ '

...Shaking her head, Marigold nodded. "Thank you so much for your help, Nitori."

"No problem! I had fun!" She smiled, holding out a hand. "Pleasure doing business!"

Marigold went to shake it…

Boo~m.

The underground facility shook.

Marigold stared into Nitori's eyes.

…

Nitori began sprinting down the hall, Marigold following suit.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIKARI'S VIEW ====

Boom! Bam! Boom!

Hikari slammed the door shut, eyes wide.

"I _told_ you not to open it!" Osamu rushed to her side, moving to keep it shut.

Hiyori raised her arms over their heads, exerting far more force on the door than the two humans combined.

Boom! Blam! Boom!

' _Wh-what are in all these-_ '

"What the fuck are in these rooms!?" Osamu vocalizes Hikari's thoughts.

BOOM

The door is blown off its hinges, the party being pushed to the other side of the hall, Hiyori acting as the buffer that prevents the other two from being squished.

"A-aah!" Hikari squeaked.

"He-hehehe…" Osamu rubbed the spot on his forehead where he banged the door, being less fortunate than Hikari. "Maybe, uh… we should scram."

Boo~m!

The blast sent a wave of flames past the three, missing them only due to the door of unknown metal's grace.

Hiyori thrust the door forward-

Boom!

It was pushed back into the three, Hikari bracing for it while Osamu gets slammed in the face again.

"Oo~h…" Osamu rubs his head. "O~w."

Boom!

An explosion echoes from the further, untraveled hall.

' _We've got to get out of here!_ '

Thinking similarly, Hiyori kicks the door back again, moving to grab Osamu and Hikari-

Bam!

Launching herself ahead, the fire grazes them from behind.

' _So loud…_ '

Blam! Boom!

Hikari tried to use her wind to help Hiyori, but the fact they were deep underground, again, made that difficult.

Even so, Hiyori cleaved into the tiled floor with her legs, ripping ahead.

Very quickly, they caught up with the bewildered forms of Nitori and Marigold.

"What's going on!?" Marigold yelled over the big kabooms.

Hiyori latched onto the two as well, and ran faster.

Hiyori tried Teleport α!

KraKoo~m!

…

Blam, boom, bam bam, boom!

The lab became napalm.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

KraKoo~m!

Touching down outside the Palace of Earth Spirits, Hiyori skidded to a halt in the thick rock.

"Wha- _woaa~h_ …" Nitori's eyes were wide with wonder. "...I _gotta_ make a teleporter like that."

' _Of course._ '

...Hiyori drops them unceremoniously, unleashing a symphony of discomfort.

"Oof…" Marigold sighed. "What did you guys do _now?_ "

"My-my damn _back_ , dude…"

...Hikari adjusted her clothes. ' _This happens too often._ '

Hikari tried Healing α!

"...Aa~h." Osamu stands. "Hell yeah, baby!"

...Taking a good look around, Hikari realizes where they are. ' _Literally._ '

"Who turned out the sun…?" Marigold looked around the dim underground…

...Nitori noticed the palace. "He~y! This's Satori's place, isn't it?"

Hiyori smiled. "Yeah."

The door to the palace swung open. "What… was that…?"

Ellen, the small blonde cat girl, recognized the party. "O-oh! Come on in…!"

Noiselessly, the door swung wide open.

Progressing inside, the party plus Nitori mode conversation.

"...Are you mad about your lab?" Hiyori brought up for her morality's sake. "I mean… we destroyed it."

Nitori slouched. "...Darn it, you're right. Gonna have to set my 'days without an accident' counter to zero…"

...Hiyori was crestfallen that her kappa friend was sad.

She perked up, though. "Well, it doesn't matter, anyway. All the stuff's fine, and the doors're mostly blast proof. I kinda lined the hallways with explodium as a precaution against the bots."

"...Oh." Hiyori stared at her dryly. "Well, sorry anyway, I guess."

"It's no problem, friend." Nitori smiled at her. "...As fun as it would be to stick around with you guys, I'd be bored out of my mind if I sticked around with you guys. See ya!"

With that, Nitori pivoted on her heels, and left the palace.

She paused. "Oh, yeah! Tell Satori I said hi!"

 _Then_ she left the palace.

…

"I thought I heard a deafening crackle."

Satori stepped into the middle of the foyer stairs ahead. "I didn't think it'd be you four."

Hiyori nodded. "We were kinda in a pinch, and I picked the first place I thought of to teleport to."

Satori smiled. "You thought of here, then?"

"Yeah." Folding her arms, Hiyori sighed. "We've been busy."

' _...The only problem is that we don't know where the last sanctuary could be._ '

At Hikari's thought, Satori closes her eyes. "...I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I'm afraid there's another one of these troublesome 'sanctuaries' down here, too."

Osamu beamed. "Where is it!? We gotta go kick some red ass!"

' _Pffft._ '

...Hiyori snorted. "You know, if a red oni heard you say that…"

Satori shook her head. "He didn't know, you."

...Osamu was confused. "God dammit. Okay, what did I say? It's not like I made fun 'a some girl's _boobs!_ "

' _How are those related…?_ ' Hikari, too, was confused. ' _...We need to get back on track!_ '

"Well, you see…" Hiyori began, "Underground-"

Abruptly, Satori cut in. "I apologize to cut you off… but Hikari is right. I assume you four must deal with this sanctuary with haste."

Nodding, Hikari agrees with this idea…

She yawns. "Ha~h…"

…

Marigold yawns. "Ha~n…"

Osamu yawns. "Huaa~h…"

Hiyori yawns. "Haa~h…"

"I didn't know human psychology applied to oni, like that." Satori's curiosity was piqued.

Hiyori tilts her head. "I'm not even tired."

"I'm not, either… I think." Osamu voices.

"I am." Marigold voices. "I'd rather not use my bazooka as a pillow, if I could help it."

Satori blinked. "When did you get a _bazooka_."

' _Shady kappa research deals, I'm sure…_ ' Hikari lazily struts towards the foyer stairs. "I'm finding a bed."

"...Hyaa~n…" Ellen yawned, herself. "Me~ too~..."

Marigold and Ellen tag along behind Hikari.

…

Osamu flops onto the floor.

Hiyori stares down at him. "We might need to put a hold on exploring that sanctuary, for just a little while…"

Satori grins. "Very well. Rest is important, after all. You should get some sleep, too."

"...I guess so."

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

…

…

Hikari rolls over. ' _Mmnh…_ '

…

' _Cat._ ' There was a cat on the other side of the bed, sprawled out.

She gave it a soft, dreary-eyed stare for a few moments, before trying to sit up.

Only to find more cats hogging the bed.

' _Cats…_ ' Hikari blinked.

...She looked over to Marigold's bed, where the cats seemed to have pushed her off and onto the floor.

' _Ca~ts!_ '

Half-awake and half-alert, Hikari stands up on the bed, and does a short, wind-enhanced hop to clear the cats-

Thump.

' _Sticked the landing. Mostly._ ' Hikari was proud of her jump.

...She drowsily trotted up to Marigold, and used her hands to gently inflict violence on her.

"Hu-whuh…?" Marigold's eyes blink open as she wiggles on the blanketed floor. "...Oh. Mornin', Hikari…"

"Ah~." Hikari sounds her acknowledgement.

From there, she stumbles towards the door, and assaults it in an attempt to jiggle the handle. After enough effort, she succeeds, moving outside the room…

...Lazily, Marigold gets up, following behind.

The two eventually meander into the main foyer, where Hiyori and Satori stand, conversing.

"-Then we teleported to the Kappa Valley, and opened some doors we shouldn't have." Hiyori seemed to have been explaining some of the context behind their arrival.

Satori grinned. "You don't _have_ to vocalize it, I'm sure you know…"

"...It just feels more natural." Hiyori shrugs.

Making sure to hold onto the railing, Hikari slowly descended down the foyer stairs…

"Your friends seem to be awake." Satori mentions.

At that, Hiyori nods. "Two of them, at least."

' _Osamu's not here, yet…?_ '

Satori, too, nods. "Nope. He's over there." She points behind herself, to the sleeping lump on the floor.

' _Oh. That makes this easy, then…_ ' Hikari rose her gohei mechanically, and approached the sleeping man.

Marigold was slightly more sympathetic. "Hikari, shouldn't you-"

Thwack!

"Aaa~h…" Osamu moaned groggily, crawling away idly. "Ju-just a few more... minutes…"

Thwack, thwack!

"No~!" He flailed his limbs. "Aa~h!"

Thwack!

…

With little other choice, he got up. "I-I'm up already. Geez…"

"Good." Hikari turns to the others, again. "Where's the sanctuary place?"

...Taking a moment to process Hikari's sudden request, Satori responds. "It's in on one of the mountains to the east. An underground mountain, mind you."

' _...Now just how does_ that _work?_ '

"There?" Hiyori jerked her head back. "Really?"

Satori tilted her head. "Wouldn't it be fitting, though? It's probably one of the least explored places of the underground, and the place with the most ruins in all of Old Hell. It seems rather predictable."

"...I'd like to know how you figured this out." Hiyori spoke. "Did you travel there?"

...Satori nodded. "Yes. With Okuu and Orin, so don't worry."

Hiyori opens her mouth to object, only to remember that Okuu devoured a sun god and acquired its powers for her own. "...Ah."

' _I'm pretty sure this adventure would be a million times easier with that raven on our side._ ' Hikari grinned.

Satori turned to her. "You shouldn't sell yourself short, Hikari. You four managed to beat Okuu, didn't you?"

"Just _barely!_ " Osamu objected, waking up the way only he knew. "We nearly got our asses toasted!"

Satori giggled. "...Don't worry. I have confidence in you four."

"So do I!"

A wild Koishi appeared! "He~y, Ari!"

...Hikari stared at her dryly. "Hi."

"Was I a big help!?" Koishi energetically greeted. "Was I? Was I!?"

' _Too early for this…_ '

Koishi deflated, appearing drowsy. "Co~me o~n, big girl… Do it for me~?"

"...Sure." Hikari sighed.

' _Honestly, you may've hurt more than you helped, but that's partly my fault for summoning you at bad times._ '

Satori was unsurprised. "...So that gem did what I expected it to."

Marigold smirked. "I knew you knew."

"I knew you knew I knew." Satori countered.

Marigold mentally conceded defeat.

' _...I might need a moment to wake up before we do anything more._ ' Hikari stretches, yawning. "...Ha~h."

"...Hyaa~n…"

' _Oh, no._ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

END OF CHAPTER 25

Protagonist: Hikari Hakurei, Disciple of Paradise

-Inventory-

Weapon: Miracle Gohei - Ability to whack stuff really hard. Amplifies whacking power, too! Able to deal magical damage. Adds an increased chance to deal critical hits.

Arms: Iconic Hakurei Arm Sleeves - Keeps arms warm. A Hakurei tradition. How they stay on is a Hakurei family secret.

Body: Combat Miko Outfit - A black leotard and hakama combination worn by the previous-previous Hakurei miko. Designed to be suitable for excessive physical activity and close combat, it slightly improves physical combat prowess. Now with less sideboob!

Misc: Royal Red Ribbon - A ribbon made with rich materials, with a floral pattern.

-Skills-

Attack: Quickly! Swing your gohei at them for massive damage!

PK Fantasy α, β, γ - Bombards the enemy with pain in the form of flashing colors. Deals magical damage. Heavy mental strain that increases with each tier. Third tier forms a barrier, which breaks upon moderate damage.

PK Flash α, ß - A bright flash that distributes very random status effects to enemies. Usually makes people cry. Higher tiers increase chances, and introduce possibilities of fainting or dispel.

Hypnosis α, Ω - Puts weak enemies to sleep for a short time. Works better on tired or exhausted foes. Can also be used in a far more costly form that works on multiple opponents.

Shield α, ß - Halves damage the target takes. Only works against physical attacks, and enough strikes, or powerful strikes, will dispel it. Higher tier turns it into a power-shield that protects even better and even reflects a fraction of protected damage.

Lifeup α, ß, γ - Heals target a little. Higher tiers heal more grievous wounds, like bone fractures.

Healing α, ß, γ - Heals basic status ailments. Higher tiers can cure more dire effects, like burning alive.

Teleport α - Allows instant transport to the general location of an area remembered by oneself or one's party members. Requires a long, fast run-up to execute, however.

Ofuda Toss - Throw a holy ofuda that does massive holy elemental damage to youkai and dark elemental foes. Effect lessens the more holy the thing you're attacking is, to the point of healing holy things. Only works if you actually have ofuda, though.

Summon Koishi - Using the Heart Gem's power, Hikari summons Koishi Komeiji. Casts three random HK spells on enemies, before using a higher tier one that depends on her current mood. Typically can manage two uses before she's out of mana. Costs sizable mana.

γ-γ-γ-γ

Mage: Osamu Katsumi, the Wannabe Mage

-Inventory-

Weapon: Fisticuffs!

Arms: Nothing

Body: Rugged Robe - A sturdy robe enchanted to resist damage. Made partially with sturdy cloth from deep underground.

Misc: Red Mage Hat - A red colored mage's hat made from cloth in the Human Village. Minor resistance to thunder, ice, and fire magic from its well worn usage in the past. Didn't see much action… until Osamu bought it!

-Skills-

PK Thunder α, ß - Very random thunder attack that deals limited damage. Higher tiers increase number of bolts, and sometimes power.

PK Hydro α, β, γ - Gets everyone wet. Usefulness with PK Thunder and PK Freeze depends on whether you hit yourself or not! Creates whirling water spirals at higher tiers.

PK Freeze α, β, γ, Ω - Generates ice crystals at the target's location. Medium damage and effect; may freeze some targets, especially wet ones. Highest tier has a near-guaranteed freeze chance and immense ice damage, at the cost of being very taxing.

Fireball - Manipulate mana to make a shoddy fireball. Low damage and effect.

Static Hands - Not a real spell. Result of a very undercharged PK Thunder that can accidentally go off.

PSI Telepathy α - Speak to friends you haven't met yet! Unstable connection and only works if they have the skill or are asleep.

PSI Shield α, Σ - Halves damage from magical and psychic attacks. Thunder spells fry it instantly, and harder blows dispel it. Second tier applies basic shield to entire party at higher mana expense.

PSI Magnet α - Costs no mana to use, and steals a very tiny amount of mana from the enemy. Enemy has to have mana in the first place for it to work, though.

Offense Up α - Get pissed! Boosts strength and confidence depending on caster's power and receiver's power.

Defense Down α - Throw the enemy off their game. Makes them slightly more vulnerable to physical attacks.

γ-γ-γ-γ

Inventor: Marigold Knowledge, the Tri-Magi Love Child

-Inventory-

Weapon: Spectrum Shotgun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Filled with foil chip bags to conduct the mana, and it is transmitted into a wind stone. Upgraded to draw mana from a simple wooden block filled with immense magic reserves, giving it virtually unlimited ammo. The addition of a battery and a prism allow it to fire seven rainbow colored beams at a wide spread, which deal non-elemental damage. Firing long enough allows them to focus and deal incredible damage, at the cost of insane recoil and instability.

Arms: Nothing

Body: Custom Adventure Dress - A custom dress made by Alice. Provides slight defense against magical and psychic attacks. Now allows freer movement with a shorter skirt, and a more flexible material.

Misc: Swirly Glasses - Lets Marigold not be blind.

Backpack - Allows extended inventory. Aged relic from the Kourindou.

Unnamed Lock Opening Device - Opens locks very precariously. Made with steel, burnt cloth, packaging peanuts, thumbtacks, string, and wooden wheels. Don't even ask…

Ruler - Lets you measure the world around you!

Protractor - Lets you find the angles of anything ever. Totally overpowered.

Scotch Tape - Transparent adhesive from the outside world. Weak, but handy!

Deck of Cards - Allows Marigold to play Strip Poker with the party. Just kidding… or am I?

Shield Killer - Electrical device used to subdue harassers. Has settings ranging from Tickle Torture to Arse Blaster. Fires electrical projectiles, of unknown power.

NF Burst Gun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Uses a Pop Gun as the base, but amplifies its power with an array of random batteries jammed into the base with the Pop Gun. The more batteries, the better, but the typical yield is about five bullets per trigger. Spamming the trigger doesn't make it go any faster, unfortunately. Has no foreseeable ammo limit, and the batteries are only there for mana circulation, meaning their power is really inconsequential.

Holmes Brand Designer Hat - Village swag! A retro village hat that ceased production ten years ago. Sells for a pretty penny nowadays, but it's pretty useless otherwise.

Slime Generator - A bulky box that shoots a small splat of slime. Doesn't seem good for much.

Counter-PSI Device - A weird device Marigold found from a flying saucer. Works in strange ways, and seems to disrupt everyone's concentration. Marigold is immune to its effects.

Charm of Sleep - Grants immunity to sleep while equipped, or held. Can be equipped to Arms or Misc.

Microwave Gun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Constructed with a controlled flame crystal and metal parts, it fires a beam of sustained microwave energy that cooks biological foes alive. Fire-elemental at its core, it's also very inefficient against machines.

Defense Shower - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Made of a broom, a showerhead, some magnets, and uses jars of water as ammo. Slapped together with ofuda, giving it a holy defensive effect. The jars are usually filled with Talcum Powder, for alchemical purposes. The liquid that is dispensed becomes auto-applying lotion.

Heavy Bazooka - An invention developed in part by Kappa Tech and Marigold Knowledge. It shoots heavy fire-based blasts of fire magic, and deals high knockback. It was constructed by stuffing some fire and gravity stones into a tube, adding a cap on one side to direct the fire, and hooking a magical wire to the handle. Nitori did most of the work, though...

-Skills-

Uses A Bazooka As A Pillow - What if it _goes off_.

MP Rage - Restores MP on damage taken! Because, y'know, she can use it!

Fluffy - You can tell that I'm running dry at the ideas bank, here!

Flies Passenger Airliners - In her spare time, I assure you.

Smokes Meats On The Barbie - Barbies make good kindling.

γ-γ-γ-γ

Fighter: Hiyori Hashimoto, the Buddhist Oni

-Inventory-

Weapon: Mace of Devas - The last of the four treasures held by the Devas of the Mountain. Ability to whack stuff really hard. Increases critical hit rate by lieu of being a really big, blunt, spiky weapon. Allows partial blocking of magic attacks.

Arms: Shackle of Devas - The first of the four treasures held by the Devas of the Mountain. Grants immunity to sleep-inducing magic. Grants fifty percent resistance to wind and thunder magic.

Body: Kimono of Devas - The second of the four treasures held by the Devas of the Mountain. Grants immunity to paralyzing magic. Grants fifty percent resistance to fire magic. Insanely durable. Has a floral design to it…!

Misc: Bows of Devas - The third of the four treasures held by the Devas of the Mountain. Grants immunity to confusion-inducing magic. Grants fifty percent resistance to ice magic.

-Skills-

PK Starstorm α - Summons forth the stars from the night's sky to rain down upon enemies. Hits all enemies, and deals high magical damage, at the cost of being highly mentally taxing. Can hit allies if they're in the effective area, as the white stars don't have homing properties. Power proportional to amount of enemies, as well.

PK Fire α, ß - Creates an igniting blast of flames at the target's location. More impact comes with higher tiers.

PK Freeze α, β, γ - Generates ice crystals at the target's location. Medium damage and effect; may freeze some targets, especially wet ones.

Shield α, ß, Σ - Halves damage the target takes. Only works against physical attacks, and enough strikes, or powerful strikes, will dispel it. Higher tier turns it into a power-shield that protects even better and even reflects a fraction of protected damage. Highest tier applies a basic shield to the entire party.

Lifeup α, ß - Heals target a little. Higher tiers heal more grievous wounds, like bone fractures.

Healing α, ß - Heals basic status ailments. Higher tiers can cure more dire effects, like burning alive.

Teleport α, ß - Allows instant transport to the general location of an area remembered by oneself or one's party members. Requires a long, fast run-up to execute, however. Higher tier is largely automatic and requires little room to execute.

Martial Arts - Skilled in hand-to-hand combat.

γ-γ-γ-γ

Author's Note:

JESUS THIS TOOK FOREVER

bloody college, yo…

that, and i'm in the newspaper club, so i write articles now and again

in any case, end-game start HYPE yo

added in ANGRY MONONOBE just to spice up the PREPARATIONS; she's a fun fight to write, especially when ai blended some of XALDIN into her attacks

her OLDE ENGLISH isn't as onpoint as in FREAKIN GENSOKYO because the proofreaders/editors're different, and this one's not OCD when it comes to YE OLDEN LITERATURE, which is KOO

as always, see you all next time!


	26. Travels To The Hakurei

Stepping out the door of the Palace of Earth Spirits, Hikari and company idly waved to Satori and Koishi.

"Bye, bye~!" Koishi waved her arm enthusiastically. "See you in a couple hours, Ari!"

Hikari snorted. ' _I'd rather not. Eventually. Maybe._ '

Satori waved politely. "Take care, you four. The volcanic regions can be rather dangerous."

Hiyori grinned. "I'm an oni."

"You know what I mean." Satori grinned back. "...Besides, the enemies there have been rather foul as of late. They should be little trouble for you, but do keep your eyes open."

' _...That's rather foreboding._ '

Satori didn't comment.

' _...Even more so._ ' Hikari was slightly wary.

"You'll be fine." Satori states, only after a few moments, to the curiosity of those who didn't hear her and Hikari's unspoken conversation.

Knowing that's all she'd get, Hikari begins to mobilize. "Guess we'll get going."

With that, the four began heading off in the direction of the far-off volcanic mountain.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Osamu tried PK Freeze γ!

KaKaKa~...

The scythe-handed ghost was immobilized. "Huh-huh-hwoa~h…"

Boom!

"Hoo-h-h-h…" Frosty air tore into it, rendering it chunks of ice and dissipating mist.

"Hah!" Hikari flung herself at the largest ice chunk.

SMAAAA~SH!

Her gohei's strike shattered the ice chunk. The rest fell to the floor as the mist dissipated in an instant.

"Well handled." Hiyori complemented, recognizing the strategy.

"Th-thanks…" Hikari felt somewhat awkward, having not had the opportunity to thank people much before. ' _It just feels weird coming out of my mouth._ '

At the base of the rocky mound, the party stared up. Exposed lava flowed from the Earth's crust, an amber hill rising to the underground sky's peak. The oni city was but a light in the distance, separated from the party by vast, empty expanses and the occasional haunted ruin.

' _I have a feeling this long, uneventful walk is about to get eventful. Even if it's just because there's lava here, and it's hot._ ' Sweat from the subterranean volcano's heat made her leotard slick.

"Du~de…" Osamu groaned. "It's like a fuckin' _oven._ "

Osamu tried PK Hydro ß!

A shuriken of water formed above the party, dousing them.

Marigold did not object, tugging at her warm clothes. "Yo-you're right… My clothes are _not_ made for this."

The volcano shook, the lava's glow flaring for a second.

"Wo-woah…" Marigold stumbled from the tremur.

' _What was that?_ '

...Volcanic ash quickly swept across the volcano's side, and into the party.

' _Ugh…!_ ' Hikari shielded her face. She drew a breath- "A-ah… Kauff! Kauff!"

Osamu clutched his throat. "Hak-hak, hu~h…"

Marigold hid her face in her dress. "Wu-wha…?"

Hiyori was fine, scrunching her face up. "Hrm…"

...Once the ash passed, Hikari dropped to her knees, covered in soot.

' _Ca-can't breathe…_ ' "Kaugh! Ha-ha-kaugh…" Her eyes began watering.

Hiyori tried Healing ß!

...Hikari found herself able to breathe properly again. "Huaa~h!"

' _Ge-geez…_ '

"Huk-kagh…" Osamu sputtered, dropping to the floor.

Hikari tried Healing ß!

...He inhaled, too, wiping tears from his eyes. "Huwa~h! Holy _fuck!_ "

"Maybe we should be quick about this." Marigold looked concerned.

"Ye-yeah…" Hikari found speaking again awkward. "Ack…"

She decided to spit on the floor. "Pftoo!"

It was black, and viscous.

' _Yuck…_ ' Hikari winced.

"C'mon." Hiyori motioned for the party to follow. "We'll try to find some caves to get our bearings. The volcano has to have some gaps. That _aren't_ filled with lava, that is."

"Du~de…" Osamu fanned himself with his hand. "Hikari, can't you, like, do wind things!?"

"No-not that well underground." Hikari admits. ' _...Also would rather not kick up volcanic ash._ '

He huffed. "Try, dude, try. I'm burnin' up, here!"

Hiyori tried PK Freeze α!

KaKaKa~...

Ice crystals formed, freezing and thawing around Osamu's form. The water already on his robe chilled, and he was frozen solid.

"U-uhm…" Hiyori blushed. "Whoops."

Hiyori tried Healing α!

...Fwwwsh…

The ice fell apart.

Osamu smiled. "Aa~h… _There_ we go. Just keep doin' that."

The volcano rumbled.

' _N-no!_ ' Hikari _really_ didn't want to almost suffocate, again.

Running forward at the sound of the tremors, the party bolted towards whatever they could find that looked like a crevice.

"Here!" Marigold called out from within a tiny cave.

Hikari and Osamu gravitated to her position, while Hiyori leisurely followed along behind them.

Volcanic ash rushed across the scorched hillside again, blowing past Hiyori.

The less hardy party members waited it out in the cave.

…

Once the wave of ash passed, Hikari reluctantly moved out of the tiny crevice to check on Hiyori. "...Are you sure you're okay?"

Hiyori nodded. "Mmm. Us onis kinda got used to that sort of thing. I mean, getting slammed by an entire cloud pretty much never happens, but sometimes the air quality is… less than good, down here."

Hikari looked skeptical.

"...Oni have good lungs." Hiyori simplifies her point.

' _...Makes sense._ '

"Why the hell did we come here again?" Osamu griped. "It's just a giant, flaming rock!"

"Sanctuary." Hikari reminded him.

His face was flat. "...Shit."

"Mmm…" Hikari hummed in agreement.

...Venturing out from their safe cave, the party ventured on an incline that was level enough to not instantly reject their attempt to climb it.

On this incline, there was a turtle made out of rocks.

"Oh, hey." Hikari spoke aloud. "Mom owned a turtle, once."

Marigold smiled. "...It's quite quaint, isn't it?"

The rock turtle began moving.

Acting pre-emptively, Hiyori stepped forward, sticking her hand out. "Halt."

Osamu grinned. "Quaint? Dude, it's got like, this _huge_ spike on its back. That's badass."

"Grru~h…" The turtle groaned, rocks dropping from its mouth..

' _Feral youkai, apparently…_ '

Fwoom, fwoom, fwoom!

Spats of molten lava shot from its mouth, colliding with Hiyori.

"Ugh…" After the first one completely surprised her, she guarded, letting her mace deflect the rest. "Looks like this creature's not very diplomatic…"

Noticing the hostility, Osamu grinned. "I think this hot head's gotta _cool off_ , right, guys?"

"We're throwing you into the lava." Marigold deadpans.

Hikari snorted.

Osamu tried PK Freeze γ!

KaKaKa~...

Slowing down, the turtle hung its head low as it was assaulted by the rapidly freezing and thawing snowflake pattern…

Boom!

Rocks snapped off of it, while bits of ice hung onto the sides of the turtle. "Grh."

...Hikari watched it stumble about. ' _I think we made it sad._ '

Afte a moment, it shook rapidly, making the ground rumble. Then, it ran towards Hiyori, and did a front flip, attacking her with the huge spike on the back of its shell.

Hiyori guarded-

Bam!

She sunk into the floor.

Osamu gaped. "Duuhuhu~de! Can we keep it!?"

"I think we made it mad." Marigold aimed her new toy at it. "...Rocks aren't very explosive resistant, are they?"

The turtle did a backflip to right itself, the floor rumbling as it touched down.

...Hiyori slowly climbed from the hole she was put in. "That thing has immense strength…"

Seeing Marigold aiming her Heavy Bazooka, Hiyori moved out of the way.

"Heavy Bazooka~!" Marigold was having fun. "Get outta the way!"

She fired it.

An amber bolt of flame shot towards the turtle-

Boom!

Rocks went flying, the turtle flinching back. "Grh."

...Before the dust could settle, the turtle charged out, intent on headbutting Marigold.

"A-ah!?" Marigold was taken by surprise. Hikari moved to intercept.

Thwack!

Her gohei strike did nothing.

Marigold was flung by the headbutt from the turtle. "Aa~h!"

Thud. "...I'm okay!"

Drawing one of the ofuda she brought, Hikari mentally chided herself. ' _I should have used these to begin with. This thing_ is _a youkai, right…?_ '

She flung it.

Thwap!

The ofuda glowed violently, burning into the rock exterior of the creature.

"Grooaa~ghgh!" It howled in pain, before it began walking in an odd direction. Casting its head to the sky, it bellowed. "Groah!"

...Embers began falling from above, gently floating into the party.

Hikari's arm sleeve lit on fire.

' _Oh._ '

"Woah!" Osamu's robe lit. "Fuck that!"

Osamu tried PK Hydro γ!

The huge shuriken of water formed above the battlefield, raining liquid down on the party.

Hikari's arm sleeve went out.

Marigold was on her feet again, aiming her bazooka at the turtle. "Now!"

Fwoosh! Another bolt of explosive energy flew at it.

Boom!

The turtle was blown to pieces. Rocks, lava, and shadowy energy faded from its being. Elemental mists culminated in a mass of magical mist a few meters above the turtle's ruins, before turning into its basic form.

Which were more rocks and lava.

"...I don't think Mom owned a turtle like that." Hikari decided.

Osamu looked disappointed. "Awwh, dammit. We killed it."

Hiyori looked somewhat solemn. "...That being didn't deserve death."

"It sure wasn't stopping." Marigold decided. "...I think."

With that, the party fell into silence.

' _...We did kill that thing, didn't we?_ ' Hikari tilted her head. ' _...I'm not sure how to feel about that._ '

The volcano rumbled, again.

"Oh, fuck." Osamu began looking around. "God dammit."

Unable to find a nearby cave, the party hugged the wall.

"This will work." Marigold hid her face in her dress, again.

Hikari took a deep breath, ready to hold it. She closed her eyes, and braced for the flood of ash-laden air.

…

She took another breath. ' _Good thing it's not-_ '

Woo~sh.

Closing her mouth hastily, Hikari found herself short of breath.

' _Da-dangit…_ '

Struggling to hold her breath, she waited.

She felt the soot caress her skin, in an unpleasant way. It brushed through her hair, and through her clothes. The searing heat detracted from the similarities it held to wind, and she felt the clumps of ash collide with her skin.

Eventually, it was over, but Hikari continued to wait.

Osamu tried PK Hydro ß!

...Hikari felt the water wash down on herself, and she opened her eyes.

And her mouth. "Ha-haa~h…"

Osamu almost wiped his face on his robe sleeve, only to realize that it was also covered in soot. "Fucking…"

Black liquid flowed from the party's clothes, slightly cleansing them from the dirty ashes that had stained their clothing.

"U~gh…" Marigold winced at her outfit's state. "I'm gonna be charcoal by the time we get out of here…"

Hiyori hardly acknowledges the soot, most of it washing off her kimono easily, as opposed to the blurry black marks left in the other party member's clothes. "Yeah, it can be a little annoying."

"...A _little._ " Marigold was certain she'd smell like fire for weeks.

' _My face itches, and I can't touch it…_ ' Hikari experienced true horror.

Holding her arm close to the water shuriken, Hikari let her hand submerge in the moving liquid.

' _It doesn't cut, apparently._ ' Hikari notes.

...She pulled her hand out, and began scratching her cheek, scraping soot off of it.

' _Sweet release…_ '

Pressing forward, Hiyori made sure the party didn't stick around for the next ash storm. "Come on. We can't waste time."

Agreeing, the rest of the party followed her along the side of the volcano. Eventually, they came to an amber river of flowing lava.

...They stood a good twenty feet away from it, aside from Hiyori, who didn't mind the heat at all. "Do you guys want me to throw you over?"

"Hahaha~..." Osamu grinned. "...Hell~ no! Fuckin' lava!"

...Hiyori stared at him dryly. "Do you not trust me?"

He jerks his head back. "S'not that… it's just hot as _shit_ over there!"

' _Even over here, the heat is unbearable…_ ' Hikari sighed, feeling tired.

"There's a cave, over there." Marigold points to the left, towards the wall.

Hiyori gave it a careful stare. "...It could be warmer."

Osamu trudged towards it. After he arrived inside, he walked further a bit...

...With glee, he announced his findings. "Hey! I think it's _slightly_ cooler in here!"

Marigold and Hikari surged into the cave with him, pushing past him. "Hey!"

...Hiyori walked into the cave reluctantly. "I'm unsure how wise this is."

"Dude. It's _cooler._ " Osamu stressed this fact. "How could it _not_ be wise?"

Moving forward, Hikari quickly found out that caves were dark.

' _...Uh oh._ '

...Marigold idly fired her bazooka further into the cave.

Fwoo~m!

Boom!

It succeeded in lighting it up for a moment, only to fill it with smoke.

"...For what reason?" Hikari was genuinely curious.

"I-it seemed like a good idea…" Marigold was regretful.

' _How._ '

...After the smoke cleared, Marigold utilized her Shield Killer as a flashlight once more, as one does with a Shield Killer.

Before them, the barely illuminant form of an old man's face shone in the yellow glow of the electric arrows the Shield Killer fired.

"Wha~t the fuck is that?" Osamu's eyes slowly widened, pointing at it.

"Probably not friendly." Hikari decided aloud, readying her gohei…

Hiyori objected to the sudden hostility. "We could have avoided killing that turtle if-"

"Huuwoaaa~h!" The spirit glowed a bright red.

A magical circle generated around Hikari, before fading as fast as it appeared.

' _What…?_ '

Then, a light shined down from above on her.

Looking up, Hikari saw a countdown.

' _Three…?_ ' She tilted her head at the amber number.

It became a two.

The rest of the party was equally befuddled. Marigold spoke on their behalf, "I never saw a spell like that before."

The number became a one.

"What do you think it means?" Hikari glanced back up at it.

When it hit zero, Hikari was engulfed in a small blast-

Fwoom.

She did a tiny backflip in place, before landing on her stomach. "Oof…"

Osamu snorted. "...Wha-what the fuck was that?"

"Hooowaaaooo~!" The spirit roared, flaring again.

Osamu suddenly froze. "...Wo-woah, what…"

Osamu tried PK Freeze γ!

…

But it failed!

"Ah… m-my…" He found it hard to focus his eyes, or his speech.

...Standing from the floor, Hikari drew an ofuda. "I don't think it's peaceful."

Hiyori stepped forward, her mace ready. "Me either."

...When the spirit didn't react, Hikari tossed her ofuda forward.

It landed in the midst of its being.

"Huuooo- _wooaaa~h!_ "

Fwa~sh!

Violently, the evil elemental was ripped apart, dazzling sparkles of holy energy left in the air where it was.

...Osamu jankily stumbled towards Hikari. "He-heal… ple-please…"

Hikari tried Healing ß!

...Sighing, Osamu touched his face. "Why's this shit always happen ta _me?_ "

' _...Better him than me._ ' Hikari resolves. ' _I also do the healing._ '

"Because monsters don't like you." Marigold declares.

...He grins. "Damn right they don't."

Descending deeper into the cave, the party quickly finds that the glow of the Shield Killer's projectiles aren't enough.

Osamu generates a loosely maintained fireball with his hands. "Usin' fire magic sucks, 'cause it's warm…"

He tosses it forward, and it hits the wall, fizzling out.

...After a moment he conjures another one.

"...U~gh." He tosses it forward at the wall.

Fwoom.

The section it strikes lights on fire, before the flames swiftly extinguish. The heated rock glows similarly to lava, before oozing off…

"Fu~ck. I reheated the lava…" Osamu slouched over.

"That's… that's not how it works. At all." Marigold furrowed her brows.

' _...Weird._ ' Hikari felt the intense heat emanating from the lava blob. ' _...That sucks._ '

Then, the lava blob had a face. Tiny red pinpoints shone from two black holes on the lava's form. It opened a mouth.

"Oooouuu~l…" It grumbled. Specks of fire began igniting as it flared up.

"Hey, Hiyori? _S'that_ friendly?" Osamu jeered.

Dryly glancing at him, she shook her head. "...Probably not."

Reeling back, the creature shot a thicker, dense ball of fire.

Hiyori furrowed her brows as it engulfed her face, and fizzled out. "... _Definitely_ not."

As the lava blob's glow faded, its grumble lowered to an intelligible whisper. "Heyhey- whiswhis- come here- whiswhis- comecome here…"

' _...What a weird thing._ '

Hiyori stomped up to it, and slammed her mace down on it.

Splosh!

The lava went splat, before traveling up her mace, and up the handle…

Sensing it was trying to work its way to her, she slammed the mace into the wall.

Boom!

The lava was splattered on the wall. It oozed off, before convening and recombining.

"Physical attacks don't work." Hikari noted.

Hiyori grunted. "Mmh…"

Glowing brightly as it recombined, the lava blob seemed to grin. "Comehere- whiswhis!"

Soul Consuming Flame tried PK Fire γ!

Fwooo~m…

Flames traveled from the side of the walls and into the party.

"Wo-woah!" Hikari flinched from the suddenness. "Wa-water!"

"On it!" Osamu prepared himself to cast…

Boom!

The surge of fire promptly exploded brilliantly, flames gushing outward.

"Aaa~h!" Hikari wailed, flames engulfing her entire being.

' _Stop stop stop stop!_ ' Her eyes immediately teared up from the building pain...

Hikari tried Healing γ!

The flames went out, and for a moment, stayed out.

Fwoo~sh…

An after-gust of flames washed into her again.

"Aaa~aah…" Hikari found it hard to scream any further.

' _It hurts! It hu~rts!_ '

Collapsing to the floor as her flesh sizzled, Hikari worked to fix herself up.

Hikari tried Lifeup γ!

...The pain quickly began to fade. ' _Heal heal hea~l…_ '

Hiyori tried Lifeup ß!

"Aaaa~h!" Marigold's scream was heard within the fiery cave.

Hiyori tried Lifeup ß!

"Fuck fuck _fuck!_ " Osamu was terrified.

Osamu tried PK Hydro ß!

Water splashed throughout the cave, the shuriken of liquid quickly extinguishing many flames.

Panting heavily, Hikari got up off the floor, barely acknowledging her scorched attire or watery eyes. She glared at the soul consuming flame…

More water sloshed onto the lava blob, steam beginning to emit from its form. "Whiswhis- it hurts- whiswhis- hurts…"

' _Good._ ' Hikari had no sympathy left after the amount of pain she was put through. Flustered, she checked herself for any lingering burns in places she felt them, only to find none.

She shuddered.

Hiyori tried Lifeup ß!

...Marigold rose from the floor, and ran into the water shuriken. "Burning! I-I'm burning!"

Hikari tried Healing ß!

Marigold and her backpack went out. "...A-aa~h…"

Osamu tried PK Freeze γ!

KaKaKa~...

"Ooaugh! Ooogh!" The soul consuming flame wriggled and writhed under the influence of the ice crystals.

Boom!

The icy blast extinguished its flames, putting the angry being to rest. Cooling down, it became volcanic rock.

…

Wiping the tears from her eyes, Marigold sniffed. "I-I don't… like fire."

"Me-me either." Hikari stepped ahead in the darkness of the cave.

Hiyori looked mortified. "...Are-are you two okay?"

"Fine." Marigold declared. "Just fine."

…

"So, should I-"

Osamu was interrupted by Marigold. "No. Darkness is fine."

Taking Shield Killer, Marigold aimed it forward, lightly illuminating the path again.

Osamu sighed. "...Okay."

There were no other encounters in the tunnel.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

A long, uneventful walk allowed the party to recoup and recover their senses…

At the tunnel's end, they stepped outside and into the searing heat, again.

Marigold frowned, staring at the exposed lava to the right of the cave. "This place is hell."

...Hiyori grinned. "Old hell."

...Fighting a grin of her own, Marigold shook her head. "Shut up."

' _I never want to be on fire again. I can still feel it…_ '

Osamu tilted his head. "...Old hell, huh? S'there supposed ta be a new hell?"

"Yeah." Hiyori confirmed. "A good over thousand years ago, Hell changed locations due to overcrowding, or so I heard."

Chuckling, Osamu nodded. "Cool, cool…"

' _...I'm not sure if he thought it was a joke or not._ ' Hikari blinked.

From the lava, a man leaped out, clad in violent red flames. He spoke in a scraggly, geeky voice. "Hehehe~y, _kids!_ "

His head was half metal, eyes obscured by metal goggles that were bolted to his metal cranium. The lower fragment of his face was intact flesh, somehow, but the rest of him was ever burning flames. Save for the tacky yellow tie.

Marigold's eyes widened, as she reached for her Spectrum Shotgun. "F-...Fi~re!"

Osamu's eyes widened, too. "Oh, fuck no! No~pe! Fuck that!"

Osamu tried PK Freeze γ!

KaKaKa~...

The man began freezing up, literally. Enraged, his voice dropped twenty octaves. "What's so bad about _fire!?_ "

Boom!

Nearly extinguished, the thin body of a naked man was revealed beneath. He was flung back into the lava by the blast.

' _I bet he'll reignite._ ' Hikari decided.

Instead, the man sat bare bottomed in the lava, before standing back up. "You~ bitches are _all the same!_ "

Psychic Psycho tried PK Fire α!

A meek swath of flames washed over Marigold.

"Aa-aaaa~h!" She screamed, holding down the trigger to her laser shotgun.

The lights shined brilliantly as beams filled the volcano sky, rainbow colors offsetting the amber glow of flaming rocks.

Hikari noted that she was probably burning.

Hikari tried Healing α!

' _...Should stop the burning._ '

Hiyori ran towards her, since the weapon's knockback was slowly pushing her towards the edge of the ledge.

One of the lasers clipped the Psychic Psycho. "Guaa~ _Oohhh!_ "

Boom!

A fountain of flames sprouted from his body, before his body itself became fire. Slowly, it went out, leaving his metal scalp behind.

Hiyori caught up to Marigold, and got behind her. "Stop shooting!"

"No!" Marigold countered, her arm shaking as the beams slowly unified. "No more fire!"

...Hikari leaped between two lasers as the beams slowly unified.

Osamu tried, too. He wasn't successful. "Ooww~!"

...Slowly being pushed back by the now unified beam, Hiyori tries to convince Marigold to stop it. "You're pushing us _into_ the fire!"

 _That_ got her to stop.

…

"We were going to fall." Hiyori adds. "...Please, get a hold of yourself."

"I-I am!" Marigold got indignant. Looking over the edge of the ledge, she saw no lava. "...Probably would have felt like fire if we fell, anyway."

...Then, another Psychic Psycho floated up from the ledge as she turned away, giving her a heart attack. "Hehehe~y!"

Marigold whirled to face him. "Ee~p!"

She pulled the trigger on the Spectrum Shotgun, aiming it at the being's face.

Vrrrrr~!

Quickly, she let go.

The resulting bent, metal cap dropped down into the abyss, flames floating down underneath it.

"...Ah." She blinked. "Well, rest in peace, I guess…"

Fwoosh!

Fwoosh!

Pillars of fire shot up in the distance, away from the volcano's base.

"...That's probably not good." Hiyori reflects.

"Or normal." Marigold elaborates, backing away towards the other party members…

' _We really need to get moving._ '

Hikari began running towards the next incline. "Come on. I don't think we should stick around."

The volcano rumbled.

Instead, everyone doubled back to the cave, for the time being.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Up numerous inclines, they began nearing the summit of the amber mass of rocks. Chortles of psychic psychos could be heard echoing across the mountainside, accompanied by the low rumbles produced by the previously dormant rock turtles that now roamed the volcano's side.

' _It's almost like this place went to hell_ because _we walked through it. I didn't see any of this madness going on when we were on the foot hills…_ '

"Huhuhuhee~!" A psychic psycho ran awkwardly in front of them, as opposed to floating. He wasn't focused on the party, however…

Boom!

From the volcano's side, a rock turtle spun down, executing innumerable flips. It accurately blew the psychic being off the face of the underground by slamming into him, crushing him back into a simple metal part.

The turtle soared into the distance, unable to control its momentum.

"...Holy _fuck._ " Osamu chuckled sheepishly.

Hiyori whistled. "...That was something."

"I'll say!" Osamu grinned, turning to her. "Annihilated, dude."

Pressing forward, the party rounded the side of some walling, noticing things becoming rounder…

' _I think we're nearly at the top._ '

Darkness shrouded the path ahead. When the party looked to the right, they noticed a peculiarity…

"The mountain appears to just keep going up…" Marigold cups her chin with a hand. "I thought we weren't even halfway, but…"

"We might be there right now." Hiyori spoke. "We didn't see that mountainside from the other side, did we?"

...To prove Hiyori's claim, Hikari went back down a small portion of the volcano's side.

From there, when she looked up, she could see smoke billowing from the top, and the heated glow tint the sky.

Returning to the party, she confirmed their suspicions. "...We probably have to fight something big, here."

"Big." Osamu looked concerned. "...You mean those things we fought before… they _weren't_ big?"

...Hikari nodded mournfully. "Probably not."

He gulped.

"Whe~ll, whe~ll, whe~ll…"

The exaggerated, stressed voice caused the party to turn…

Before them, a psychic psycho with purple flames casually strutted up as if his 'hands' were in his pockets, even though they were already concealed by flames. "If it is not the Hakurei and her flammable _drones!_ "

...Hiyori furrowed her brows, but decided against making a quip about herself and her fire resistance.

' _More of these guys…_ ' Hikari took a deep breath, holding her gohei in a ready stance.

Behind him, a swarm of red psychic psychos followed him up the volcano trail. "I think you will find that we are just getting _warmed up!_ Once we burn you, we'll burn this whole _miserable planet!_ And _then_ … and then we'll finally be recognized for the talented individuals we _ah~ahahare!_ " He spun around, euphoric at his idea of revenge.

"Not if we douse yer flames, asshole!" Osamu cracked his knuckles…

Before he could do anything, the psychic psychos were engulfed in flames.

 _FWOOM_

Bright flames. Brighter flames than the party could handle.

Hikari shielded her eyes, the fire pillar before the four of them stretching to the underground's ceiling. It was hot enough that it glowed white.

"O-oh my…" Hikari couldn't contain her thoughts, the heat making her feel like she wanted to pass out. "I-I don't like this…"

"Noo~..." Marigold whined, stomping in place, trying to mitigate her discomfort.

"U-ugh…" Hiyori's posture faltered.

"Fuuhuhu~ck…" Osamu tried rolling up his sleeves, but it didn't really help.

"Aaauuu~ _ooohhh!_ " The psychics inside the pillar roared, their voices drowning out the sound of furious flames.

The ultra hot pillar of fire soon dissipated, becoming a cluster of smaller pillars that eventually extinguished.

...Black, charred fragments of molten metal sunk into the volcanic rock in the blast's wake.

At the epicenter stood a four-legged being.

' _...A dog?_ ' Hikari furrowed her brows at the creature.

Osamu numbly thanked the fire pillar for screwing off. "Ye-ye~s… Finally!"

Marigold switched out her Spectrum Shotgun for her Heavy Bazooka. "It-it's on fire…"

The party had a stare off with the canine-shaped being for a few moments, before it spoke.

"I am the _guardia~n_ of Fire Spring!" It cheerfully boasted, lowering by its front paws. "To think I went out for just a _wee_ little skedaddle, to find you pups climbin' all up on my bed!"

...Hikari furrowed her brows. ' _It speaks, apparently._ '

"You have rea~l guts for comin' this far!" The dog stood up straight again. "...Ya also have real guts for _smackin'_ me aside that one day in the woods, Hakurei."

...Hikari blinked.

"Don't you _disrespect_ me, little girl!" The dog roared, the flames that made up its being flaring, reaching higher than the volcano's peak. "It was only by the grace of Giygas that I found my little old self down here, and I got power the kinds my litter could never _dream!_ "

"Shut up, already!" Osamu had enough of the giant flaming talking dog's lingo. "I've had enough of you wiseass guardian people!"

...Not responding, the dog got into a pouncing position.

Marigold held her breath involuntarily, and began moving to the side. "A-ah…"

"...You made it angry." Hikari informed him.

"Good! Fuckin'... I never even owned a dog." Osamu picked an appropriate time to complain about not having a pet.

Growling, the dog's head began shaking. "Grrhh~..."

Hiyori stomped towards it. "I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to stand down."

With that said, the carbon dog bolted straight into Hiyori.

Boom!

Hiyori grappled it, dropping her mace as she did so. The two spun around before Hiyori landed on her back, the dog atop her.

"Raugh! Raugh!" The dog barked, attempting to bite her in the jugular, only to meet the oni's immensely difficult to pierce flesh.

"Hrr~aagh!" Hiyori roared, attempting to grab it tightly, but the dog quickly bounded off of her. As it did, a fountain of flames engulfed her, doing little but blinding her.

"Ho~ly…!" Osamu's jaw was dropped.

Osamu tried PK Freeze γ!

KaKaKa~...

"Grrh…" The dog growled. A pattern of water in a vague snowflake shape evaporated and reformed repeatedly around the dog's form, before evaporating completely. They only slightly hindered the flames that powerfully enveloped its body.

Boom!

The cold blast did nothing immediately obvious.

Hikari drew her ofuda. "Hyah!"

Two ofuda flew towards the being, before vaporizing when nearing it.

' _Good._ ' Hikari vainly stared at the result.

Fww~sh!

A big bottle rocket flew into the side of the being as it trotted towards Osamu and Hikari.

Boom!

Bowling over, the carbon dog was caught off guard by the firework-esque pattern of star-shaped danmaku. "Arf!?"

Marigold grinned over the blue and yellow glow of the thick, drifting danmaku bolts. "Can't vaporize _that_ , huh?"

Rolling back onto its legs, the searing canine glared at Marigold. " _You...!_ "

Hikari tried Hypnosis α!

Energy rippled around the canine…

It shook its head, unfocused for a moment. "Grrh…"

Hiyori moved to recover her mace, lifting it over her shoulder hastily.

Reeling its head back, the dog let out a piercing howl. "Aaaooo~! Aaauuoo~!"

Osamu tried PK Hydro ß!

A shuriken of water formed over the carbon dog, before promptly evaporating into steam.

' _Water's not going to do it._ '

Hiyori tried PK Freeze ß!

KaKaKoo~...

The weaker ice spell barely produced steam, the billowing heat from the carbon dog turning the pattern of water and steam into mostly just steam.

"Dang…" Hiyori fully digested the fact that ice was surprisingly a bad idea.

Whirling back to face Marigold, who was readying her Spectrum Shotgun, the dog seemingly sneezed. " _Roufh!_ "

A fireball hurtled towards Marigold, whose eyes slowly widened as it neared. "...A- _aaa~h!_ "

Boom!

Hikari gritted her teeth. ' _Marigold!_ '

Osamu tried PK Hydro ß!

A shuriken of water formed in the air over the flaming mass where Marigold vaguely was.

Bam!

The carbon dog flinched from Hiyori's blow to its flank. It turned to attack her further, attempting to breathe fire onto her, only for her to shield herself with her arms.

As the fire began going out, Hikari moved towards it.

Hikari tried Lifeup γ!

' _Hope she's not too freaked out…_ '

...Still on fire, Marigold bolted out, her backpack jiggling violently and awkwardly on her back as she made a mad dash for the water shuriken. Once she got inside it, she let herself relax.

' _...Probably fine?_ ' Hikari figured.

"He-heal…!" Marigold turned to Hikari with a half-scorched face. "Heal!"

"O-oh, aa~h…!" Hikari's eyes widened.

Hikari tried Lifeup ß!

...Marigold's scorched hair and face reformed. Hikari couldn't tell if she was crying or not, because of how soaked she already was.

Another fireball whirled past the two, as Hiyori tried her best to distract the dog.

Marigold furrowed her brows. "Osamu! Magic shield! Right bloody _now!_ "

Put on the spot, Osamu stuttered. "Ok-oka~y!"

Osamu tried PSI Shield Σ!

The party was protected by pale blue psychic shields!

' _...We probably should have had these earlier._ ' Hikari realized that her party probably could have avoided far more pain. ' _Wo~w…_ '

"I'm on _fi~re!_ " The carbon dog stated the obvious, grinning widely as its flames flared up.

' _I couldn't tell._ '

With that, it leapt onto the volcano peak's side, and loomed over the party.

"Hakurei, extra crispy! Comin' _right up!_ "

Hikari frowned up at the carbon dog. ' _Please, no._ '

Marigold stepped back, as the dog slowly grew brighter. "...Os-Osamu! Magic shield, again!"

"Again!?" He was annoyed. "Why!?"

Pointing exasperatedly, Marigold yelled back. "He might _vaporize_ us, that's why!"

Osamu tried PSI Shield Σ!

The party's psychic shields were reinforced!

"Alri~ght, fine…" Osamu folded his arms. "Shit eats my mana, you know."

…

The party anticipated the dog's next move. ' _Whatever he's doing, it can't be as bad as-_ '

Carbon Dog tried PK Fire Ω!

Fwoo~m!

First, fire flooded the trail the party stood on, forcing their shields to flare violently.

"Aa-aaa~h!" Marigold was freaked out. "I told you! _I told you!_ "

Hikari mentally groaned in the heat. ' _At least the shield's-_ '

Boom!

A blast of flames sent Osamu flying. "Woah- _aa~hh!_ "

Boom!

"Ah, ah- _Aaa~h!_ " Marigold's hyperventilating cut off as she was flung through the air by another blast.

BOOM

Hikari made a noise that couldn't easily be expressed in text. It wasn't pleasant, though.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIYORI'S VIEW ====

" _Uua~rgh!_ " It sounded something like this, though.

Hiyori's eyes were wide as she scanned the fire blasts, her skin flushed from the immense heat that seared through her psychic shield. Her party member's cries in the inferno were audible,

' _Where are they!? They couldn't have gone far- where…!?_ ' Her eyes were clamped shut the majority of the time, the bright colors of the fire rendering her eyes too sensitive.

Osamu tried PK Hydro γ!

To Hiyori's relief, the rain from above showed signs of life among the inferno. Flames were doused and tamed by the drops of liquid. Though the blaze spanned the volcano's entire side, the heat and ferocity quickly tapered off, because volcanic ash and rock turns out to not burn exceedingly well when reignited.

The flame's roar began dropping in volume…

Osamu tried PK Hydro ß!

"Holy _shit!_ Sweet mother of fucking- _dude!_ " Hiyori caught Osamu hopping along on one leg in the midst of his water shuriken, attacking a flame on his ankle.

' _He's okay, somehow._ ' Hiyori almost turned away, only to notice him step down onto the ankle-

"Aagh!" The ankle gave in, and he fell to the ash-laden floor.

' _...Almost okay._ '

Hiyori tried Lifeup ß!

"Fuck, fuck, fu-..." He noticed his ankle begin to feel better. "Ye~ah! We lived through that shit!"

With that exclamation, Hiyori began running into the remaining blaze, looking for the others…

"U-uugh…"

She spotted Hikari, hunched over and propped up on her Miracle Gohei, outfit nearly entirely absent from her scorched figure. "...I-it hu-…hu-..."

' _O-oh…!_ ' Hiyori acted swiftly.

Hiyori tried Lifeup ß!

…

"Aaaa~gh!" Hikari let out a primal roar as her skin bubbled back into shape, particles of scorched clothing being expelled from her flesh's interior.

' _Oh no..._ ' Hiyori normally didn't like panicking, but she figured this was as good of a time as any to be mildly distressed.

Hiyori tried Lifeup ß!

' _I don't care how much mana this wastes!_ '

Hiyori tried Lifeup ß!

...After a few moments, Hikari began stumbling, dazed.

"Aaaaooo~! Aaooouu~!" The carbon dog howled from his perch atop the volcano. "Yeheha~h! That is a _wrap!_ Giygas' top dog, here I come, baby!"

...Hiyori glared up at the dog. ' _...Seriously. This stupid..._ '

Osamu glared up at it, as well. "...Fucking…"

' _Mutt._ ' Hiyori's internal monologue was laced with venom.

"Mutt!" Osamu barked, expression flaring.

Osamu tried PK Freeze Ω!

Hiyori tried PK Starstorm α!

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIKARI'S VIEW ====

' _Everything is pain._ '

Tired and stiff, Hikari awkwardly limped in the direction that she saw Marigold fly. ' _I-I don't hear her voice…_ '

...Eventually, she came to Marigold.

' _...Is-is she okay?_ '

Clutching her Spectrum Shotgun tightly, Marigold suddenly stood from her crouched position on the floor, aiming it at Hikari. "Aa- _aaa~h!_ "

Pulling the trigger, she forced Hikari to backpedal.

' _Wo-woah!_ '

Overhead, a maelstorm of ice and stars changed the flaming, neon orange setting to a more neon white one, the colors combining in a messy mixture.

KaKaKa~...

A box of ice formed around the Carbon Dog. It melted rapidly, but froze almost as rapidly, assaulting the dog awkwardly with a freezing and thawing box of ice.

"A-aauh!?" The dog was surprised, dancing around on the inside as ice-turned-water began flushing in, almost suspending it in midair.

Then, the stars hurdle into the ice, completely catching the dog off guard.

Boom, bam, ba-bam, boom, blam!

"Gru- auh! Ooh- augh- _Aaa~uh!_ " The dog whined loudly as its flames slowly lowered, the intense ice and water combined with the physical manhandling the stars gave it wearing it down.

Hikari's focus was hardly on this spectacle, however. Instead, she focused on the burning, crazed form of Marigold.

"St-sto~p!" Marigold screeched, waving her weapon around wildly.

Hikari winced as the lasers clipped her, forcing her to stagger backwards. ' _Ma-Marigold…!_ '

Hikari tried Lifeup γ!

...Like Hikari, Marigold experienced severe discomfort. "...Aa~h…" Instead of screaming, she simply cried, kneeling into a ball as her flesh healed back to normal, skin covering where bone was exposed.

Hikari tried Lifeup ß!

' _...Better safe than sorry._ '

...Eventually, Marigold got up, stumbling around as her newly wet cheeks were flushed. "A-aah… Hi-Hikari…"

...Slowly, Marigold began approaching Hikari, when-

Thoom.

The carbon dog landed in the midst of the dying flames, teeth bared. "You _stupid_ roaches! What's it gonna take to keep you fleas down!? You need another slow roast on max? 'Cause I can do that!"

' _I've had enough of this dogshit._ ' Hikari resolved to go all-out, focusing on the carbon mutt as her anger quickly accelerated…

"No fuckin' way…" Osamu gaped at the seemingly unharmed dog. "How!?"

"No one's puttin' out _these_ flames!" The dog gloated. "When I'm done, no one'll be able ta tell if it's day or _night_ , baby!"

Hiyori grimaced, dropping to her knees as her mana hit its limit. "...Darn it all…"

The dog turned to her. "Oh- whazzat!? The oni finally _sittin' down!?_ Hahaha~! Aaaooo~!"

...Hiyori pulled out her canteen, twisting the cap.

Steam flowed out. Ignoring it, she held it to her lips…

There was no liquid inside. Not anymore, at least.

Hiyori felt dread.

Hikari felt anger.

Hikari tried PK Fantasy γ!

Throwing her arms forward, she shot two polygons of technicolor magic towards the dog.

FwOwOwOw!

Stopping before it, they began forming a large, hexagonal barrier…

TinkTinkTinkTink!

"What is this, the disco!?" The dog grinned at the flashing lights before him. "Hra~h!"

Moving to headbutt the hexagons, his fire flared. Noticeably, the flames didn't clear the volcano's peak, even if the heat was still immense.

One hexagon shattered after repeated headbutts, colorful shards gravitating into the dog's being like miniature bullets.

"Auh!?" Its eyes widened, backpedalling due to the sudden bombardment of magical pain upon its head. "Wha-what!?"

One by one, the other hexagons all began shattering, the shards gravitating towards the carbon dog and assaulting him.

Shatter! "Roufh! Roufh! Ge-get away- auah!"

Shatter! "Hey hey hey~!"

Shatter! "Eaa~gh!"

The domino effect of shimmering shards eventually enveloped the carbon dog in light magic, echoes of the broken panels visibly rocking the air itself. Yellow and red ripples dominated the dog's side of the battlefield.

Once it seemed like it was over, Hikari's eyes flashed.

Bwaa~sh!

"Guhk!" The dog hung in the air after being flung by the psychic blast, the flames on its body reduced to an ember. "...An-annoyin'..."

Osamu huffed, pretty much out of mana. "Yo-you're… annoyin'."

...After great effort, the dog turned to him with shaky legs. "Yo-you're the one… who's annoyin'... boy."

Osamu tried PK Freeze α!

Using the last of his mana, he lightly dusted the dog with ice crystals, which slowly melted…

The carbon dog was offended. "...Roufh! Roufh roufh!"

Carbon Dog tried PK Fired Ω!

…

But it failed!

Osamu tried PK Freeze α!

…

But it failed!

...Hikari felt like she had taken a punch to the gut. ' _I-I think that's it…_ '

Hiyori, Osamu, and Hikari were all fresh out of mana, and the Carbon Dog hadn't the strength to cast further.

Marigold hobbled towards Hiyori. "...He-hey, Hiyori?"

"Mmh." Hiyori had a glare focused on the dog, not paying attention to Marigold.

...Marigold took a Talcum Powder filled water jar from her backpack. Or so she tried, anyway. She ended up pulling out a mass of melted glass and molten Talcum Powder which had congealed into a big ball. Fortunately for her, it-

Ri~p!

...Unfortunately for her, it took a part of her backpack with it.

"Wow." She nodded slowly, staring at it. "...Is-is everything else fine?"

Searching her backpack's contents, she noted the things further in were alright, if the plastics a bit deformed.

"...Good enough." She sighed.

...She looked over at Osamu, noticing him limping away from an unsteady Carbon Dog. "...Ge-get back here, boy! I… I ain't done with you!"

"Suck." Osamu simply stated, weakly protesting with his middle finger.

...Moving towards the Carbon Dog, Marigold held up the glass mass. "Hey, you."

The dog turned towards her vainly. "...Ea-yes? What is it, _little_ girl?"

...Winding her arm back, she chucked the mass of congealed glass and Talcum Powder at the dog.

Bonk!

It bounced off of its head, before shattering on the floor. The dog recoiled, growling after the strike. "Grr~h… Tha~t is _it!_ "

His flames reignited. They burned brightly, rising in intensity at an alarming rate.

Hikari pushed herself to stand. ' _...Re-really…?_ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: MARIGOLD'S VIEW ====

' _Oh, boy…_ ' Marigold backed up, moving towards her backpack again. ' _It should nearly be done for. This is probably its last attack…_ '

As the dog burned brightly, it eventually got too bright for Marigold to look at directly.

' _Here we go… It's probably that flame pillar attack._ ' Marigold began falling back, dragging her backpack along…

She was surprised when the light stopped assaulting her face.

"...Huh?"

Before her, she gazed upon the dog again.

Its form was now solid, and sturdy. Light glimmered off of the diamond rock that comprised its entire being, not a fragment of what it once was showing through.

"...Wh-what?" The dog surveyed itself. "...Why, _hot dog!_ I'm a _new dog!_ "

...Marigold paled. ' _It turned to diamond!?_ '

"What can this little old body of mine do, now…?" The dog leaped, and pounced on the ground.

Beneath Hikari, a pad of light formed.

Hikari winced, bracing herself…

' _No!_ ' Marigold blanched, gazing helplessly at it.

Fwaaa~sh!

A bright pillar of light erupted under Hikari, engulfing her.

...As it faded, Hikari was still standing there, looking only slightly more disheveled than she was before.

Osamu tried PK Magnet Ω!

Rectangles of energy were drawn from all of his party members, and from the Diamond Dog.

The dog turned to him. "...You _stupid_ little…"

...Marigold glanced at the big, slightly melted bottle rocket tied to the back of her backpack. ' _...I think I know what to do with this._ Especially _because he can't burn it, anymore._ '

Osamu tried PK Magnet Ω!

Hiyori lurched forward, lying on her stomach. "A-ah…"

Hikari nearly lost her balance from just standing. "Ge-geez…"

Enraged, the dog leaped towards Osamu, and batted him aside with a diamond clawed paw.

Swish!

"Gugh…" Osamu twirled around, blood pouring from his new wounds like a waterfall.

Hikari felt shivers run up her spine.

Hikari tried Lifeup α!

' _Wo-woah…_ ' The prospect of becoming ribbons in one slash terrified Marigold. Hastily, she drew her oversized bottle rocket, and began aiming it at the creature before her…

' _How did this one twist again? I assume like all the others…_ '

"Hraa~gh!" The diamond dog stood in a straight posture abruptly. Holy diamonds broke from the volcanic rock below it, and began whirling around, holy magic flowing across the battlefield.

...Marigold began finding it hard to concentrate. "A-ah…"

' _I-I… what I'm doing is wrong…_ ' She paused, hands freezing on the base of the aimed bottle rocket.

...Osamu sat up, only to get clotheslined by one of the holy diamonds, sent back onto his back again. "Oou~gh…"

Marigold snorted. ' _Stupid._ '

Diamond Dog tried PK Flash Ω!

FWASH

...Marigold began crying, water violently being expelled from her eyes involuntarily.

' _Not this again…!_ ' She sniffled, snot clogging her nose and throat, forcing her to breathe in the rich volcanic air of the volcano with her mouth. ' _Th-this probably isn't very good for me, either…_ '

All these inconveniences snapped her back to her senses. Or, at least, they drove her mind away from the holy-afflicted moral implications of activating the bottle rocket. On autopilot, her hands moved to twist the bottle rocket's bottom valve.

Once she did, the bombardment began.

In order, the rockets tied all along the base began going off, curving in the air to approach the diamond dog from many different directions.

Fwo-fwo-fwo-fwo-fwoo~sh!

Bam, bam, bam, bam, bam!

"Hahaha~! Diamond's harder than _anything_ , baby!" Gleeful despite the damage its body was taking, the dog tanked the damage. Chips of diamond broke from its from, glimmering atop the ash below it.

Then, the base rocket flew from Marigold's arms, bowling her over as it did so. "Wo-woa~h!"

Fwoo~sh!

The dog charged for it. "Aoouu~! Here I come, baby! I'm gonna getcha! I'm gonna-!"

BOOM

A catastrophic blast of immense, person sized yet still star shaped danmaku bullets flowed outward. The blast was massive enough for Marigold to get thunked in the face by a few yellow and blue bullets.

' _Ouch- ouch! Why!?_ ' She held her face, only for her hand to get covered in snot and tears. "...Gaa~h!"

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIKARI'S VIEW ====

...Once the lights faded, the jittering, disabled form of the Diamond Dog rested in the epicenter. It lightly vocalized displeasure with every jitter, but the pants were unintelligible.

' _...I-I think we won._ ' Hikari sighed in relief.

"A-aagh…" Marigold fought her face, blowing her nose on her now bare arm, most of her clothing having been vaporized in the battle.

' _I think._ ' Hikari wasn't sure, with the state her party was in.

Osamu was out cold on the floor, lying on his back. ' _I'm not sure if it was the flash, or the blunt trauma that took him out._ '

Hiyori's face was in the muddy ash on the floor, her hair frayed. ' _I'm pretty sure she just ran out of mana._ '

...Hikari tried Healing α!

…

But it failed!

' _...Guess Marigold's stuck crying, for now._ '

Hikari stepped forward, only to fall to her knees.

' _This might be a problem._ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

"...Three, two…"

Hikari and Marigold pulled, Osamu and Hiyori behind them, stacked in a pile. "Hn~gh…"

…

Hikari counted again. "Alright… three, two…"

They pulled again, budging the two another few centimeters up towards the volcano's side.

' _If the volcano top isn't the sanctuary, I'll eat whatever's left of my clothes._ '

"Three, two…"

Marigold's hands slipped, the snot they were caked in loosening her grip on Hiyori's wrists. "Wo-wah…" She sniffed. "Th-thish _shucks_ …"

' _Tell me about it._ ' Hikari didn't dare use her vocal cords for anything other than the tried and true pulling command. "...Three, two…"

After what may have been thirty minutes to an hour of pulling their unconscious friends along twenty feet of volcanic trail, Hikari and Marigold reached the volcano's peak.

To their surprise, comfortable warmth flowed from the bubbling pool of magma at the top. It bubbled not in a volcanic way, but almost like water.

Hikari felt at ease before it, the warmth of the volatile liquid more like one of a good winter fireplace, rather than one of oppressive molten Earth. ' _What is this…?_ '

...Marigold sniffed. "Auh." She gave up trying to form coherent words.

…

' _Time to revive everyone_.' Hikari took out her Sound Stone, which was pleasantly undamaged. ' _...Not even an ash. This thing's probably not a normal rock._ '

The Sound Stone was pressed to her forehead.

She heard a melody play.

 _A gentle breeze rolled through Giant Step, caressing the indent in the hill…_

 _It then rolled through the crevice leading to Subconscious Steps, before whirling around and escaping into the sky above..._

 _Fluttering through the valley, it weaved through bamboo trees before circling around the Milky Well. It circled back around, and flowed right back out through the trees..._

 _Smoothly floating over the crisp air of the Misty Lake, the wind swept past the walls of a western manor, before dipping into the trees just outside the walls to orbit Rainy Circle. It flowed out just as freely..._

 _Becoming entrapped within the walls around Magnet Hill, the wind anxiously rebounded off the walls before escaping, flowing back over the Human Village..._

 _Freely dancing in the clouds, air circulated around a soft, Pink Cloud. The air dispersed, washing over the land, and sweeping against Gensokyo's border..._

 _Through the crevices of the Earth, wind blew freely through the ragged tunnel systems, before meeting in the air of Old Hell. From there, the wind channeled itself through Lumine Hall, and then escaped, as if a sigh from Gensokyo itself..._

 _Wrapping around the volcanic base of Fire Spring, the air solemnly caressed the violent, heated mass. Air flowed through the numerous caves, over the cooling lava, and up the side of the volcano, before meeting at the top. Whirling around the centerpiece of the entire molten mound, the air energetically stirred before shooting off into the distance, traveling through even the rocks that entrapped it._

...

Hikari felt the world's heartbeat. She felt the heartbeat of Gensokyo.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: MARIGOLD'S VIEW ====

Woo~sh!

Wind spun around the volcano top aggressively for a moment. Marigold felt her sinuses clear up immediately, and whatever lingering aches and burns she held began to heal.

"Sweet relief…" She hugged herself. "Right, Hikari?"

...She noted that Hikari was still focused on the stone, her wind blowing softly in the wind.

Osamu sat up atop Hiyori. "I'm up! What'd I miss!?"

...Looking around, he realized. "Awwh, dammit. I got knocked the _fuck_ out, didn't I?"

Marigold nods, wiping the last of her snot and tears away. "Yeah, basically."

Hiyori bolted onto her feet in a fluid movement, Osamu sliding off of her back.

Thud. "Oo~w!"

...Hiyori turned to him. "Uhm?"

"Morning." Marigold grinned. "We didn't die, I'm pretty sure."

With that, Hiyori's tension dropped. "...Ah. You managed to finish the fight, then. No thanks to me, being out cold, and all..."

Marigold rolled her eyes. "You were fine. You took a lot more hits than any of us ever could."

"And I still got knocked out." Hiyori folded her arms. "If anything, that's-"

"Just shut up and be happy." Marigold didn't feel like arguing the pedantics of oni pride.

…

"...That works too, I guess." Hiyori sighs, relaxing further.

Marigold smirks. "It's easier this way."

"It really is."

Osamu walked out from behind Hiyori, saying nothing.

' _...?_ ' Curiosity piqued, Marigold stared back.

Looking away from her, he stared at Hikari…

...Marigold realized why.

' _Almost all of our clothes were destroyed._ ' Marigold looked down at her half of a dress, which was accompanied by a scorched mini-skirt.

Hikari's outfit was far worse for wear, leaving her in shorts and chest bindings.

Osamu's outfit was ragged and scorched, but surprisingly intact otherwise.

Hiyori's outfit, being a special oni relic, featured only the ash that was smeared onto it, and some wrinkles.

"Stop staring." Marigold decided to aggress the mage, when he looked back at her.

He looked at the sky. "I-I, like, uhh… wasn't. At all!"

' _...Hmph._ ' Marigold folded her arms.

…

"...Hikari's been focusin' for awhile." Osamu noted.

"She _has_." Marigold stared at her, curious. Hiyori began focusing on her, too.

…

Hiyori stepped up to her. "Hikari? I… think you can stop, now."

…

Hiyori tapped her on the shoulder.

Hikari fell over onto her back, the glowing Sound Stone she held breaking apart into particles of light. They flew away on the underground's new wind current...

' _Uhm…?_ ' Marigold and Osamu approached cautiously…

"Hikari?" Hiyori's voice was firmer, and she kneeled at her side.

…

"She's asleep." Hiyori confirmed, standing again.

Marigold and Osamu exhaled.

' _She would be, at a time like this. I know I wish I was._ '

"We just gonna wait for her, then?" Osamu questions.

Hiyori nods, sitting beside her. "Yeah. This place… feels right. I think we'll be fine, up here."

' _...I kinda agree with that._ ' Marigold looked down at the rocky floor. ' _...The floor, not so much._ '

Like this, the party awaited Hikari's awakening.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIKARI'S VIEW ====

…

Hikari stepped along the grassy path. To the left was endless, blue sky. To the right was endless, blue sky.

…

There was also endless blue sky if you looked up, but that was probably a given.

Walking at a relaxed pace, Hikari's eyes focused on the shrine ahead. The stone path before it lead to the stairs, which quickly trailed off, becoming nothing as they progressed down into the blue abyss below.

The Hakurei hillside she was exposed to was far shorter than it would normally be. It was as if the path she was walking on was inserted right below the hill's peak.

Strutting casually onto the stone path, Hikari noticed the world fade to dull greys and whites.

As she opened the front door, she became transparent. Stepping inside, she couldn't see herself at all.

In the middle of the Hakurei Shrine, Reimu sat. She was accompanied by Marisa and Yukari, who were at her side, satisfied smiles on their faces.

They all looked down at a bundle in Reimu's arms…

Hikari looked around. ' _...This is the shrine?_ ' She noticed the door for her room was missing, and there wasn't the bar counter she was familiar with.

"...Now that I finally have a moment…" Reimu began, looking wistful. "...It's time to name her."

Marisa snorted. "Y'know, Reimu, that's kinda somethin' you plan beforehand…!"

Reimu gave her a sarcastic grin. "Yes, yes. This is formally, though."

"At least this was _planned_." Yukari stared at Marisa.

...Marisa tilted her head, bewildered. "What's that supposed ta mean!? I'm not preggers, ze!"

"Fufufu!" Mirthfully, Yukari took a glance at Hikari.

' _...Can she see me?_ '

A man walked in, stepping through Hikari's ethereal presence.

' _Woah!_ '

"...Hey." Reimu smiled at him.

"So-sorry I had to pop out for a minute like that…" He scratched the back of his head. "...She's beautiful, isn't she?"

"Yes, she is." Reimu smiled down at her. "Hikari."

...The gears turned in Hikari's head. ' _...That's_ me!' Her jaw would have dropped, if she wasn't an invisible presence at the moment.

"Hikari Hakurei." Reimu repeated. "...It sounds great."

Marisa grinned, propping her arms on her hips. "Wha~? I thought ya went with Reimu Junior!"

"Why would I even…" Reimu shook her head, brow twitching.

The man chuckled. "You're still something else, Marisa."

The four quietly sat around the kotatsu, for awhile.

"I am happy for you, Reimu." Yukari spoke.

"What, now?" Reimu scoffed at her, knowing such a saying wouldn't be left without baggage following it.

...Blinking, Yukari rose from the kotatsu. "Wha~t? Can I not simply express my opinion?"

"It was to sugar coat whatever you want to say next." Reimu states outright. "Just spit it out."

"Alri~ght, whatever…" Yukari pouts. "Just the usual instruction I have to give. 'Be sure to raise her well' and all that."

"Yeah, yeah." Reimu smiled in spite of her formality. "I'll think about that later. This is the first chance I've had to relax in a while, and I'm not letting you get in the way of that."

…

Yukari smiled cheerfully. "Very well. Do rest well, Reimu. I believe you _have_ earned it."

Moving towards the front door of the shrine, Yukari locked eye contact with the current Hikari.

' _Yeah, she can see me._ '

...Yukari even made an effort to go around Hikari instead of floating through her. As she passed her, she gestured for Hikari to follow with a single finger.

' _Considering I don't know what's going on here, I suppose I'll have to._ '

Hikari walked after Yukari.

The shrine door slid shut.

…

"She _still_ gives me the creeps." Reimu's husband declared.

Marisa snorted. "Fer good reason."

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Hikari slowly faded back into being as she followed Yukari onto the stone path. Colors bled back into the world around her.

' _Weird place._ '

Yukari turned around. "...So you've finally done it."

Hikari tilted her head.

"Completed the Sound Stone they sent you?" She sought confirmation.

'... _How does she-_ '

"Good!" Reading Hikari's facial expression, Yukari broke eye contact, looking into the blue abyss that surrounded them. "...I was afraid that gamble of mine wouldn't have paid off. Fufufu~..."

…

Hikari walked up next to her, feeling the mysterious wind produced by the abyss colliding with her skin.

' _Feels nice…_ '

"That bee youkai delivered it, did he not?" Yukari questioned.

"Mmm." Hikari confirmed.

…

"Why did it take you this long, then?" Yukari's eyes were narrow. "It should have taken you but seven days."

Turning to Yukari, Hikari's head jerked back. "How."

"Reimu led you around, did she not?" One of Yukari's brows rose. "She should have had the intuition to take you to one sanctuary a day, and the rest should have been automatic. Unless…" She unfurled a fan, covering her face. "Did something happen to Reimu?"

...Hikari shook her head. "No~. Mom stayed at home. I went on an adventure."

…

"Wait…" Yukari processed this. "You did it all _alone._ "

Hikari nodded.

…

" _How._ " Yukari was exasperated. "You should have- no, you _would_ have died. You simply do _not_ have the potential your mother does."

...Hikari furrowed her brows. ' _Hey. Them's fighting words._ '

"Am I wrong? Yukari sat on the air, crossing her legs. "You lack the talent. It's simple. You never pursued discipline. For all intents and purposes, you'd be unsuccessful as a Hakurei miko without my guidance, and your mother's coddling. Of course, this depends on the knowledge Reimu would leave you before she dies. I've been on her case about it, but she is adamant about corrupting your progression. It is exceedingly poor form."

…

' _Wow._ '

Shaking her head, Hikari disagreed. "You're wrong."

"Fufufu…" Yukari smirked. "I have no idea how you could have gotten here as _undeveloped_ as you are."

' _I don't remember her being this condescending. Has she thought this all this time?_ '

"I wasn't alone." Hikari began, "I-"

She was interrupted. "Oo~h. Now it all makes sense. You got _help._ " Yukari's tone was condescending. "How many people did it take?"

"Three." Hikari provided.

"Aah. Marisa, Alice, a~nd Sanae. I'm betting, anyway."

Hikari shook her head. "Osamu, Marigold, and Hiyori. My friends."

…

Yukari blinked. "I only recall the name of Kirisame's irrelevant daughter. Youkai exterminators?"

' _Really, now…_ '

Unwilling to humor Yukari further, Hikari folded her arms. "I'm not as weak as you think I am."

…

"If you say so." Yukari reclined in the air, arms behind her head. "Unless you can make me flinch, I think I'll take a nap…" She yawned.

...Hikari walked up to her, and thwacked her on the head, to little avail.

"Good night. I won't be waking up again. Your life choices have doomed us." Yukari closed her eyes, pretending to lie down on the air.

…

Hikari hit her again.

…

' _I think it's time to break out the big guns._ '

Hikari backed away, readying ofuda. ' _But first…_ '

A spread of ofuda went for Yukari.

Slap! Slap! Slap!

The ofuda burned a bright white, before vaporizing against Yukari's flesh. Her flesh was left marred, and clothes seared, but quickly, her flesh healed back. Her eyes didn't as much as flicker open.

' _In that case… I'll show you how reading all those books wasn't for nothing. Gensokyo's a land of_ **fantasy** _, so why shouldn't I dream of it!?_ '

Hikari tried PK Fantasy γ!

Launching her arms forward, two polygons of technicolor energy soared towards Yukari.

FwOwOwOw!

Yukari's eyes blinked open. "Wh-what…?"

TinkTinkTinkTink!

The hexagonal barrier formed between Hikari and Yukari, brightly flashing yellow and red.

...Quickly, Yukari recomposed herself. "...What is this?"

"Strike them. I dare you." Hikari announced.

…

"How about _no?_ " Yukari grinned. "My request was 'make me flinch'. Not 'persuade me to attack your barriers'."

…

' _Fine._ '

Hikari tried Hypnosis Ω!

Energy rippled around Yukari. Her eyes flickered for a moment, but an even stronger ripple blossomed outward from herself.

Hikari's eyes flickered for a moment, but she held her consciousness.

"I wouldn't _do_ _that_ , though." Yukari warned her. "Status ailments are not what I'm interested in. Show me your fictional power!"

' _Fine!_ '

Hikari tried PK Fantasy ß!

She threw her left arm forward-

FwOwOw!

-and her right arm.

FwOwOw!

Yukari braced herself with her own arms, but the technicolor polygons barreled straight into her, her body lighting up with the vivid warm colors. "Geh!?" She cringed inward from the strikes, which had traveled through the barriers of the other fantastic spell.

Fizzle!

Yukari felt pain rack her body, the drops of technicolor energy forcing her to grit her teeth. When the second barrage came, a large gap opened to intercept it.

The barrage landed near Hikari instead, but her own shots phased through herself, unable to harm herself.

Hikari focused on the Yakumo…

Bwaa~sh!

The telekinetic blast made Yukari flinch slightly, the energy blooming outward from her figure.

It struck the hexagonal barrier.

Shatter! Sha-shatter-shatter-shatter!

The fragments of the barrier engulfed Yukari. "Huu~gh…" She inhaled sharply, pained by the attack.

Bwaa~sh!

The barrier's shattering let Hikari hit her with another psychic blast.

"Goh…" Yukari clutched her dress, keeping it from getting disheveled by it further.

…

"How'd you like that!?" Hikari yelled, fist raised and gohei brandished.

…

"Fufufu…" Yukari giggled, dusting off her dress. "Fufufu~!"

' _What's so funny…?_ '

"...You really _are_ just like your mother." Yukari smiled widely.

' _...Am I supposed to feel happy about that?_ ' Hikari was ready to continue rumbling, even as she felt her adrenaline drain, exposing her fatigue to herself.

"Calm down, you." Yukari drifted towards Hikari lazily. "I was merely _teasing_. Though, your mother leading you along _was_ a fully viable path, and would have doomed all of Gensokyo."

…

"I don't believe you." Hikari stated simply.

"Sharp." Yukari's expression fell into a more neutral one. "You've exceeded my expectations. Reimu was supposed to solve this 'incident'. Your mana pool is deficient, but you may still make due for the coming conflict. "

"I don't have to do everything myself." Hikari asserted. "My friends are part of my power."

' _...Cheesy, but it's true enough. Together, we beat up some strong people._ '

...Cringing, Yukari looked disgusted. "Fr-friends? _Friends!?_ Fufufu~!"

' _...I didn't say that well._ ' Hikari glared at Yukari, waiting for her to respond.

"People are _weak_." Yukari folded her arms. "Friends one day will be your enemies the next. Not even the Hakurei are immune to this travesty of human nature. One day you will find that your shrine is built on sand. And, in this scenario, you _do_ have to do everything _yourself._ "

"I think you're wrong!" Hikari runs towards her, and tries to strike her with her gohei.

Thwack!

...Yukari doesn't respond to the physical assault. She does counter verbally, however. "And I will be there to tell you you were wrong. You will not have minded that, but you will acknowledge it."

"Is that a fact?" Hikari didn't believe it.

"...It is a probable reality." Yukai tried to make 'educated guess' sound smart. "One that is no use getting angry over. We waste time."

…

' _She dosen't know what I know. She doesn't know them. She thinks too much of herself. She's incorrectly guessed my entire quest up until this point. There's no way she could be right, here._ '

...Hikari turned, and began walking away, fed up. "Now I know why Mom called you a creep."

Yukari snorted, a grin widening onto her face. "...The irony is palpable."

…

' _This place is weird._ ' Hikari noted that there were occasional masses of grassy dirt in the distance, single trees perched upon them.

Yukari leaned out of a gap, appearing next to Hikari. "I suppose you don't want an explanation of what this place is?"

Skeptical, Hikari gave her a dry stare. "Does it involve insulting me and my family?"

Reluctantly, Yukari denied. "...No."

"Sure." Hikari was up for it, then.

The grass path ahead of them expanded outward. Trees blinked into existence, and a picnic mat did, as well.

On the picnic mat sat Reimu. She was sitting on her legs, unblinking.

"It is the heart of Gensokyo." Yukari informed her. "...Technically. It is being expressed through the dream world, as of right now. As such, things are… muddled."

' _Sounds like fun._ ' Hikari walked up to her mother.

"...Hi, Hikari-chan!" Her mother waved at her enthusiastically.

...Hikari stared at her dryly. ' _That's not really like Mom._ '

"Would you like some orange juice?" Fake Reimu tilted her head.

...Hikari shrugged.

Reaching behind herself, Fake Reimu took out a pristine glass of orange juice.

' _Where'd that come from!?_ '

...Receptively, Hikari accepted it, and sipped from it.

' _...It's really good!_ ' She felt her strength return!

"Since this is the dream world…" Yukari continued, "this land is also partially _your_ heart. As such, you have the pants on, in this realm."

' _I'd be worried if I didn't have pants on._ ' Hikari took a moment to confirm that her skirt was indeed still there. ' _...Why am I in my normal clothes, anyway?_ '

Looking off the edge of the grassy path, Hikari took note of the large, mobile rectangles of grasslands.

...She nodded. "Is it like a big lucid dream, then?"

"If the lucid dream acted independant of you, yes." Yukari attempted to elaborate.

Furrowing her brows, Hikari found that description awkward. ' _That… just sounds like a normal dream._ '

Gesturing to herself, Yukari continued. "I, myself, was forced to store my consciousness in Gensokyo's… I don't want to say 'own consciousness', but in Gensokyo itself, as it were."

Realizing something, Hikari got confused. "How can a world have a heart?"

Taking a moment, Yukari considered a reply that would make sense. "...The easiest explanation for you, is the collective consciousness of every living being in one given land. The boundary of what constitutes and what doesn't constitute a world is very, very broad and ill-defined. Places like 'Earth' are so ill-defined that, as far as I'm concerned, they could not be interacted with. Smaller scale operations like Gensokyo, on the other hand, are definable due to the lack of people who believe it a world."

Hikari's eyes glazed over. '... _What?_ '

"Even so, a boundary of a world is-..." Yukari notices Hikari's boredom. "You're not listening anymore, are you?"

"No~pe." Hikari shook her head.

"Tsk. Pitiable. Simply put, I chose Gensokyo's 'heart' because, despite the corruption and devastation ten years in a future where you either never bothered or were unsuccessful, I believed it far more likely that Gensokyo itself would still be alive, as opposed to you." She insulted Hikari.

Walking along, Hikari came to what looked like Osamu in his old village mage robes, smiling widely.

"So~... Why'd you seal yourself in any heart at all?" She gave Yukari a dry stare, moving towards Osamu.

A grimace crossed Yukari's features. "Giygas was corrupting me. Had he fully taken me, victory would be his, guaranteed."

' _Ah. Makes sense…_ '

"I feel like my friends and I could have taken you." Hikari voices. "Considering the damage I managed to do just now."

...Yukari smirked. "I'll hold you to that, if you don't die."

"Hehe~y!" 'Osamu' exclaimed. "How're ya, Hikari!?"

"...Hi." Hikari waved at him.

Suddenly, an apple dropped from the tree, bonking 'Osamu' in the head. "Ouch! Diddly dang darn it… I think I'll just stay here."

' _Oh. Okay. That thought process seems totally natural._ '

Yukari blinked. "... _He's_ Osamu?"

Hikari nodded, perplexed by her knowledge. ' _I never told you what he looked like… or that he was a he._ '

... Facepalming, Yukari sighed. "Hikari, your choice in party members is starting to worry me. If your last party member is nothing short of an oni, I will deem you mentally challenged."

' _Funny story, that._ '

Continuing into the midst of the expanding, albeit fairly warped grassy plains, Hikari came up to a giant carrot, still embedded in the ground.

' _Speaking of funny stories…_ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

END OF CHAPTER 26

Protagonist: Hikari Hakurei, Disciple of Paradise

-Inventory-

Weapon: Miracle Gohei(?) - Ability to whack stuff really hard. Amplifies whacking power, too! Able to deal magical damage. Adds an increased chance to deal critical hits. Recreated by the dream realm.

Arms: Iconic Hakurei Arm Sleeves - Keeps arms warm. A Hakurei tradition. How they stay on is a Hakurei family secret.

Body: Dream Miko Outfit - An outfit identical in appearance to the one she started with. Gives 25% resistance to magical damage.

Misc: Royal Red Ribbon - A ribbon made with rich materials, with a floral pattern.

-Skills-

Attack: Quickly! Swing your gohei at them for massive damage!

PK Fantasy α, β, γ - Bombards the enemy with pain in the form of flashing colors. Deals magical damage. Heavy mental strain that increases with each tier. Third tier forms a barrier, which breaks upon moderate damage.

PK Flash α, ß - A bright flash that distributes very random status effects to enemies. Usually makes people cry. Higher tiers increase chances, and introduce possibilities of fainting or dispel.

Hypnosis α, Ω - Puts weak enemies to sleep for a short time. Works better on tired or exhausted foes. Can also be used in a far more costly form that works on multiple opponents.

Shield α, ß - Halves damage the target takes. Only works against physical attacks, and enough strikes, or powerful strikes, will dispel it. Higher tier turns it into a power-shield that protects even better and even reflects a fraction of protected damage.

Lifeup α, ß, γ - Heals target a little. Higher tiers heal more grievous wounds, like bone fractures.

Healing α, ß, γ - Heals basic status ailments. Higher tiers can cure more dire effects, like burning alive.

Teleport α - Allows instant transport to the general location of an area remembered by oneself or one's party members. Requires a long, fast run-up to execute, however.

Ofuda Toss - Throw a holy ofuda that does massive holy elemental damage to youkai and dark elemental foes. Effect lessens the more holy the thing you're attacking is, to the point of healing holy things. Only works if you actually have ofuda, though.

Summon Koishi - Using the Heart Gem's power, Hikari summons Koishi Komeiji. Casts three random HK spells on enemies, before using a higher tier one that depends on her current mood. Typically can manage two uses before she's out of mana. Costs sizable mana.

γ-γ-γ-γ

Mage: Osamu Katsumi, the Wannabe Mage

-Inventory-

Weapon: Fisticuffs!

Arms: Nothing

Body: Rugged Robe - A sturdy robe enchanted to resist damage. Made partially with sturdy cloth from deep underground.

Misc: Red Mage Hat - A red colored mage's hat made from cloth in the Human Village. Minor resistance to thunder, ice, and fire magic from its well worn usage in the past. Didn't see much action… until Osamu bought it!

-Skills-

PK Thunder α, ß - Very random thunder attack that deals limited damage. Higher tiers increase number of bolts, and sometimes power.

PK Hydro α, β, γ - Gets everyone wet. Usefulness with PK Thunder and PK Freeze depends on whether you hit yourself or not! Creates whirling water spirals at higher tiers.

PK Freeze α, β, γ, Ω - Generates ice crystals at the target's location. Medium damage and effect; may freeze some targets, especially wet ones. Highest tier has a near-guaranteed freeze chance and immense ice damage, at the cost of being very taxing.

Fireball - Manipulate mana to make a shoddy fireball. Low damage and effect.

Static Hands - Not a real spell. Result of a very undercharged PK Thunder that can accidentally go off.

PSI Telepathy α - Speak to friends you haven't met yet! Unstable connection and only works if they have the skill or are asleep.

PSI Shield α, Σ - Halves damage from magical and psychic attacks. Thunder spells fry it instantly, and harder blows dispel it. Second tier applies basic shield to entire party at higher mana expense.

PSI Magnet α - Costs no mana to use, and steals a very tiny amount of mana from the enemy. Enemy has to have mana in the first place for it to work, though.

Offense Up α - Get pissed! Boosts strength and confidence depending on caster's power and receiver's power.

Defense Down α - Throw the enemy off their game. Makes them slightly more vulnerable to physical attacks.

γ-γ-γ-γ

Inventor: Marigold Knowledge, the Tri-Magi Love Child

-Inventory-

Weapon: Spectrum Shotgun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Filled with foil chip bags to conduct the mana, and it is transmitted into a wind stone. Upgraded to draw mana from a simple wooden block filled with immense magic reserves, giving it virtually unlimited ammo. The addition of a battery and a prism allow it to fire seven rainbow colored beams at a wide spread, which deal non-elemental damage. Firing long enough allows them to focus and deal incredible damage, at the cost of insane recoil and instability.

Arms: Nothing

Body: Really Custom Adventure Dress - A custom dress made by Alice, burnt into fragments by an inferno. Provides slight defense against magical and psychic attacks. Now allows very free movement, but is worse for the cold.

Misc: Swirly Glasses - Lets Marigold not be blind.

Backpack - Allows extended inventory. Aged relic from the Kourindou.

Unnamed Lock Opening Device - Opens locks very precariously. Made with steel, burnt cloth, packaging peanuts, thumbtacks, string, and wooden wheels. Don't even ask…

Ruler - Lets you measure the world around you!

Protractor - Lets you find the angles of anything ever. Totally overpowered.

Scotch Tape - Transparent adhesive from the outside world. Weak, but handy!

Deck of Cards - Allows Marigold to play Strip Poker with the party. Just kidding… or am I?

Shield Killer - Electrical device used to subdue harassers. Has settings ranging from Tickle Torture to Arse Blaster. Fires electrical projectiles, of unknown power.

NF Burst Gun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Uses a Pop Gun as the base, but amplifies its power with an array of random batteries jammed into the base with the Pop Gun. The more batteries, the better, but the typical yield is about five bullets per trigger. Spamming the trigger doesn't make it go any faster, unfortunately. Has no foreseeable ammo limit, and the batteries are only there for mana circulation, meaning their power is really inconsequential.

Holmes Brand Designer Hat - Village swag! A retro village hat that ceased production ten years ago. Sells for a pretty penny nowadays, but it's pretty useless otherwise.

Slime Generator - A bulky box that shoots a small splat of slime. Doesn't seem good for much.

Counter-PSI Device - A weird device Marigold found from a flying saucer. Works in strange ways, and seems to disrupt everyone's concentration. Marigold is immune to its effects.

Charm of Sleep - Grants immunity to sleep while equipped, or held. Can be equipped to Arms or Misc.

Microwave Gun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Constructed with a controlled flame crystal and metal parts, it fires a beam of sustained microwave energy that cooks biological foes alive. Fire-elemental at its core, it's also very inefficient against machines.

Defense Shower - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Made of a broom, a showerhead, some magnets, and uses jars of water as ammo. Slapped together with ofuda, giving it a holy defensive effect. The jars are usually filled with Talcum Powder, for alchemical purposes. The liquid that is dispensed becomes auto-applying lotion.

Heavy Bazooka - An invention developed in part by Kappa Tech and Marigold Knowledge. It shoots heavy fire-based blasts of fire magic, and deals high knockback. It was constructed by stuffing some fire and gravity stones into a tube, adding a cap on one side to direct the fire, and hooking a magical wire to the handle. Nitori did most of the work, though...

-Skills-

Looks Into The Dark - With a flashlight.

Knows Who Will Win The 2016 Election - She doesn't know who the competitor is, or for what country it is, or even knows the country exists, though.

Takes Pride in Being Fluffy - She knows what she wants, and she gets it!

garfielf - its lasaga tim

Doesn't Know Where the Hamburger Helper Went - *brup*

γ-γ-γ-γ

Fighter: Hiyori Hashimoto, the Buddhist Oni

-Inventory-

Weapon: Mace of Devas - The last of the four treasures held by the Devas of the Mountain. Ability to whack stuff really hard. Increases critical hit rate by lieu of being a really big, blunt, spiky weapon. Allows partial blocking of magic attacks.

Arms: Shackle of Devas - The first of the four treasures held by the Devas of the Mountain. Grants immunity to sleep-inducing magic. Grants fifty percent resistance to wind and thunder magic.

Body: Kimono of Devas - The second of the four treasures held by the Devas of the Mountain. Grants immunity to paralyzing magic. Grants fifty percent resistance to fire magic. Insanely durable. Has a floral design to it…!

Misc: Bows of Devas - The third of the four treasures held by the Devas of the Mountain. Grants immunity to confusion-inducing magic. Grants fifty percent resistance to ice magic.

-Skills-

PK Starstorm α - Summons forth the stars from the night's sky to rain down upon enemies. Hits all enemies, and deals high magical damage, at the cost of being highly mentally taxing. Can hit allies if they're in the effective area, as the white stars don't have homing properties. Power proportional to amount of enemies, as well.

PK Fire α, ß - Creates an igniting blast of flames at the target's location. More impact comes with higher tiers.

PK Freeze α, β, γ - Generates ice crystals at the target's location. Medium damage and effect; may freeze some targets, especially wet ones.

Shield α, ß, Σ - Halves damage the target takes. Only works against physical attacks, and enough strikes, or powerful strikes, will dispel it. Higher tier turns it into a power-shield that protects even better and even reflects a fraction of protected damage. Highest tier applies a basic shield to the entire party.

Lifeup α, ß - Heals target a little. Higher tiers heal more grievous wounds, like bone fractures.

Healing α, ß - Heals basic status ailments. Higher tiers can cure more dire effects, like burning alive.

Teleport α, ß - Allows instant transport to the general location of an area remembered by oneself or one's party members. Requires a long, fast run-up to execute, however. Higher tier is largely automatic and requires little room to execute.

Martial Arts - Skilled in hand-to-hand combat.

γ-γ-γ-γ

Author's Note:

and NOW WE'RE IN MAGICANT / dream whurl

lemme spell this _**JaRgOn**_ out for ya:

HEART OF GENSOKYO: basically EVERYONE'S minds at ONCE DOOD

HEART OF hikari: hikari's mind

this is important because giygas and minds and asdf! yeah.

anyway yeah, yukari's KIND OF A DICK ; also be droppin' INFORMATIONS but i don't think it's a bad case of exposition dropping; bunch of stuff you wouldn't know otherwise and also only really relevant to the yukari / hikari relationship and yukari's role in gensokyo

was the carbon dog fight TOO LONG or JUST RIGHT (there's no way it was too short I THINK); i feel like it dragged on a bit (if only because the entire chapter was BEATING SHIT UP), but it was RELEVANT BEATING SHIT UP… i think (i forgot that he turned into diamond dog halfway into writing it so i depleted the party's resources for tension and then realized OH RIGHT SECOND FORM OH SHIT but that's also kinda how it goes in earthbound...so i ran with it)

bottle rockets are freaking OP by the way

then again i've done twenty pages of remilia whacking action consecutively so this should get a pass if the character interaction is ON PAR

...it's kinda jarring for me to suddenly realize that i've now got chapters of entirely OC characters going on, something one might consider taboo of a fic with less defined OCs (then again, two of them have IMPORTANT RELATIONS to the main gals of the series)

what're your guys' opinions on OC driven things? i know the questions broad but it popped into my head and if i don't ask you now i'll probably ask you again like twenty chapters into whatever i write next

as always, see you all next time!


	27. Fragments of Hakurei

Hikari stared at the faux Marigold before her.

"Hi, Hikari!" She waved merrily, the self-propelled grass cutting device she was steering veering off in a weird direction due to her letting her hand off of it. "I like inventing stuff! Don't you!?"

' _This place is weird._ ' Hikari mentally understated.

Looking around, she proceeded towards another thin, grassy path…

"Wo-woaaa~h!" Marigold wailed as the device sped off the edge of the grassy plain and into the infinite sky.

…

Moments later, the Marigold reformed on the platform.

"...Hi, Hikari!" She waved to Hikari again, on the same path.

' _Really weird._ '

Yukari sighed. "...I may have been a little testy towards you, earlier. For that, I apologize."

Hikari casually looked at her. "...Does that mean you take back what you said?"

Yukari's face hardened. "No."

' _Weirdo._ ' Hikari decided that Yukari belonged here.

"It's just, I may have come across as flippant when I expressed it. You see, being trapped in _this_ place…"

"Hi, Hikari!" Marigold made herself known again.

"...happens to be more than a little draining." Yukari rubbed her temples. "Especially when it is simply the heart of Gensokyo and myself. With you here, the abstractions at least take physical form. When they're simply cognitive, it truly is a mind-rending experience."

"Sounds like you had fun." Hikari comments idly.

"Indeed." Yukari makes no further comment.

Moving through the curious land, everything suddenly became darker, as if a shadow was cast on the land.

Hikari looked up, and was blinded by the sun.

' _Why is it dark, then?_ '

Yukari snorted.

...Rubbing her eyes, Hikari continued forward.

Hiyori was standing next to a stalagmite. "Hey, Hikari."

' _...I wonder if she's normal._ ' "Hey, Hiyori."

…

Curious towards Hiyori's silence, Hikari spoke. "Hiyori?"

"Robe twelve asset ID seventeen is my dad." Hiyori grins.

…

' _Oo~kay. Got my hopes too high, apparently._ '

Suddenly, Hiyori pointed at Yukari, furrowing her brows. "Entity asset invalid! Entity asset invalid!"

Yukari finally paid attention to her. "...I'll be darned. She's an oni."

Hikari gave Yukari a smug grin, before turning to her friend.

' _Sort of my friend, anyway. Half a friend? She's not entirely Hiyori, so~..._ '

"PK Starstorm." Hiyori stated. "PP reduced by twenty four. Bright, yellow and white stars barreled down from the midday sky, spiralling into entity asset invalid."

...Hikari blinked. "What?"

"I think she's trying to attack me." Yukari gave her an amused stare. Reaching a hand out, she patted Hiyori on the head. "I'm not entirely certain why."

'Hiyori' batted Yukari's arm away. "Entity asset invalid remaining hit points are nine, nine, nine, nine, nine, nine…"

Her eyes glazed over, as she kept repeating the same numeral.

"She broke." Yukari deduced.

"I don't blame her." Hikari pressed forward, leaving the faux Hiyori to her devices.

Passing by oversized and undersized vegetation, the land slowly turned back to a normal shading. Hikari came up to what looked like a storefront, which was surrounded by random, purposeless pillars.

Old man Kirisame was at the stand, for some reason. "Hehe~y, Hikari!"

The land slowly turned a vibrant yellow, to Hikari's displeasure. ' _Woaa~h..._ '

...Hikari looked at what was for sale.

"For sale, we have…" Kirisame seemed to roll his hands for effect. "Dream Pajamas!"

...Hikari tilted her head.

"They reduce the damage of magical attacks! By a _fourth!_ And I would know!" He grins widely. "No money back guarantee! You buy it, it's yours, absolutely premium!"

' _...How much does it even cost?_ '

"A mere one thousand yen! It's a _steal!_ " Old man Kirisame spread his arms out.

' _Clothes for one thousand yen. Wait, how does he…?_ ' Hikari stared at him in dry wonder. Pulling out her yen pouch from her curiously regular miko outfit, she looked inside.

' _...Eighty thousand yen!?_ ' Hikari looked at what was just on the top.

Flipping her pouch over, she hung it upside down over the counter.

Fwww~sh…

Coins flowed out over the counter.

Kirisame's jaw dropped.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Hikari obtained Dream Pajamas!

Hikari walked around in her new pajamas.

"We're doomed." Yukari sulked.

" _You're_ doomed." Hikari rebutted.

Walking across a log over a shallow creek, Hikari found herself in front of a house.

' _First real structure here in a long time._ ' Hikari got tired of the abstract geometry of the dreamscape's foliage.

She was now in the center of a crossroads, where the structure also sat at. The roads that lead up to it all had random pillars along the sides of them.

Slowly, the land began to glow neon white.

' _My eyes…_ ' Hikari didn't like that at all.

She moved inside the large, gazebo-like structure.

Inside, there was a humanoid, nine-tailed fox.

"Oh, there you are…" Yukari smiled. "Still holding up, Ran?"

Sighing, Ran rubbed her temples. "Hardly. Is the Hakurei dead?"

' _Wait, what!?_ ' Hikari was shocked into an offensive stance.

Yukari stuck a hand up. "Oh, do not fret. Hikari is right here. The actual one."

...Ran was skeptical. "Truly?"

Hikari backed up, anticipating an attack. "I'd rather you _didn't_ kill me."

Yukari grinned smugly at her familiar.

Ran realized the implications of what she said. "...O-oh, Hakurei. I do not intend you harm. I was simply curious, was all."

' _...Why do they think I was going to die?_ ' Hikari was getting annoyed.

"I was actually assigned here." Ran declared. "...I am to be Hikari's courage, apparently."

Yukari beamed in amusement. "He-her courage? Fufufu~! Gensokyo's mana thinks that of _you?_ "

...Ran nodded. "Considering I routinely did your dirty work regarding the barrier."

" _My_ barrier." Yukari specified.

"My _family's_ barrier." Hikari corrected.

Yukari folded her arms, amusement quickly fading. "Technically."

...Hikari looked around inside the gazebo, as the land's color outside slowly turned red.

"Nya~h!"

A brown-haired catgirl fell from atop the gazebo, landing outside.

Thud!

"Ch-Chen!?" Ran immediately bolted outside.

...Hikari followed Ran outside after a delay.

Outside the gazebo, the pillars of stone were all getting smashed by strange entities. The sky was red, and the sun was dimmer, casting a violent, subtle glow across the dreamscape's plains.

Stone pillars crumbled in the wake of floating, pitch-black mikos holding broad, purple swords. Their chests held a gaping, heart-shaped hole. Red mist flowed from the edges of these particularly edgy beings.

"Fufufu~...!"

Busty, succubus-like entities accompanied by similar red mist attempted to charm the pillars, which wasn't entirely effective.

' _That's a lot of enemies…!_ ' Hikari's eyes slowly widened.

" _Hakurei._ " Yukari spoke sternly. "Follow me, and do not lose yourself, or you will die. The time to act is _now_."

Chen scrappily got back onto her hands and feet, claws scraping the dirt as she darted off insanely fast, long, red-haired succubi slowly trailing after her.

...Ran huffed. "Sh-she'll be alright… I'm sure of it."

Without delay, Hikari started running after Yukari, with Ran following. The enemies around them paid little attention, apparently more intent on destroying the gazebo and the accompanying pillars.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

The maze-like trail of paths she eventually ended up on was dazzling. From the path, little could be made out other than the bright red grass and the oppressive red glow of the infinite sky around the three.

Ran hung behind Hikari a little bit, briskly jogging to keep up with Hikari's sloppy, desperate run.

' _Wh-why does Yukari have to move so fast!? What's even going on!?_ '

...Eventually, the path ahead of them cut off, and the path behind them cut off.

Yukari stopped on a dime, but vanished, having been hovering over the path section that was disjointed.

' _...That's probably not good._ '

Ran's clawlike nails extended, and she readied herself. "Stay behind me, Hakurei!"

Fwoo~m…

One of the shadow mikos formed in the air from red mist, a gaping, heart-shaped hole in her featureless chest. Two glowing, yellow eyes illuminated the rest of her precisely sculpted, expressionless face.

' _Oh, boy…_ '

Hikari tried Shield ß!

Hikari was protected by the power shield of light!

Running along the floor, Ran leapt up at the creature.

Swish! Swish!

Red mist was torn from the shadow miko's body. It flinched back, but quickly countered with an insanely fast heel spin. Like this, it spun its broadsword around like a twig, smashing Ran aside.

"Guah!?" Ran seemed to fly off the side of the arena, but a barrier prevented her from going off the edge.

With Ran out of the way, the miko floated up to Hikari…

' _Woah._ ' Hikari realized the miko was really tall. ' _Eight feet tall. This thing's far from human._ '

Hikari guarded against the telegraphed, downward slice.

Bam!

The swing sent her flying. "Wah!"

...A beam shot from her shield, flying into the miko. It lurched from the impact, writhing, before steadying itself again. The hole in its chest got bigger.

" _Hrah!_ "

Spinning through the air, Ran filleted the front of the miko's upper body, a whirlwind of mist being released.

"Grrh…" The shadow miko growled, the hole in its chest beginning to expand to the edges of its torso.

It stabbed its blade into the ground, and vanished. The blade rose from the floor, and began gravitating toward Hikari, blade first.

' _Um…_ ' Hikari watched it slowly accelerate towards her. She moved to jump over it, but it veered upward.

Shink!

It sliced through a part of her torso, blood splashed outward and onto the platform. " _Gugh!?_ "

' _Aaagh!_ '

Ran's eyes widened. " _Hakurei! No!_ "

A beam shot from Hikari's power shield. It flew towards the sword and struck it, but didn't visibly do anything.

Ran moved to intercept the blade as it came for Hikari again, only for it to pass straight through her.

Splosh!

"Hrraaa~h!" Ran hollered, the hole in her stomach slowly closing on its own as she hunched over.

Hikari dove out of the way of the blade's thrust, as it shot straight past her.

' _Too close…_ '

Hikari tried Lifeup ß!

Her wound slowly began to heal!

' _I-I need to dodge…_ ' Hikari felt her strength return all too slowly, as the blade turned towards her again and accelerated faster than before.

"A-ah!" Hikari blocked on reflex.

Hikari felt wood get carved from her Miracle Gohei as it successfully deflected the thrust, the blade flying past her harmlessly. Then, it began to slow down, before vanishing completely.

"Wo-wow…" Hikari wished she had an attack like that.

"Ha-Hakurei!?" Ran sprinted up to Hikari, and began checking where she was wounded. "Are you hurt!?"

' _He-hey!_ ' Hikari gingerly pried Ran's hands from her. "I'm-I'm fine!"

Contrary to popular belief, the attack wasn't over.

Scarlet flames slowly formed a foot away from Hikari, six of them floating in a circular orbit around her form.

Ran's eyes widened. "No…!"

Hikari looked at them, and sighed.

They suddenly moved towards her, and before they connected with her-

Splosh!

Hikari couldn't scream.

' _Aaaaaa~h!_ ' Physically, anyway.

Hikari stared down at the tip of a blood-spattered purple broadsword, extending from her stomach.

Eyes wide, Hikari didn't have the chance to cry as her body collapsed upon the blade's removal.

' _A-ah…_ '

Hikari tried Lifeup γ!

' _Hu-hurts…_ '

" _Hakurei~!_ " Ran desperately clung to Hikari's limp body.

Hikari tried Lifeup γ!

' _I-I…_ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: THIRD PERSON VIEW ====

...Ran cursed to herself, staring at the Hakurei's slowly regenerating, unconscious form. "H-how could I let this happen…?"

She looked up at the Invincible's form, and growled…

A beam shot from the Hakurei's shield, moving towards it.

"...Y-you…" Ran hatefully glared at the dark entity.

It reeled its blade back, intent on slicing Ran once more.

Swish!

Ran leaped up, and instead onto the torso of the being.

"Rrrgh…!" With a primal growl, she lunged at the creature's neck.

Crunch!

…

 _Fwooosh…_

A mighty blast of wind was unleashed, once the dark miko was purged from reality.

The clearing she stood on shrunk back to the size of a path, rejoining the area where Yukari was.

"... _Hakurei!_ " Yukari's eyes were wide, her impatience replaced with rage. "Ran! I thought I made my instructions _clear!_ "

Terror filled Ran's form. She shrunk back. "Yu-Yu-"

Yukari held up a hand. "Do _not_ speak. Your punishment will be this realm's downfall, when we're-"

"Nngh…"

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIKARI'S VIEW ====

Sitting up, Hikari felt her stomach…

' _Still hurts…_ ' Hikari gasped. ' _S-so much…_ '

Hikari tried Lifeup ß!

...From there, she looked up at the gaping form of Ran, and the blank stare of Yukari.

…

"What." Yukari was confused.

"Hi…" Hikari got back up, once her discomfort became minimal. "...Maybe we should kill those dark things faster, next time."

Ran kneeled, smiling widely.

"...How are you alive?" Yukari demanded. "With the internal wounds you had, you should have never woken up. Your life should be over."

"Magic." Hikari was never one for magic theory. As far as she knew, healing spells weren't incredibly common, either.

…

Skeptical, Yukari turned away. "...Very well. If you feel well, continue after me, Hikari."

Yukari began accelerating forward, slower this time.

' _What I wanna know is how…_ ' Hikari glanced at Ran. ' _Ran, that was her name… how Ran recovered so quickly. Does she know healing, too?_ '

Ran began jogging after Yukari again, motioning for Hikari to follow.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

A short distance later, they came to a four way divide, which Hikari trucked right past.

Ran followed her without question, but Hikari paused to look down each way. All three directions seemed consequenceless, to her…

The path ahead of her vanished, along with Yukari and Ran.

' _Uh oh._ ' Hikari blanched.

Before the left and right paths faded, Hikari was accompanied by help after all.

" _Reoo~w!_ "

Chen scraped onto the scene, her claws tearing up grass as she dashed across the expanding clearing.

A barrier silently formed as the other path she went for was cut off, vanishing. Chen hit her head on the barrier.

Bam!

"Grr~nn…" Chen backed up, her ears tucked back.

"Hehehe~!"

"Cute widdle kitty…!"

Hikari turned to the side of the clearing Chen had came from.

Three succubi hung in the air, staring down upon Hikari lustfully.

Hikari's heart skipped a beat.

Two floated down towards Hikari, while one bolted straight for Chen.

Chen spun into the air, claws flailing.

Swish, swish, swish!

"Hya~h!?" The succubus flinched back, a gash forming in her stomach. "Awwh…"

Hikari brought up her gohei menacingly. "Leave me alone, you lewd things."

' _No use in being reserved. Succubi are loud things… or so the books said._ '

"O~h, hohoho?" The rightmost one smiled haughtily, her assets jiggling as she laughed. "What a _delectable_ little shrine maiden!"

"Let's make her _ours!_ " The leftmost succubi began to pounce, stepping towards Hikari in a strategically sexy manner.

Hikari planned to disarm her in a strategically sleepy manner.

Hikari tried Hypnosis α!

...The succubus yawned. "Awwh, she wants to get comfy with us…"

' _Yeah, that wouldn't work, would it?_ '

Moving towards Hikari, her arms spread wide for a hug. Hikari countered with a swipe of her gohei to her chest.

Thwack!

"Guyu~n!?" Her eyes widened as she reached for her boobs. "Ow~!"

"Pfft…!" The other succubus laughed. "Let _me_ show you how to fuck a miko."

" _Reaow!_ "

Chen landed on her face, and extended her claws.

"Aaaa~h!" The succubus screamed, extending her own nails to fend off the angry cat.

"He-hey…!" Winded, the third succubus attempted to float after Chen, only to pause, taking a moment to recoup and regain her breath.

Hikari took this opportunity to be violent, running towards the succubus with her gohei ready.

Thwack!

"Ha~!?" She clutched her cheek. "You little _shit!_ "

Hikari backpedalled as the succubus extended her claws, attempting to grapple Hikari.

Woosh!

Hikari got a face full of her sickeningly heavy perfume, as the succubus' hair brushed Hikari's face. ' _Yu-yuck…_ '

Suddenly, Hikari was glomped from the side by the succubus she hit in the boobs. "I _got_ you~!"

"Mmph!?" Hikari's face was squished between two marshmallows.

' _Wo-woah…_ ' Perfume flooded her senses.

Hikari thrashed, trying to escape the succubus' grasp, but found her strength eebing away…

"That's right…" The succubus cooed into her ear. "We'll make you feel _good_."

"Aaaa~h!" The other succubus screamed, desperately stabbing her claws into Chen's shoulders in an attempt to ward her off. "Ge-get her off! Get her _o~ff!_ "

' _Wo-wow…_ ' Hikari's head began swimming intensely, her body jittering from a sudden rush of energy.

Drowsy, Hikari nuzzled up against the succubus' pillows. "Hehehe~..." She laughed at the other one's misfortune drunkenly.

"We'll show you a _real_ fantasy." The other succubus slides up behind Hikari's back…

Hikari's mind acted on carnal impulse.

Hikari tried PK Fantasy α!

An unexpected rainbow bombardment ruined the mood.

Fizzle!

Sparks of rainbow energy danced on red grass, blue and yellow colors infecting the succubi and the ground with energy.

" _Waaauu~gh!_ " The succubus Chen was attacking was bested, Chen succeeding in clawing her face off. She evaporated into red smoke.

 _Fwoo~sh..._

Fizzle!

" _He~ll!_ " The succubi clutching Hikari wailed, stumbling back as her body flashed different colorful tones.

" _Hya~!_ " The other one became colorful particles of dust.

…

Hikari longingly gazed at the succubus. "Co-come back…"

Bwaa~sh!

A blast of psychic energy tore the final succubus apart, red mist floating back into the sky.

...Chen lied on the floor, jittering from the colorful energy.

' _...Kitty._ '

Hikari tried Lifeup ß!

...

Dizzily, Chen stood up. "...Mroo~w…"

Hikari looked around, dissapointed. "Wh-where… where did they go?"

...The paths faded back into existence, the clearing shrinking into a fourway intersection again.

Ran and Yukari instantly closed in on Hikari. The latter was the first to speak. "You _must_ stay close to me at _all_ times!"

"...A-ah…" Hikari slowly strutted towards Yukari.

Yukari blinked.

Hikari grabbed Yukari's chest.

Ran's jaw slowly hung open.

…

"Ran, do you have any Panaceas left?" Yukari sighed.

"Ri-right…" Ran slid a yellow drink from her robe, and brought it to Hikari's mouth.

' _O-oh!_ ' Hikari squirmed in excitement, her face burning red.

Gulp, gulp, gulp, gulp…

…

' _I want to crawl in a hole._ ' Hikari's face was now burning red from embarrassment, holding her hands to her stomach tensely.

Yukari smirked, despite her burning impatience. "I know you can't keep your hands off me, dear, but our mission is an important one. Gensokyo is at stake."

"M-mmm…" Hikari couldn't bring herself to sass her.

Chen rubbed up against Hikari's leg.

"..." Ran had adopted an immensely wide smile.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

After that, Hikari made sure to hold onto the shoulders of Ran and Chen, so that she'd never get ganked in a pocket dimension again.

Once again, the path broke, but all three Yakumos were with her, this time.

"Let us see the opposition." Yukari folded her arms, half submerged in her gap still.

In the air, another dark miko formed. A succubi swooped in from the aether, spawning abruptly.

A lightning cloud with googly eyes faded in from the aether, as well.

' _One of these things is not like the other._ '

...The succubus widened her eyes. "Full house tonight, huh?"

...Chen began strafing towards her, wiggling her butt in the air as she readied to pounce.

Noticing, the succubi extended her claws. "...Oh? Kitty wanna pl- oomph!"

Chen was like a bullet.

"There is little I can do but create gaps." Yukari declared. "Side-effect of sealing myself and my shikigami, unfortunately."

Thunder Swoosh tried PK Thunder γ!

Thwaa~sh!

"Two way portals, more like." Yukari grumbled. "How unbecoming."

Yukari prevented Hikari from being stricken, the thunderbolt striking the dark miko instead.

Bam!

It flew back into the barrier that enclosed the arena, sparks running up its rapidly dissolving body.

Thwaa~sh!

Once again, Yukari saved Chen from being stricken by having a gap above herself, Chen, Ran, and Hikari.

 _Fwooo~sh…_

The dark miko was felled by the thunderbolt.

Thwaa~sh!

This time, Yukari directed it towards the succubus, the thunderbolt bombarding it from a conveniently placed gap.

Bam!

Unfortunately, the succubus slid out of the way, a zipping sound heard as she avoided it. "Hehehe~! There's no way- Ow! Dammit!" She was nicked on the nose by a swipe from Chen.

Ran bolted towards the succubus like lightning, making Hikari flinch from the sudden movement. ' _Woah…_ '

Closing in on the succubus, Ran was like a freight train.

Her eyes widened as the nine-tailed fox barreled towards her. "Hey, hey! N-no!"

Bam!

 _Fwooo~sh_ …

The succubus was no more.

…

This left the Thunder Swoosh. Somehow, Hikari could tell it was happy, even if it was hostile.

Thunder Swoosh tried PK Thunder γ!

Yukari captured each and every one with one of her gaps, making them blast empty parts of the arena.

…

"Here..." Yukari picked up Hikari, and began twirling her around.

' _Hey, hey- woaa~h!_ ' Hikari saw the world spin around…

Yukari tossed Hikari into a gap.

' _Eyes!_ ' This was Hikari's first time in gap space.

Exiting the gap, Hikari found herself many feet above the Thunder Swoosh.

"...Raa~h!" Hikari readied her gohei to annihilate it.

She came down from above, and smashed it.

SMAAAA~SH!

Thunder Swoosh was no more.

Hikari was caught in Ran's arms.

"Splendid show!" Yukari giggled. "Simply splendid!"

"...You have too much fun." Ran didn't appreciate how it endangered Hikari.

Yukari snorts. "As if _you_ couldn't use some, Ran?"

...The barrier dissolved, the paths reforming.

...Ran shrugs compromisingly. "Despite how much I would love things to be less pressured, I do not believe we have the time."

Hikari sighs.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

The featureless paths faded again…

This time, Hikari and the three Yakumo stood before…

Some molecule-esque things, a walking work of abstract art, and…

' _Wh-what?_ '

Hikari saw another her, clad in the same pajamas she had on.

…

"This is new." Yukari observed.

...Hikari gingerly walked up to her doppelganger.

"Hey." The doppelganger spoke.

"...Hi." Hikari greeted her equally as plain.

"I found that ribbon you lost." Smiling, the doppelganger lifted up a plain, red ribbon.

Hikari took it. "...Thank you?"

With that, the doppelganger slowly faded out of existence, smiling in a satisfied manner.

…

Hikari stared at the regular ribbon.

' _It's not as fancy as my royal ribbon._ ' She stuffed it in her pocket.

Molecule A tried PK Freeze α!

Molecule B tried PK Flash α!

Molecule C tried PK Fire α!

…

But they failed!

The walking abstraction stepped up to Ran, and waved.

...Ran reluctantly waved back. "He-hello?"

BOOM

Hikari jumped. "Wh-wha…!?"

...When the smoke faded, Ran was covered in soot, and the abstract person was gone. "...Gr-great."

…

Hikari walked up to the molecules, and whacked them with their gohei. When she did, they dispersed into smaller ones, vaporizing.

With that done, the paths out of the clearing reformed…

"Something tells me those weren't Giygas' avatars." Yukari noted aloud. "...Since Hikari and Gensokyo's hearts are interacting, I think the faction those belonged to is pretty clear."

' _...Huh._ ' Hikari tilted her head. ' _Me people._ '

"Walking bomb person." Ran complained, dusting herself off.

' _Good people._ ' Hikari was strangely proud her mind had bomb people in it.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Eventually, the four came to a corkscrew in the midst of a clearing, no paths leading out of it. It was clear, like glass or a gummy treat might be.

"Here we are." Yukari took a deep breath. "...Your heart."

Hikari blinked. "...Mi-mine?"

"Indeed." Yukari nodded. "Ugly, isn't it?"

...Hikari swung at Yukari, but she ducked into her gap.

' _Darn._ '

Reappearing behind Hikari, the gap youkai continued. "The reason I brought you here varies. This would allow your mother to track Giygas' coordinates, but since it's you, _I'll_ be doing that fully. _My_ tracking was the backup plan, fortunately."

' _I see…_ '

"The other is that this should also sever Giygas' proper affiliation with Gensokyo as of the present. This will deny any and all brainwashing attempts herein."

' _Huh._ ' Hikari felt better about going through hell to get here.

"Unfortunately, this will not be the end, as Giygas would still live. I will make contact with you shortly after this is all said and done, Hikari. We cannot afford to let this being live any longer." Yukari briefed the miko. "That, and Giygas will likely attempt to coast Gensokyo with a more hands on approach. It's not out of the realm of possibility."

' _...Great._ ' Hikari felt worse about going through hell to get here.

…

"So, for now, touch your heart." Yukari instructed her.

...Taking a deep breath, Hikari put her hand on it.

' _Nothing to lose, aside from all of Gensokyo…_ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

...Slowly, Hikari's vision returned to her.

' _...Bl-blue…_ '

The word sent her into a frenzy. ' _Wh-what!? No!_ '

Thrashing her arms, she swam to the surface of the liquid she was in.

Breaking the water's surface, Hikari took a deep breath. "Ha~h!"

' _Wh-where…?_ '

Below her, wood pushed her further out of the water. Stumbling back, she slipped onto the raft that formed beneath her.

"Oof…" She frowned.

…

Standing up and finding her balance, Hikari looked at the ocean before her…

Still, deep water rested before her. Hikari could see no bottom. In the sky, clouds slowly spun in a circular, blue sky.

' _...I still don't know where this is…_ '

Hikari stared down at herself.

' _I have a gohei, but no clothes? Okay._ '

...Staring up at the sky again, Hikari took in the warmth of the air around her, comfortable air blowing against her skin.

' _...I like it here._ '

Then, she felt like something was wrong. ' _Wh-what…!?_ '

Frantically looking around, she stood at the edge of the raft and peered into the watery depths.

She felt as if her vision extended deep into the water, as if she was slowly moving down into it…

Spla~sh!

Hikari fell onto her butt, again. ' _Really…_ '

Staring up, she saw a mass of red, hostile mist shoot from the waves.

Splash! Splash!

Mist rose from the water around her, as it slowly turned crimson.

' _Yeah, the calm didn't last long…_ '

...Slowly, more and more mist pillars shot from the water, until Hikari was effectively surrounded.

Looking around, Hikari noticed the mist gradually begin to trap her raft in…

' _Probably not good._ '

Hikari tried PK Flash ß!

Fwaa~sh!

The mist pillars were reduced in strength greatly. Instead, they became a thin fog, which fumed from the water around Hikari.

Acting quickly, Hikari began trying to paddle the raft with her hands, which went about as well as one might expect.

' _Great._ ' Hikari looked around at the fumes of red mist, which slowly grew stronger…

Feeling she had little other choice, she moved to jump into the water…

...only to find that the raft was under where she jumped.

...Experimenting, Hikari tried to step off of it, before finding another plank forming where she stepped. The other end of the raft lost a plank, however.

' _Guess that's how this thing's not flipping over. Magic is weird._ '

Fwoom! The pillars rose to full power again, and began encroaching upon Hikari's space once more…

Hikari tried PK Flash ß!

Fwaa~sh!

Once more, the pillars calmed down.

Running forward, Hikari's bare feet slapped against the magically generating wood as she got out of range of the pillars.

Fwoom!

A larger, more divided, circle of pillars formed. The older fumes went out entirely.

' _Hmm…_ ' Hikari was hesitant about casting again and using more energy.

She heard wind roaring, and turned.

What looked like two black slips of paper flew through the air. Hikari ran out of the way-

Fwam! Fwam!

They exploded into large balls of light in the area where Hikari used to be.

Quickly, the pillars began to entrap her again, seemingly quickening up…

Hikari tried PK Flash ß!

Fwaa~sh!

The pillars quieted down. Past the fumes, Hikari saw a figure that quickly dove beneath the waves again.

' _...I don't like the idea that someone else is poking around in my heart._ ' Hikari furrowed her brows.

Once again, another set of red, misty pillars formed. This time, they gave great width for Hikari to move around.

" _Groaa~h!_ "

Spla~sh!

From below the water, one of the oversized youkai bears that Hikari and her friends saw days ago leaped up in place.

Hikari felt her balance falter for a moment, the ground beneath her becoming uneven.

Looking down, she realized a hill began rising from beneath the sea, water parting as it rose. The grass underneath was fine because it was freakin' magic.

The hill proceeded to shake once the bear landed upon it.

 _Thoo~m!_

"Grrh…" Growling, the red tinted variant of the bear began turning towards Hikari…

Hikari reached for her ofuda, only to find none because she had no clothes on.

' _Oh._ '

Hikari tried Shield ß!

Hikari was protected by the power shield of light!

' _Oh, boy…_ ' Hikari dreaded the bear's approach.

The twenty foot tall bear began lumbering closer to her… "Go~h…"

Running along the side of the bear, Hikari had an idea…

Hikari tried Hypnosis Ω!

Waves of energy rippled around the bear in numerous places of its body…

"Gro~h…" Lazily, its legs gave way beneath it. It collapsed onto its chest, the hill beneath it quivering from the force.

Steadying her footing, Hikari ran up to the side of the bear.

' _Now… what do I do?_ '

...She ran up to the face of the creature, and began being violent towards it.

Thwack! Thwack! SMAAAA~SH!

" _Raoh!_ " It woke up instantly after the miraculous critical blow, its eyes flaring open.

' _Woah, woah, woah…!_ ' Eyes wide, Hikari scrambled back.

It swung a paw at Hikari, who braced for it…

Bam!

Hikari tumbled down the hillside, before landing on the surface of the raft.

Thud. ' _Ow._ '

...A beam shot from her power shield of light, homing in on the bear.

" _Rooaa~h!_ " The bear was enraged by the magical beam, stomping on the hill hysterically.

Hikari tried PK Fantasy α!

Fizzle!

Hikari discovered how large her rain of technicolor sparks actually was. It was apparently enough to barely encompass a twenty foot tall bear, but only the top of it.

Fizzle!

Most of the bear was painted fruity colors, stumbling around as pain racked its body… "Rrgh…"

Hikari tried Hypnosis Ω!

Once again, the ripples of energy that erupted around the bear began to put it to sleep…

"Rrh…" _Thoom_. It collapsed on the hill again.

Running up to its face, Hikari gave it hell again.

Thwack! Thwack! SMAAAA~SH!

"Groah!?" The bear threw itself backward, scrambling against the hill and kicking up dirty grass, until it slid right off of it, and into the water.

It didn't come back out, and the pillars of red mist receded into the water, vanishing completely.

' _...Well, then._ ' Hikari brushed herself off.

The water lowered further, more hills and plains being revealed deeper and deeper down. Eventually, it lowered until there was just a simple lake in view. It was between the hills, water flowing in and out of the gaps amidst them.

Curious, Hikari began bounding towards the water, which eventually progressed to sliding down the hill.

' _This feels weird…_ ' Hikari didn't like the feeling of flesh-on-grass contact. At least, not when she was sliding down a hill increasingly fast.

She got to the water, and slid into it.

' _A-ah!_ ' She had braced herself for the raft, but it wasn't there.

Eventually, however, it did rise, pushing her out of the water.

' _Stupid thing…_ '

Fwoom! More red pillars sealed her in the small lake.

Before Hikari, a figure rose from the waves…

Hikari took a fighting stance.

The pitch-black miko stared back at her, adopting a fighting stance of her own.

' _...How come she has clothes, and I don't?_ ' Hikari observed the blue shrine maiden outfit on the shadowy doppelganger.

...Reaching into its pocket, the doppelganger took out two fancy potions. Looking up at Hikari, it tossed one over to her.

...Hikari eyed it. ' _What is this?_ '

"Drink." The dark miko rasped. "Fair fight."

Hikari was instantly skeptical. "Because you'd prefer a fair fight, I'm sure."

With that, Hikari tossed the drink into the water.

...Sighing, the doppelganger reached into her pockets, and drew it again. Hikari could tell it was the same one, because it was dripping. "Fight won't start, you drink. Your heart."

Hikari fumbled to catch it when the doppelganger chucked it at her again. ' _What…?_ '

…

"Why should I believe you?" Hikari slowly began moving towards the dark miko.

The dark miko probably would have rolled its eyes, if they weren't glowing. "Try hit me."

Hikari ran towards it, and tried to strike it…

Fwish. The form of the miko shifted, the strike phasing through it.

The dark miko tried the same, only for the swing to phase through Hikari similarly.

...Hikari stepped back. "Who are you?"

Grinning, the dark miko held up her elixir. "You."

…

' _That can't be right._ ' Hikari tilted her head. "...How?"

"Drink." The miko demanded of her. "...Not good, words. Fight me."

…

Hikari brought her potion up to drink it. The dark miko made the same motions.

Lowering it, Hikari observed the other's movements. The dark miko, too, lowered it.

' _Here goes nothing._ '

Both mikos abruptly brought the drink to their mouths, and began drinking…

Hikari's magic and stamina were restored to full!

Hikari's Nightmare's magic and stamina were restored to full!

The floor beneath the two became a flat platform of wood, the pillars of mist becoming shrine walls.

Like this, the two stared at one another…

…

Grinning widely, Hikari's Nightmare began stepping towards her, what looked like the Miracle Gohei raised high.

Hikari tried Shield ß!

Hikari was protected by the power shield of light!

' _Better safe than sorry._ '

"Already?" The dark miko jeered.

Hikari's Nightmare tried Shield ß!

Hikari's Nightmare was protected by the power shield of light!

' _...Great._ '

"Here!" Leaping back, the dark miko threw two black ofuda forward.

Recognizing them, Hikari leapt away, avoiding them.

Fwam! Fwam!

They exploded into orbs of light, engulfing a small area for a few seconds.

...Hikari heard the clacking of sandals from the direction of the orbs, and squinted her eyes as she brought her gohei up.

Quickly, the dark miko bounded from the fading orbs, intent on surprising Hikari. Instead, Hikari jabbed her in the stomach with her gohei.

SMAAAA~SH!

"Guh…" The miko recoiled.

Hikari went for another thwack. It landed, but the miko disregarded it, floating away and into the air.

' _Hey, wait, hold on…!_ ' Hikari didn't remember being able to fly.

She ran after the miko, who landed on the floor before her.

"Cautionary Barrier!"

Hikari was sent flying backwards by the barrier that was cast in her face.

' _Wha~t!?_ '

Leaping into the air, the other miko transformed into a golden yin-yang orb, quickly floating over to where Hikari would land.

' _He-hey…!_ '

Thwack, thwack, SMAAAA~SH!

"Ghu~ah!?"

Hikari was sent soaring after being juggled through the air by a series of powerful smacks.

Thud. ' _Ge-geez…_ '

...Hikari scrambled to her feet, watching her counterpart walking towards her casually.

"Hehehe~..." Her counterpart giggled. "Weak."

Drawing two more ofuda, the clone lobbed them at Hikari again.

With wall behind her, Hikari was forced to desperately dive out of the way of the incoming exploding ofuda-

Fwam! Fwam!

' _Close…_ ' Hikari panted heavily, watching as the miko bolted towards her, the clacks of her sandals against the shrine floor like thunder.

Hikari leaped back as the other miko viciously tore at the air with her gohei, putting immense power into a complex combo of gohei swipes that hit nothing at all.

' _Is she doing that on purpose? There's no way she wouldn't have noticed she whiffed after the first three swings..._ '

After the miko finished her combo, Hikari quickly slipped a hit in-

Thwack!

-and retreated back as the miko rose her hand.

"Cautionary Barrier!"

Hikari was dazzled by the golden light of the barrier. She noticed a golden yin-yang orb sweeping around in an attempt to flank her, and turned to be ready for it.

From the orb emerged the doppelganger, who came out swinging.

Clack!

Hikari blocked it, and suckerpunched her.

Bam!

"Guh…?" Stepping back, the dark form was vaguely surprised.

' _Hah!_ ' Hikari grinned at it, taking pride in the small victory.

Scowling as best as a shadow clone could scowl, the dark miko shapeshifted. It took the form of that statue Hikari saw earlier in her adventure…

' _That gold statue!_ ' Hikari tensed up…

She ran away from it, doing a circle around the arena as the statue floated after her, slamming into the ground like a giant piston as it followed her.

Eventually, it gave up, transforming back into the shadow miko form it had. "Hahaha~!"

Hikari scowled at it. ' _She wants to trade cheap attacks, huh?_ '

Hikari tried Hypnosis α!

Energy rippled around the dark being…

"Hu-hnh…?" The being wobbled around, before sitting down, and hunching over.

…

"Th-that worked?" Hikari asked aloud.

…

Strutting up to it casually, Hikari prepared herself to take a good swing…

…

SMAAAA~SH!

" _Groaa~rgh!_ " A beastly roar came from the form of the shadow miko, which flew back with immense speed after being struck, stabilizing itself many feet in the air.

Hikari had a shit eating grin. "Pffft…!"

Glowering down at her, the dark miko traded a similar attack.

Hikari's Nightmare tried Hypnosis α!

Energy rippled around Hikari…

' _Wh-what…?_ ' Hikari felt a yawn come. ' _No…_ '

"Ha~h…" Yawning, Hikari sat down, and flopped onto her back.

...

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

SMAAAA~SH!

"Aauh!?" Hikari wailed, flailing her arms as she spun across the wooden floor. "Hu-wah!?"

"Hehehaha~!" Doubling back with laughter, the hoarse voice of the dark miko echoed across the large shrine-styled battlefield.

' _Wh-what's going on!?_ ' Hikari clung to her gohei, her body aching and eyes wide.

...After a moment of staring at the miko, she realized. ' _O-oh. I… fell asleep._ '

"Now…" The dark miko's mirth wore off. "Go to _sleep._ "

Hikari's Nightmare tried PK Fantasy α!

Hikari was suddenly bombarded by technicolor particles. "Wh-wha-"

Fizzle!

"Aauugh!" Hikari dropped to her knees, magical energy tearing through her muscles.

Fizzle!

Her eyes saw nothing but red, yellow, and blue for a good thirty seconds. Her muscles spasming violently, there was little she could do but try to recover.

Bwaa~sh!

She was sent hurtling into the air by the psychic blast, slamming against the shrine wall. She fell to the floor unceremoniously.

Thud.

' _Wh-why…?_ ' Hikari felt like crying, but she had a better idea.

Hikari tried Lifeup ß!

...Her vision slowly returned to normal, and her body gradually turned the pain dial down.

' _My spell hurts._ ' Hikari came to realize.

Then she noticed the dark miko ripping towards her, her legs moving insanely fast despite having none of the wind's guidance.

Hikari noticed her preparing for another broad, exaggerated slash of her gohei. To counter, Hikari crouched, and jabbed.

SMAAAA~SH!

"Oo~gh…!" The miko flew backwards and into the air.

"...None of our shields seem to be doing anything." Hikari noted.

Grinning, the doppelganger responded. "Both shields. Beam no work. Only damage halve."

' _Huh._ ' Hikari blinked. ' _...Wait, those gohei strikes are half damage!?_ '

...Noticing Hikari not approaching her, the dark entity decided to attack, running towards her again. "Hehehe~!"

Hikari wasn't having any more of that, though.

Hikari tried PK Fantasy γ!

Throwing her arms forward, Hikari shot two polygons of technicolor energy at her opponent.

FwOwOwOw!

The dark miko ran forward to bait them-

TinkTinkTinkTink!

-then leaped back to avoid the technicolor barrier.

Hikari focused on the miko on the other side…

Bwaa~sh!

"Hroah!?" It forgot about the last part, but quickly recovered midair from the psychic blast. Red mist dissipated from the figure's form, vaporizing.

Hikari ran towards the barrier. ' _If some of my attacks can phase through it, can I?_ '

She ran into it, and rebounded off of it, being forced to sit down.

' _Ow._ '

...She got back up, noticing the miko come around in yin-yang orb form to try and flank her again.

' _Not happening._ ' Hikari walked along the edge of her barrier…

Leaping from its yin-yang orb form, the miko drew two ofuda…

Hikari realized that it was aiming for the barrier. "He-hey!"

Hikari tried PK Fantasy ß!

Her left arm shot forward, and she unleashed a polygon of colorful, psychic energy.

FwOwOw!

Then, she did the same with her right arm, the fantastic projectile shooting towards the miko.

FwOwOw!

Caught off-guard by the sudden fantastic spam, the miko was struck by only one of the projectiles. "Hkrh!?"

It flew back and into the shrine wall, body lighting up with technicolor energy…

Fizzle!

Dropping like a beam of steel, the miko loudly slammed into the floor, technicolor energy roaring through its body…

Fizzle!

It quivered under the amazing barrage, colors dominating the once pitch black being.

Finally, Hikari focused on the being, her eyes flaring.

Bwaa~sh!

The psychic blast sent the limp miko flying through the air, until it bluntly slammed into the floor again, head first.

' _I think that did it…_ '

The being lied on its back, head bent in a weird direction...

Hikari's Nightmare tried Lifeup ß!

Hikari began stepping towards the miko…

Hikari's Nightmare tried Healing γ!

Krik, krik, krik…

Cracking her neck, the miko sat up, and quickly maneuvered itself to get back on its feet. "Hehehe~... Didn't think, all in…"

' _No way…_ ' Hikari felt the weakness from her mana exertion beginning to set in…

"You…" Stumbling towards her, the figure drawled. "Yo~u…"

Hikari readied herself as best she could…

…

"Your heart will be shattered."

The walls became lined with streaks of red mist, which flared up from the floor.

Fwoom!

Arching back, red mist began enveloping the dark miko. "Hahaha~!"

Hikari began running in the opposite direction, pillars of red mist slowly forming behind her as she ran.

Her legs burned as the miko slowly floated behind her, ignoring the pillars of mist that clipped her as she slowly trailed behind Hikari. "Hehahaha~!"

Hikari found that a good strategy was running in circles.

Eventually, this strategy became defunct, when the miko intervened directly to take a whack at Hikari.

SMAAAA~SH!

"Ugh!" Hikari slid to her knees, feeling the wood tear at her bare skin, but she quickly got back up. Her feet were engulfed by the mist behind her as she ran. ' _Wo-woah…_ '

Hikari looked at her barrier again, and sat course for it.

"Hehehe~! Don't you _get it_ , yet!?"

Hikari felt her blood chill as she pressed her back against the barrier. Red mist poured from the shadow miko's being as she shook in the air.

" _I am you!_ "

She rocketed into Hikari, breaking the barrier.

ShatterShatterShatterShatter!

Red and yellow shards homed in on the miko, tearing into her being. " _Hooraaoaa~h!_ "

Hikari realized what was happening, and attempted to push the miko off of her. The force of the shards only pushed it back onto her, however.

' _Stupid…_ ' Hikari really didn't want it on her, though.

Rolling it off of her, Hikari scrambled away, getting back onto her feet.

' _O-ow…_ ' Hikari felt everything ache uncomfortably after the previous series of events…

Hikari tried Lifeup ß!

' _I'm not sure if the mana deprivation is better or worse than being cut and bruised everywhere…_ '

The shimmering form of the dark miko stood, once more. "H-hgh…"

Hikari's Nightmare tried Lifeup ß!

...Slowly, its posture corrected itself. "You… not needed."

"Says you." Hikari rebutted.

"Giygas made me." It smiled. "Giygas made you." Spreading its arms, it almost formed a warm smile. "Giygas… made _all._ "

' _...I feel like I've been talking to a wall this entire time. Then again, walls don't shoot things at you or hit you._ '

With that, the miko ran towards Hikari again.

' _I have to do this a smart way… especially because it doesn't seem to run out of mana._ '

Hikari let it start swinging, back pedaling until the being's combo ended.

Thwack!

After striking it, Hikari braced herself…

Hikari tried PK Fantasy α!

Fizzle!

"Wh- _what!?_ " The shadow being was baffled that Hikari would pull another one again so quickly.

Fizzle!

"Gra~h!" It sat down, jittering from the psychic energy again…

Hikari focused on the clone, letting loose her psychic blast.

Bwaa~sh!

"Huunh…" The miko soared back into the air…

' _N-now…!_ ' Hikari dropped onto her knees.

Hikari tried Hypnosis α!

Energy rippled around the dark miko as it fell to the floor…

"Oogh…" It flopped onto the floor, and didn't get back up, unconscious.

...Hikari flopped onto the floor, herself.

…

After a few minutes of nothing, Hikari began to move again. Managing to stand, she slowly and carefully walked towards the sleeping being…

' _I-I don't have the mana for this…_ '

Hikari tried PK Fantasy γ!

Throwing her arms out slowly, two polygons of fantastic energy sprung forth.

FwOwOwOw!

Stopping before the unconscious figure, they formed another red and yellow wall of hexagon panels.

TinkTinkTinkTink!

…

Hikari dropped to the floor, focusing on the miko. ' _Ta-take… that…_ '

Bwaa~sh!

The psychic blast sent the miko hurtling into the air.

"Whoaaha~!?" Its voice wobbled, when it abruptly leapt forward, bringing its gohei down into the barrier. " _Surprise!_ "

Crack…!

...It stared at the barrier blankly.

ShatterShatterShatterShatter!

" _Grooaa~h!_ " Its voice bellowed like that of a grown man, the initial blast of the breaking panels eliciting violent, manic screams from the being.

Then, the shards took to its form, piercing it. "Gugh- Ack! Guhugh! Gahk…"

Thud.

…

Hikari tried Lifeup ß!

…

But it failed!

' _I-I have to stop her… from he-healing…_ '

Hikari tried Hypnosis α!

Energy rippled around the miko's form. "Ah-ack!?"

…

Crawling forward with the last of her strength, Hikari disregarded the immensely uncomfortable feeling of her bare skin against the uneven wooden plank flooring, as she readied herself to inflict violence upon the dark miko.

…

Eventually, she reached her.

Hikari tapped her with her gohei.

…

Drawing her arm back, she noticed that she disregarded the pooling puddle of black, vaguely red tinted blood on the floor beneath it.

' _Ew._ ' She tried to wipe it off of her wrist, only to find that it just got it on her other hand. ' _Great._ '

...Discarding her gohei, Hikari crawled onto the form of her dark counterpart.

' _I-I… have to stop her. She'll kill me._ '

Putting on a brave, albeit drowsy face, Hikari began sliding her weak, shaking hands towards the throat of the being.

' _I-I could just choke it, right?_ '

…

Hikari started pressing her fingers into its throat, enough to pierce the skin.

' _Oh-oh…_ ' Her stomach churned, black goo pooling around her fingers. The slippery feeling of blood and raw flesh flooded her sense of touch. ' _I don't want to do this…_ '

Light, squishy sounds could be heard on the battlefield.

Hikari closed her eyes, for a moment, before she realized she wanted to be at least slightly precise, if only to make it be over faster.

Red mist began flooding from the black, oozy blood. The slight red tint to the blood was lost, rendering it more like a black paste than like a standard liquid.

Frowning, she continued to tear open the flesh of the dark miko with whatever strength she could muster, making sure to screw up the innards of it as much as she could.

Then, the miko beneath her snapped awake.

"Ghu- _hack!?_ "

Blood splatted from its neck onto Hikari's face.

" _A-ah…!_ " Hikari blanched, quickly and feverishly attacking the neck.

"Gghghgh!" Desperately, the creature fought back, pushing Hikari off easily.

' _No!_ ' She rolled into a standing position, but her legs had no strength to them.

Stepping back, the dark creature transformed into its statue form, only to find fragments of itself shattered, or crumbling. It shifted into a yin-yang orb, only to find the gold parts of it cracking and crumbling. Finally, it shifted back into the miko form…

"...Ghkri…"

It fell to its knees, mist flowing softly from its being…

…

' _Did… is it-_ '

FWOOM

The room was instantly filled with red mist.

' _Aaaa~h!_ ' Hikari curled into a ball, trying to defend herself from it.

...In moments, however, it was all gone.

…

Looking around, Hikari took in the blue sky around herself. She was sitting in the valley where the water used to be.

Wind softly blew down through the valley, the sun shining down on her tired form…

' _...Wow._ ' Hikari wanted to sleep.

…

"Hey, you."

' _Huwhah…?_ ' Hikari slowly panned her heard around the valley, seeing no one.

"Yeah, you." Hikari heard her own voice.

' _What…?_ '

Hikari's voice gave her a warning. "Giygas' goal is to destroy you."

' _Wow. Never would have guessed._ ' If Hikari had the energy, she would have fought her voice then and there.

"...Right, sorry. Seriously, everything in Gensokyo could be destroyed."

' _Tell me useful things._ ' Hikari would really rather be sleeping.

"He and his followers are also in trouble." Her voice stated.

' _Good._ ' Hikari didn't know what she meant.

"The Apple of Enlightenment has foretold, that his attempt will fail."

...Hikari furrowed her brows. ' _The what did what?_ ' Now she _really_ didn't know what her voice meant.

She heard her voice sigh. "Listen. Free your mind, and _know_ what you must do! Giygas' hold on you- it's gone!"

…

"Soon, this place will be no more." Her voice was neutral. "There is a ruin outside Fire Spring with an item for one of your friends! And, when you're done, go to-"

…

Her voice faded out as the realm she was in faded to black.

' _...Me? Me, are you there?_ '

…

 _A gentle breeze rolled through Giant Step, caressing the indent in the hill…_

The sanctuary's power was unsealed. Hikari felt strength flood into her ankles, and into her lungs…

 _It then rolled through the crevice leading to Subconscious Steps, before whirling around and escaping into the sky above..._

Hikari felt fortunate and powerful…

 _Fluttering through the valley, it weaved through bamboo trees before circling around the Milky Well. It circled back around, and flowed right back out through the trees..._

Strength flowed up her legs, and down from her head…

 _Smoothly floating over the crisp air of the Misty Lake, the wind swept past the walls of a western manor, before dipping into the trees just outside the walls to orbit Rainy Circle. It flowed out just as freely..._

Once more, she felt lucky as strength filled her rib cage...

 _Becoming entrapped within the walls around Magnet Hill, the wind anxiously rebounded off the walls before escaping, flowing back over the Human Village..._

She felt her confidence grow as her head flowed with a warm sensation once more…

 _Freely dancing in the clouds, air circulated around a soft, Pink Cloud. The air dispersed, washing over the land, and sweeping against Gensokyo's border..._

Her confidence welled even further as the strength in her legs flowed up to her thighs…

 _Through the crevices of the Earth, wind blew freely through the ragged tunnel systems, before meeting in the air of Old Hell. From there, the wind channeled itself through Lumine Hall, and then escaped, as if a sigh from Gensokyo itself..._

As her mind flourished, she felt blessed…

 _Wrapping around the volcanic base of Fire Spring, the air solemnly caressed the violent, heated mass. Air flowed through the numerous caves, over the cooling lava, and up the side of the volcano, before meeting at the top. Whirling around the centerpiece of the entire molten mound, the air energetically stirred before shooting off into the distance, traveling through even the rocks that entrapped it._

The strength that spread across her entire body connected, filling her with a complete sensation.

' _...I-I'm… really powerful…!_ '

Her mind cleared.

Hikari realized the power of PK Flash γ!

Hikari realized the power of PK Flash Ω!

Hikari realized the power of Lifeup Ω!

Hikari realized the power of Teleport ß!

Hikari realized the power of PK Fantasy Ω!

…

Hikari made these powers her own, and the communication between her and Gensokyo had broken.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Hikari's eyes opened.

She saw the walls of Giant Step. After she blinked, she saw the walls around Subconscious Steps.

Rapidly, her vision cycled between all of the sanctuaries she visited, until the cycling got dizzyingly fast.

She closed her eyes, and kept them shut for a few seconds…

…

Opening them, she saw the dim sky of the underground.

…

She sat up.

Looking around the volcano top, she spotted the party a few feet away, playing cards.

"...Freaking…" Osamu furrowed his brows at his hand. "When I get an ace, dude, I _swear_ I'll-" Looking up from his cards, he was the first to notice Hikari's movement. " _Dude!_ "

Marigold snorted. "What kind of sentence was that…?"

"Hikari's awake!" Osamu debated whether or not to put down his cards on the floor, but decided to set them face down anyway.

"What!?" Marigold beamed. "You're _alive!_ "

Hikari blinked. ' _...Why wouldn't I be?_ '

Quickly, the three dropped their game and moved around Hikari…

"Dude, what happened!?" Osamu chuckled, curious. "You were like, dead and gone for a whole _day!_ "

"You were saying things in your sleep, too." Marigold noted. "We couldn't really keep track of most of them, though…"

Hiyori smiled. "...Maybe we should give her some room. She _did_ just wake up, you know…"

Hikari felt warm and welcomed. ' _...Not because we're sitting atop a volcano, mind you._ '

...Hikari quickly leapt from her back and into a standing position.

"She looks okay." Her limberness is acknowledged by Hiyori.

"...I had a good sleep." Hikari beamed, taking a deep breath.

Osamu doubletook. "...Dude, that's like, the happiest face I've ever seen ya wear."

Marigold agreed. "...You're usually a lot more deadpan."

Hikari blinked. "I had a really good dream."

…

"So, what now?" Osamu raises his arms behind his head. "We got the eight sanctuary doohickies. Did we win?"

Hikari shook her head. "No. We're not done yet. We still have to beat up Giygas, and ruin his day."

"O~h, right. He was a thing." Marigold nodded. "...Where is he?"

...Hikari folded her arms. "Good question."

' _Where's Yukari? Either something happened to her, or she just feels like taking her time._ '

"Aimlessly wandering." Hiyori annotated.

Marigold snorted.

Hikari turned towards the path down the volcano. "There are some ruins on this volcano we need to check out."

Osamu blinked. "...And ya know this _how?_ "

"It was a big dream." Hikari declared. "...We don't have anything better to do, anyway."

...Finding no flaws with that reasoning, Osamu agreed. "Yeah, guess so."

"I don't really want to go back down the mountain." Marigold confessed. "This place wants to kill us."

Hikari felt like there was something incorrect with that statement. "...I don't think so."

Marigold blinked. "Really? After that climb?"

"It's different, now." Hikari stared down the volcano side. "...I can feel it."

...Marigold was skeptical. "Alri~ght. If you say so."

Moving quickly, Hikari moved to the volcano's edge.

' _I think I can see the ruins from here…!_ ' Hikari saw a glimmer of purple on the left edge. ' _...The drop doesn't look too steep. Maybe I can even leap down there!_ '

Smiling confidently, Hikari readied herself.

Hiyori blinked. "What are you doing?"

Hikari leapt down.

"Hikari!" Hiyori ran towards the edge.

Osamu's jaw dropped. " _Dude!_ "

Hikari wasn't terrified until she realized she was falling for a good three seconds.

' _...Uh-uhm, this may have been a mistake…_ '

She landed on her legs.

Kr-krik!

' _Woooaaa~h!_ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Hikari tried Lifeup ß!

Hiyori pushed again-

Click!

Hikari's left knee clicked back into place.

Marigold's voice was dry. "Hikari, that was stupid."

Hikari sighed. "Yes. I know."

Osamu looked back at the ruins they had found. "I mean, she _was_ right about the ruins."

"She didn't have to jump off a _cliff_ for them." Marigold countered. "Seriously."

...Standing up, Hikari tested out her fixed up legs. She quickly ran in place, and gave a thumbs up. "Feels good. Thanks, Hiyori."

Hiyori grinned. "You can thank me by _not_ jumping off cliffs again."

' _Yeah, I'm not gonna live this down for awhile._ '

Hiyori stepped into the midst of the ruins, which were mostly pillars and blocks. "What's here, anyway?"

"Blocks." Osamu observes, staring at a block. "They got cool runes on 'em, though."

"There's a big one over there." Marigold points at one embedded in the volcano side. "It has a door."

Hiyori perks up. "A~h. This is one of those structural ruins. There should be some interesting things inside, if no one's looted it yet."

Osamu grinned. "I thought ya were against stealin'?"

...Hiyori shrugged. "The last legal owners of this building must have been here over a thousand years ago. I think anything still here is fair game."

Taking the initiative, Hikari walked up to the door, attempting to open it.

The handle jiggled, but didn't cooperate.

"...It's locked." Hikari declared.

Hiyori blinked. "Really?"

Stepping out of the way, Hikari tried to peer in one of the open windows, only to find books obscuring the view.

' _What?_ ' Hikari was confused.

Hiyori stepped up to the door, and knocked on it. "Hello~?"

…

She tried again. "Hello~!?"

The door swung open. "What _is_ it!?"

Inside, a woman with long, navy blue hair and large bags under her eyes peered out of her volcanoside abode. "...An _oni?_ "

Hiyori nodded. "Yes, ma'am. I was just checking out these ruins, and curious… as to why you lived here."

...The woman's expression was dry. "While it is admirable someone as stupid as an oni would get this far, I must turn you away. Bye."

The door closed in Hiyori's face.

…

"Wow." Marigold nodded.

Hiyori huffed. "You guys try."

"Please. I'm a lady killer, dude." Osamu adjusted his robe, stepping up to the door…

Marigold grinned, stepping back to allow him space.

' _This will end well._ '

Osamu knocked.

…

Osamu knocked again. "Hey, baby! It's me!"

The door swung open again. "... _Who_ are _you?_ "

Smiling widely, Osamu spread his arms. "Name's Osamu, baby!"

…

"Lowly human." The door closed in his face.

…

Osamu began throwing his limbs at the door. "Open up! Open the _fuck_ up!"

Unfortunately, the door did not comply.

"Grrh…" Unsatisfied, Osamu stepped away from the door.

"Lemme." Marigold stepped up to the door. "I should be able to talk 'prickly mage'."

Osamu expressed his anger. "More like _asshole_ mage."

Marigold grinned, not disagreeing with his statement.

She knocked. "Hello~...?"

…

She knocked again. "He~y!"

…

Sighing, Marigold reached into her bag. "I should still have that key machine in here somewhere…"

After a few moments of rummaging, she salvaged it from her immense backpack. "Aha~!"

Bending her legs, she positioned it to be inserted into the old, purple lock of the ancient ruin door.

Cli-cli-click!

"Bingo." Marigold smiled at her old invention, before stuffing it back in the super sack that was her backpack.

With that, she turned the handle and opened the door.

Inside the dark, candlelit room, the mage turned to her. "Ah…!? How did you-..."

Trailing off, she realized what species Marigold was. "I _desperately_ need a new door. One that cannot be knocked."

"Hi." Marigold waved casually. "Can I ask you some questions?"

"I'm going to kill you and turn you into a mana potion." The other mage stated simply.

...Marigold smiled as she reached for her bag. "Can you not?"

"The only reason you'd have come here is for my knowledge of the Moon's power. I plan to keep my research mine, even in death. No petty garden mage like _you_ deserves a _glance_ of it." The woman scowled at Marigold. "Only _I_ will live to tell the tale of today… not that I tell tales."

Marigold's expression faltered. "Can you not read my mana pool?"

The woman sneered. "...Heh. It won't matter… once I _silence you!_ "

Casting her arm forward, Marigold suddenly saw three prisms form around her being.

" _Silencega!_ "

Ka-Kli-Kling!

...Marigold pulled out her Spectrum Shotgun. "Please don't-"... She realized she could say words. "...What kind of silencing spell is this?"

The mage paused, surprised by her ease. "...We-well, it's nothing special, really… I-I found some tomes that have arbitrary prism lock functions. While they're usually good for nothing but time and space magic, they're actually really, really good for moon magic. And sun, but… yeah. Sun magic is horrible."

Marigold furrowed her brows at the last statement, but ignored it. "Isn't prism locking really old, though?"

The mage jerked her head back. "Old? It is one of the most recent forms of locking albeit not terribly advanced. It was also the last prism function to be released in the past twelve hundred years."

...Marigold nodded slowly. "Ri~ght."

…

She began stepping away. "Cool, bye!"

"Bye…" The mage waved. "...He-hey! Get back here!"

The mage floated outside, where she found out that the two previous guests and a shrine maiden were also waiting outside, in various states of undress.

...She sighed. "Oh. It is a looting party, is it?"

...Hikari smiled from the window she was trying to peek into. "Well, we're not _supposed_ to be, but…"

"If it's a fight to the death you want, then so it shall be." The mage spread her arms outward. " _Silencega!_ "

Ka-Kli-Kling!

Prisims formed around Hikari, Hiyori, and Osamu, too.

Marigold walked up to the mage, holding out her NF Burst Gun instead, for nonlethality's sake. "Hey."

The mage smirked down at her. "What is that? Are you offering to trade for mercy?"

Marigold nodded. "Yes." Then she began shooting.

PoPoPoPoPop!

"He-ha-wha-aah!" Quickly, the mage began shielding her face. "Sto-stop! What is this!?"

"Bullets." Marigold explained. "It's called _modern magic._ "

"Yo-you ignorant _fool…!_ " The mage girl retreated into her house, and slammed the door.

…

"That went well." Marigold reflected.

"We're still sealed." Hikari noted.

"...Nevermind." Marigold moved towards the door again. "We can't really go anywhere while sealed, can we?"

Hiyori wanted to find an excuse not to commit home invasion, but realized that being silenced was a pretty devastating status ailment. "Probably not."

Hikari stepped towards the door. "Let me have a try."

Marigold smirked. "Sure."

...Hikari reeled her gohei back.

"Again with the door violence." Marigold sighed in a smug way.

Hikari smacked the door.

 _Bam!_

...It fell inward, broken from its hinges.

"Wh-what!?" Marigold's jaw dropped.

' _Woah._ ' Hikari didn't expect her attack to do _that_ much damage.

Inside, the mage was waiting with a dagger. "I-I _got_ you!"

Sluggishly, she tried to jab with it, not even coming close enough to hit Hikari.

Hikari backpedalled. "Uhm…?"

"You're mine!" She pointed at the floor.

...Hikari looked down, and saw a black puddle slowly forming under her.

' _Nope nope nope._ ' Hikari had enough of black ooze for one lifetime. She quickly leapt off of it with great speed.

"Huwoaa~h…" The ooze turned out to be some sort of portal, small dark spirits raising out of it and into the air.

"Blast it." The mage was disappointed by her miss. "I won't miss, next time…"

"Unseal us." Hikari demanded.

Osamu stepped forward. "I _need_ my magic, man!"

"Just go away!" The mage demanded. "Leave! The spell will wear off if you get far enough away- just go!"

...Hiyori stared at Marigold expectantly.

Marigold was reluctant. "...I can't really remember if prism locking is proximity or not." She was not, however, guilty of anything.

…

Hikari walked inside the house proper, and stood there while the mage stared.

…

Uncomfortably, the mage slowly lifted the book she was looking at prior to this fiasco, and began thumbing through it.

…

"We're not gonna leave." Hikari asserted.

"Fi-fine, I get it, I'll just- _aha~!_ "

Thwack!

Hikari whacked her with her gohei, the sudden movement she made towards her scaring her.

"Guah!?" The mage dropped her dagger, clutching her jaw. "Y-you…"

Hikari sighed.

"...Fine. I'll undo it." She lifted her hand, and snapped her fingers.

The prisms vanished, hanging in the air for a moment before fading out.

"You happy? I'm happy. We're all happy." With that, the mage looked back in her tome. "Now go."

...Slowly nodding, Hikari looked around the room. Her eyes eventually rested on a lens that sat propped up by two black, metal wires. "What… is that?"

"Moon lens. I use it to study the moon, even down here. It is the only way, ever since the sky became rock millions of years ago." She disinterestedly monotoned. "What rock did you live under?"

...Hikari grinned. "What if we told you there was a way to see the real moon?"

"Then I'd threaten to stab you for thinking me so stupid. Not that I could." She glared up at Hikari. "Useless humans, with your big mana pools…"

...At that, Hikari turned to her party. She pointed her thumb at the mage, and the a finger at the ceiling.

Osamu nodded enthusiastically. Marigold shrugged, and Hiyori also shrugged.

"...Grab my shoulders." Hikari declared.

"Are you stupid?" The mage deadpanned.

"Yes. Grab my shoulders." Hikari was determined to show her the moon.

...Narrowing her eyes, the mage went and grabbed her moon lens. "I don't doubt there's more than you four. You're not getting this priceless artifact."

Marigold slowly gaped from the absurdity of the other mage.

"Alright. Grab my shoulders…" Hikari couldn't find her name. "What's your name?"

"Murakami." She reluctantly grabs Hikari's shoulders. "Tell me yours."

"Hikari Hakurei." She smiled, not that the moon magician could see it. "...Everyone, form a line behind me!"

Osamu rose a brow, but gladly moved to comply, only to be pushed out of the way by Marigold. "No. You're _not_ looking at her butt."

"Ga- what, as opposed to yours!?" Osamu got indignant.

Hiyori moved to volunteer. "...I could be inbetween, if you want. By the way… Hikari, since when could you teleport like this?"

"It was a really big dream." Hikari restated, to the mystification of her party members.

Once everyone was in place, Hikari began the countdown. "We're going in three… two...!"

Everyone readied, unsure as to how Hikari's going to teleport them.

Hikari tried Teleport ß!

"To the _shrine!_ " Hikari announced their destination, as the party slowly begun spinning around in the midst of the ruins, quickly speeding up as Hikari purposefully ran in a precise circle. Hiyori ran with her in the back to keep the other party members from getting thrown into oblivion.

' _I-I can't believe I'm running so fast!_ ' Hikari was _stoked_.

And then-

KraKoo~m!

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

END OF CHAPTER 27

Protagonist: Hikari Hakurei, Disciple of Paradise

-Inventory-

Weapon: Miracle Gohei - Ability to whack stuff really hard. Amplifies whacking power, too! Able to deal magical damage. Adds an increased chance to deal critical hits. Recreated by the dream realm.

Arms: Iconic Hakurei Arm Sleeves - Keeps arms warm. A Hakurei tradition. How they stay on is a Hakurei family secret.

Body: Devastated Miko Outfit - Her combat miko outfit, except mostly annihilated. It's going to need some serious repairs.

Misc: Royal Red Ribbon - A ribbon made with rich materials, with a floral pattern.

-Skills-

Attack: Quickly! Swing your gohei at them for massive damage!

PK Fantasy α, β, γ, Ω - Bombards the enemy with pain in the form of flashing colors. Deals magical damage. Heavy mental strain that increases with each tier. Third tier forms a barrier, which breaks upon moderate damage. Final tier is a non-elemental nuke of immense magical power.

PK Flash α, ß, γ, Ω - A bright flash that distributes very random status effects to enemies. Usually makes people cry. Higher tiers increase chances, and introduce possibilities of fainting or dispel. Higher tiers can instantly destroy more varieties of foes, and make people feel weird.

Hypnosis α, Ω - Puts weak enemies to sleep for a short time. Works better on tired or exhausted foes. Can also be used in a far more costly form that works on multiple opponents.

Shield α, ß - Halves damage the target takes. Only works against physical attacks, and enough strikes, or powerful strikes, will dispel it. Higher tier turns it into a power-shield that protects even better and even reflects a fraction of protected damage.

Lifeup α, ß, γ, Ω - Heals target a little. Higher tiers heal more grievous wounds, like bone fractures. Highest tier heals everybody in the party.

Healing α, ß, γ - Heals basic status ailments. Higher tiers can cure more dire effects, like burning alive.

Teleport α, ß - Allows instant transport to the general location of an area remembered by oneself or one's party members. Requires a long, fast run-up to execute, however. Higher tier allows a circular motion to control the run-up instead, giving Hikari more control over the teleport.

Ofuda Toss - Throw a holy ofuda that does massive holy elemental damage to youkai and dark elemental foes. Effect lessens the more holy the thing you're attacking is, to the point of healing holy things. Only works if you actually have ofuda, though.

Cautionary Barrier - Summon a barrier that deflects attacks and magical attacks of all elements. Can be broken by stronger attacks, and is holy elemental.

Lightshine Ofuda - Two ofuda which explode into orbs of light. Area denying holy attack.

Summon Koishi - Using the Heart Gem's power, Hikari summons Koishi Komeiji. Casts three random HK spells on enemies, before using a higher tier one that depends on her current mood. Typically can manage two uses before she's out of mana. Costs sizable mana.

γ-γ-γ-γ

Mage: Osamu Katsumi, the Wannabe Mage

-Inventory-

Weapon: Fisticuffs!

Arms: Nothing

Body: Rugged Robe - A sturdy robe enchanted to resist damage. Made partially with sturdy cloth from deep underground.

Misc: Red Mage Hat - A red colored mage's hat made from cloth in the Human Village. Minor resistance to thunder, ice, and fire magic from its well worn usage in the past. Didn't see much action… until Osamu bought it!

-Skills-

PK Thunder α, ß - Very random thunder attack that deals limited damage. Higher tiers increase number of bolts, and sometimes power.

PK Hydro α, β, γ - Gets everyone wet. Usefulness with PK Thunder and PK Freeze depends on whether you hit yourself or not! Creates whirling water spirals at higher tiers.

PK Freeze α, β, γ, Ω - Generates ice crystals at the target's location. Medium damage and effect; may freeze some targets, especially wet ones. Highest tier has a near-guaranteed freeze chance and immense ice damage, at the cost of being very taxing.

Fireball - Manipulate mana to make a shoddy fireball. Low damage and effect.

Static Hands - Not a real spell. Result of a very undercharged PK Thunder that can accidentally go off.

PSI Telepathy α - Speak to friends you haven't met yet! Unstable connection and only works if they have the skill or are asleep.

PSI Shield α, Σ - Halves damage from magical and psychic attacks. Thunder spells fry it instantly, and harder blows dispel it. Second tier applies basic shield to entire party at higher mana expense.

PSI Magnet α - Costs no mana to use, and steals a very tiny amount of mana from the enemy. Enemy has to have mana in the first place for it to work, though.

Offense Up α - Get pissed! Boosts strength and confidence depending on caster's power and receiver's power.

Defense Down α - Throw the enemy off their game. Makes them slightly more vulnerable to physical attacks.

γ-γ-γ-γ

Inventor: Marigold Knowledge, the Tri-Magi Love Child

-Inventory-

Weapon: Spectrum Shotgun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Filled with foil chip bags to conduct the mana, and it is transmitted into a wind stone. Upgraded to draw mana from a simple wooden block filled with immense magic reserves, giving it virtually unlimited ammo. The addition of a battery and a prism allow it to fire seven rainbow colored beams at a wide spread, which deal non-elemental damage. Firing long enough allows them to focus and deal incredible damage, at the cost of insane recoil and instability.

Arms: Nothing

Body: Really Custom Adventure Dress - A custom dress made by Alice, burnt into fragments by an inferno. Provides slight defense against magical and psychic attacks. Now allows very free movement, but is worse for the cold.

Misc: Swirly Glasses - Lets Marigold not be blind.

Backpack - Allows extended inventory. Aged relic from the Kourindou.

Unnamed Lock Opening Device - Opens locks very precariously. Made with steel, burnt cloth, packaging peanuts, thumbtacks, string, and wooden wheels. Don't even ask…

Ruler - Lets you measure the world around you!

Protractor - Lets you find the angles of anything ever. Totally overpowered.

Scotch Tape - Transparent adhesive from the outside world. Weak, but handy!

Deck of Cards - Allows Marigold to play Strip Poker with the party. Just kidding… or am I?

Shield Killer - Electrical device used to subdue harassers. Has settings ranging from Tickle Torture to Arse Blaster. Fires electrical projectiles, of unknown power.

NF Burst Gun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Uses a Pop Gun as the base, but amplifies its power with an array of random batteries jammed into the base with the Pop Gun. The more batteries, the better, but the typical yield is about five bullets per trigger. Spamming the trigger doesn't make it go any faster, unfortunately. Has no foreseeable ammo limit, and the batteries are only there for mana circulation, meaning their power is really inconsequential.

Holmes Brand Designer Hat - Village swag! A retro village hat that ceased production ten years ago. Sells for a pretty penny nowadays, but it's pretty useless otherwise.

Slime Generator - A bulky box that shoots a small splat of slime. Doesn't seem good for much.

Counter-PSI Device - A weird device Marigold found from a flying saucer. Works in strange ways, and seems to disrupt everyone's concentration. Marigold is immune to its effects.

Charm of Sleep - Grants immunity to sleep while equipped, or held. Can be equipped to Arms or Misc.

Microwave Gun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Constructed with a controlled flame crystal and metal parts, it fires a beam of sustained microwave energy that cooks biological foes alive. Fire-elemental at its core, it's also very inefficient against machines.

Defense Shower - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Made of a broom, a showerhead, some magnets, and uses jars of water as ammo. Slapped together with ofuda, giving it a holy defensive effect. The jars are usually filled with Talcum Powder, for alchemical purposes. The liquid that is dispensed becomes auto-applying lotion.

Heavy Bazooka - An invention developed in part by Kappa Tech and Marigold Knowledge. It shoots heavy fire-based blasts of fire magic, and deals high knockback. It was constructed by stuffing some fire and gravity stones into a tube, adding a cap on one side to direct the fire, and hooking a magical wire to the handle. Nitori did most of the work, though...

-Skills-

Champion of Underwater Basket Weaving - And they said it'd _never_ be useful...

Had A Snorkel That Was Just Like A Snorkel To Her - She lost it, though.

Can Plot X and Y Intercepts - Valuable skill for her current situation.

Protector of the Wikileaks Satellite Link - The leaks, Dahnald! She's gotta protect the leaks!

Appreciates Sugar Cookies - They're good!

γ-γ-γ-γ

Fighter: Hiyori Hashimoto, the Buddhist Oni

-Inventory-

Weapon: Mace of Devas - The last of the four treasures held by the Devas of the Mountain. Ability to whack stuff really hard. Increases critical hit rate by lieu of being a really big, blunt, spiky weapon. Allows partial blocking of magic attacks.

Arms: Shackle of Devas - The first of the four treasures held by the Devas of the Mountain. Grants immunity to sleep-inducing magic. Grants fifty percent resistance to wind and thunder magic.

Body: Kimono of Devas - The second of the four treasures held by the Devas of the Mountain. Grants immunity to paralyzing magic. Grants fifty percent resistance to fire magic. Insanely durable. Has a floral design to it…!

Misc: Bows of Devas - The third of the four treasures held by the Devas of the Mountain. Grants immunity to confusion-inducing magic. Grants fifty percent resistance to ice magic.

-Skills-

PK Starstorm α - Summons forth the stars from the night's sky to rain down upon enemies. Hits all enemies, and deals high magical damage, at the cost of being highly mentally taxing. Can hit allies if they're in the effective area, as the white stars don't have homing properties. Power proportional to amount of enemies, as well.

PK Fire α, ß - Creates an igniting blast of flames at the target's location. More impact comes with higher tiers.

PK Freeze α, β, γ - Generates ice crystals at the target's location. Medium damage and effect; may freeze some targets, especially wet ones.

Shield α, ß, Σ - Halves damage the target takes. Only works against physical attacks, and enough strikes, or powerful strikes, will dispel it. Higher tier turns it into a power-shield that protects even better and even reflects a fraction of protected damage. Highest tier applies a basic shield to the entire party.

Lifeup α, ß - Heals target a little. Higher tiers heal more grievous wounds, like bone fractures.

Healing α, ß - Heals basic status ailments. Higher tiers can cure more dire effects, like burning alive.

Teleport α, ß - Allows instant transport to the general location of an area remembered by oneself or one's party members. Requires a long, fast run-up to execute, however. Higher tier is largely automatic and requires little room to execute.

Martial Arts - Skilled in hand-to-hand combat.

γ-γ-γ-γ

Author's Note:

man i pumped out 7 k words of this chapter in one night but then it took me like two-three more days just to get to write this author's note and marigold's skill puns; college is whack yo

i feel like a LOT GOT DONE THIS CHAPTER

this was a fun chapter to write, too; lots of exciting action bits and vivid description opportunities

that being said, there's not a terrible amount i can say about it; hikari got freakin' buffed though, yo

she also got some hakurei abilities back because those are fun

not sure how i feel about how i did yukari's characterization, but she didn't get much of a chance to be like anything other than "whelp time to kick things into gear" most of the time

as always, see you all next time!


	28. The Cliff That Hakurei Forgot

KraKoo~m!

It was evening outside the Hakurei Shrine.

Hikari skidded to a halt. She could feel her friends scrunch up behind her- "Woah..."

Unfortunately, Hikari was not as rigid in her stopping posture as Hiyori could be, so she was pushed along for a good distance, before the conga line fell apart, the various members collapsing onto the path's side. Except Hiyori and Osamu, the latter of whom was pressed against Hiyori's back.

"Mmph." Osamu protested from Hiyori's backside.

"Go-gods…" The dark mage, who tagged along, grumbled… "What kind of inept teleportation…"

' _Hey…_ ' Dusting herself off, Hikari got up.

Marigold actually vocalized her defense, though. "Hey, I'd like to see _you_ teleport, miss doom and gloom."

The mage scoffed. "...Pftah."

Looking up, the mage saw the moon.

…

Osamu sneezed. "You smell like _rocks_ , dude…"

Hiyori idly glanced at him, before turning away again to watch the dark mage's reaction.

…

"Th-that…" Her cynical eyes were wide. "...Th-the _moon_ …!?"

Hikari nodded. "Yeah. We're on the surface."

She turned to Hikari, for only a moment. "Th-that _existed!?_ "

Then, the mage whipped her head around, taking in the unfamiliar scenery. "Trees…" She kneeled, and dug her hands into the grass on the side of the path. "Gr-grass…"

' _Someone's never been upside, before._ ' Hikari watched quietly. ' _...She just said her name was Murakami, right? I can't believe that almost just slipped my mind…_ '

Osamu grinned. "Yeah, dude. They're plants."

"Th-they're _extinct!_ " Murakami grinned widely. "Do you know how useful this used to be!?"

Marigold sighed. "...Yeah. _Used_ to be. Wait- when was _grass_ ever useful?"

"...I mean the flowers associated with vegetation, amatuer." She scowled at Marigold.

Unable to leave this sitting down, Marigold jabbed back. "Even after this huge revelation, you're _still_ somehow able to be prickly."

Standing up, Murakami pointed at Marigold. "And you're a child. How old are you, twenty? Thirty?"

...Marigold blinked. "Seventeen, thank you very-"

" _Seventeen!?_ " Murakami gawked. "You were just born _yesterday!_ "

"We-well, how old are you?" Marigold fluffs up, slightly offended.

"A proud three hundred." She smirked. "Well over your senior. I had even learned all of the underground's available magic within my fiftieth year. Aren't I simply amazing?"

...Relaxing, Marigold sighs. "...Sure. For someone from down under, anyway."

Murakami fluffs up, in turn.

' _This is never going to end._ ' Hikari realized.

"Hey…" Hiyori spoke up.

The mage tried to talk over her. "What's that supposed to-"

" _Hey._ " Hiyori asserted herself into the conversation.

...The two magi turned to her, brows raised.

"...If you take this path that way," She points in the way of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, "you'll come across a lake. If you cross it- or go around it- you'll be at a mansion. Say you're there to visit the library. You'll meet someone you like there."

…

Murakami smiled. "You think me simple? I am off to study the moon, and refine my masterful magical prowess. And none of _you_ may come along."

' _Gee…_ ' Hikari was offset by her ungratefulness. ' _Actually…_ ' "Can we have that lens?" Hikari pointed to the moon lens she held.

...Shrugging, the mage stepped up to Hikari, and handed it to her. "Fine. That is your payment for bringing me here. I will hear no further complaints when I, one day, conquer this manor you spoke of. It is no doubt your headquarters, is it not? Expect me."

With that, she floats off into the woods.

' _Good luck._ ' Hikari thought back to Remilia and Flandre. ' _...You'll need it._ '

...

"What a bitch." Osamu neutrally jabbed at the absent magi. "With a capital B, dude."

"What she does is her business." Hiyori resolved. "...Unless she hurts people. _Then_ it'd be our business."

' _Not like we'd ever really know unless she was really public about it._ ' ...Hikari thought on that. ' _She probably would be._ '

Looking up at the shrine, Hikari considered popping in for a snooze…

' _I'm not really tired right now. But if I don't sleep, I'll be tired during the day…'_ Hikari was faced with a tough decision.

It was answered for her, a gap opening in the air before Hikari and her party.

' _Oh, boy…_ '

...Osamu furrowed his brows at it, as it expanded to block the stairway up. "...So, 're we just gettin' attacked by _holes with eyes_ in them now?"

' _Apparently._ ' Hikari anticipated Yukari's appearance…

Marigold lifted her NF Burst Gun. "We're gonna find out, I guess…"

Hikari turned to her, but didn't move to stop her.

PoPoPoPoPop!

The danmaku bolts flew into the purple-eyed abyss.

…

"Hu-huah!?" Marigold flinched violently, the very same rainbow colored bullets slamming into her backside.

Turning, the party saw a gap slowly close behind her.

"Now, is that any way to treat one of your friends…?"

Yukari's playful voice came from all directions around the party, to the mystification of Hiyori and Osamu. Marigold was busy being disgruntled over the bullets, rubbing where they struck. "One of our 'friends', huh…?"

From the path-obstructing gap before them, the figure of Yukari floated up to sit on the rim.

Osamu's jaw dropped. "Ho~ly… _dude!_ "

...Hikari and Marigold turned to him expectantly.

Noticing their stares, he hastily looked back and forth between Yukari and the party, before hovering his hands over his chest area and thrusting them outward.

...Marigold slowly rose her gun, pointing it at him.

"I'm glad we're on the same page, here." Yukari gave the two a dry stare.

Hiyori decided to press for information. "Who are you?"

Smiling, Yukari leaned back. "Let us just say that I'm an old friend of Hikari's… Isn't that right?" She slowly pans her gaze to Hikari.

Hikari sighed. "Begrudgingly."

At that, Yukari smirks. "Oh, come, now. I know I may've been a little _testy_ before, but you'll forgive me…" Reaching her hand forward, a gap opened to envelop it. The outbound gap opened before Hikari, the hand attempting to stroke her chin. "Ri~ght, Hikari…?"

...Hikari stepped back, and rose her gohei.

Thwack!

Yukari pouted. "...Fi~ne." The hand was retracted, and the gaps sealed.

...Hiyori tried again. "Who, _exactly_ , are you?"

Yukari doesn't reply, instead taking the moment to fix her posture.

"A creep." Hikari fills in the blank, instead.

Osamu grinned at her. "Good lookin'!"

Marigold facepalms.

"Fufufu~!" Unfurling a fan, Yukari obscures her face. "I'm flattered!"

"...You're being rather sociable for someone who was making fun of how supposedly weak my party was earlier." Hikari noticed an inconsistency.

"Oh, I'm just trying to be _polite_. This battle is in our favor, now." Yukari looks to the side, glancing at the darkness of the night. "Even if I'm… less than convinced by your overall power."

At that, Osamu began objecting as normal. "...Hey, what's that supposed ta mean?"

"It means you four are weak." Yukari raises her hands in a faux-defensive manner. "It is a simple fact."

Hiyori slowly hefted up her mace.

…

"I mean in a _combat_ sense, oni." Yukari grinned, focusing on her. "What good is your brute strength if you cannot _hit_ anything?"

Hiyori moved to prove her wrong. As she neared, and swung down, a gap opened to envelop her attack. Slowly, it expanded to envelop her. "Ah- hey!"

She fell down into it.

…

Bam!

Seconds later, she fell from the sky, landing halfway into the floor on her legs.

' _Good._ ' Hikari mentally noted how cheap Yukari's power could be.

"Let this not be a time for battle." Yukari held her arms out. "Let this be a time for cooperation… because we both have a common foe, here."

At that, Hiyori perks up.

"I'm sure you all want a piece of this Giygas fellow…" At that, Yukari smirked. "As do I."

The party's overall attitude went from vaguely distrustful to vaguely interested and distrustful.

"What's the catch, here?" Marigold spoke up, face skeptical. "I've heard about-"

"Yes, yes, I'm sure you've been told all _sorts_ of tales about me." Yukari rolled her eyes. "I _am_ an individual people simply _love_ to talk about. Who can blame them?"

...Marigold gave her a dry stare.

Hikari had had enough of Yukari's sass. "Can we get to the point, already?"

At that, Yukari nods. "Alri~ght… Now, as I'm sure you all know, Giygas has been spreading his influence across all of Gensokyo."

The party nods in general agreement. Osamu blinks. "...So _that's_ what's been happening."

While this does not instill confidence in Yukari, she continues. "...After Hikari had sealed his ability to spread his influence, Giygas' position was easily ascertainable in relation to Gensokyo's barrier. As it turns out, he is trapped in here with us."

Hikari puts the pieces together… "So, we just go beat him up, right?"

"Precisely." Yukari smirks again. "...Though, you four do not seem… qualified."

"Dude!" Osamu objected, more objectionably this time. "Smashin' stuff's what we do _best!_ Who the hell else're you gonna get to beat up this red gas... fog thing?"

"The elder Hakurei. The witch. Any number of more well-equipped people." Yukari monotoned names. "...Unfortunately, Hikari is a key component of this party, as she is now immune to Giygas' influence, and by extension, she grants immunity to those around her."

Hikari folded her arms. "...So I am, huh?"

"Mmm." Yukari confirmed. "...Can I not convince you to take more able people?"

"You went off on a tangent about how I always look to others for help." Hikari countered. "...And now you're telling me to look to others for help."

Yukari huffed, folding her own arms. "Oh, pedantics. Besides, this is more important than _whatever_ little personal squabble you have with me, Hakurei."

…

"So, where is he?" Marigold broke the staring contest the two had started. "Not to interrupt you two, but uhm…"

"...There is no helping it, I suppose." Yukari sighed. "...I'll have to ring up a friend of mine to properly show you to the place. Let me see if…" Furrowing her brows, Yukari opened a gap before the party. "Enter here. In the meantime, I'll see what I can do about getting that friend of mine."

...The party stares at the gap, unmoving.

Yukari gazed back blankly. Gaps opened beneath the four of them.

"Hey- _fuck!_ " Osamu flailed at the air. "Du~de!"

"A-ah…!?" Marigold fell like a rock.

Hiyori tried to flail her way out of it, which went about as well as expected.

Hikari let herself fall.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

They didn't fall far, landing on their feet quickly on the stone floor.

Hikari took a look around in the darkness…

' _This is… the underground?_ '

They were at a very far end along the wall of the underground. From here, Hikari could see the dim sky of the large cavern, the corner they sat in very dark in comparison to the glow that constantly illuminated the rest of the underground's plains.

Turning to the wall, the party had a large cave opening before them. From it, a blaring sound was audible.

' _Uhm…?_ '

Osamu snorted. "That a trumpet?"

"...Maybe." Hiyori guessed. "It's an unfamiliar sound…"

Moving forward, the party slowly entered the cave. Inside, it wasn't dark, interestingly, but the lighting seemed to have an unnaturally constant value to it.

Green grass curiously sat on the edge of the ledge the party stood upon. The path quickly trailed off before them, ending.

' _...What is this place?_ '

A dim flash of yellow light illuminated large ledges in the distances of the cave's walls. Brown walls that resembled more dirt than stone rigidly formed a pattern of perfectly vertical walls, with odd slips into them here and there.

Before them was an immense, seemingly bottomless abyss. In the midst of it were tiny platforms, with flat toned, green grass sitting atop them, in an almost uniform manner.

Hikari looked up, seeing orbs of darkness hang from the ceiling, whirling violently with hostile red and purple glows, but not making any noise.

A yellow orb of light, to the left and forward a bit, continually fell from the obscurity of the infinite ceiling, and downward into the infinite floor, before reappearing after a good minute or so.

"...What the _fuck_." Osamu gaped at the cave.

"...Where are we?" Marigold questioned, turning to Hikari.

"I have no idea." Hikari backed away from the ledge.

' _I don't trust this weird grass…_ '

Suddenly, the blaring sound of the cave erupted next to them.

"A-ah…!?" Marigold tensed up. "...Ge-geez…"

…

"I don't think there's anything we can do, here." Hiyori looked around. "This place is kinda…"

' _Yeah…_ '

Before the four, a gap opened, Yukari popping out again. "Hello, hello! I got my friend on the line!"

A different gap opened. From it floated a barefooted woman, who was wearing a basic grey t-shirt with English type on it, a plaid skirt, and a large hat.

' _What…?_ ' Hikari furrowed her brows at the giant red orb on her hat. Two other blue and yellow orbs were held in her hands, attached to her hat by chains.

' _I can't imagine that being good for her neck…_ '

"He~y, he~y!" The woman smiled widely, kicking her legs in the air as she drifted from the gap. "How's it _goin'!?_ "

Osamu's jaw dropped.

...The red-haired girl eventually glanced at him, and then realized what caused his reaction. Lowering her legs, and her skirt, she pivoted in the air towards Yukari, glaring. "...You didn't tell me there was gonna be a _dude!_ "

"I didn't tell you there was _not_ going to be a 'dude'." Yukari grinned back.

"U~gh…" The woman groaned. "You're annoying, Yukari."

From there, Yukari introduced her. "Hikari and others, meet-"

"He-hey! _Hey!_ "

A different, green-haired girl darted from the slowly closing gap, just before it closed. Twirling through the air, she glared down at Yukari. "When I say 'wait', that means I want you to _wait!_ "

"Oh. How careless of me." Yukari monotoned.

"Are you not forgetting that I'm _overseeing_ this transgression?"

The irate girl had formal blue attire on, and a poofy blue hat. Shiny yellow metal pads on her hat and shoulders made her look important.

' _Are those some kind of metal, or gold?_ ' Hikari was unsure. ' _...I think they're just metal._ '

...Looking over at Hikari's party, Eiki scanned their figures, before resting on Hikari's.

"...For _what_ reason are you proposing we send a Hakurei to Hell, again?" The blue-clad girl turned to Yukari.

' _Wait, what?_ '

Yukari sighed. "We'll get there."

"...Eiki Shiki, Yamaxanadu." Floating down towards Hikari, Eiki held out her hand. "Pleasure to meet you, Hakurei disciple."

Hikari was taken aback, for a moment. ' _...I think this is the first time anyone actually respected my title. Aside from maybe Hiyori..._ '

She shook Eiki's hand.

Osamu had a question, though. "Eiki Shiki- what? Like, yabbadabbadoo? That part 'a your name?"

...Eiki sighed, giving him a dry stare.

Before she could speak, Yukari pushed things along. "Hikari and friends, meet my friend Hecatia!"

Hecatia waves. "Hi~! I'm gonna be sending you to Hell!"

…

"I have doubts." Hiyori slowly reached for her mace…

"Me, too." Eiki expressed disdain. "I see no reason that these four should be exposed to Hell. None."

"It is an important personal matter." Yukari folds her arms. "You see, it is only partly my idea. They _wish_ to trek there."

...Blinking, Eiki turns to the party. Behind her, Yukari mouths 'say yes'.

' _Oh, boy._ '

Osamu speaks. "Ye-yeah!"

Hiyori speaks at the same time. "Not at all."

Marigold also speaks at the same time. "We-well- uhm…"

…

' _That went about as well as I expected._ '

Yukari facepalmed. "You…"

Eiki slowly turned to her. "...I believe you have some explaining to do."

From there, Yukari proceeds to explain. "You see, recently, Gensokyo has been invaded by a foreign power that goes by the name 'Giygas'. It had instilled itself into our-"

"Giygas…?" Eiki spoke up. "...I know that name."

Yukari sighed in relief, thankful that she didn't have to explain everything to Eiki. "Good, good…"

"He is vastly wanted across the administration, as he has cheated death, and has been cheating death… for quite some time, now." She pauses. "I cannot recall how long. I don't particularly know how, either, but all the shinigami the administration's sent after him either have been unable to find him, or have died."

...Yukari furrowed her brows. "Shinigami can die?"

"Well- yeah…" Eiki trailed off. "It's… a curious process."

At that, Yukari continues. "...This is basically Gensokyo's attempt at ridding the world of Giygas."

Eiki nodded. "I… see…" Slowly, she turned to Osamu. "With… fairly average people."

"We know what we're doing." Hikari declared.

' _Vaguely._ '

"...If you say so." Eiki didn't look pleased. "...Are you _certain_ you know what you're getting yourself into?"

Hikari further justifies their involvement. "That's why we're the ones for the job. No one else has had the experience we've had."

"We've fought possessed people." Marigold contributed. "They weren't so bad."

"We kicked some serious _ass!_ " Osamu flexed, his nonexistent muscles obscured by his robes. "Dude, we made a giant bear _explode!_ "

...Eiki furrows her brows.

"We've been witness to Giygas' antagonism." Hiyori spoke quickly, grinning as she spoke over Osamu's detail. "...We believe him to be quite malevolent."

' _...I don't think we actually know anything about Giygas, other than that he likes red mist._ ' Hikari reflected.

"...I don't know." Eiki was still on the fence.

Hecatia spoke up. "C'mo~n, Eiki~! I mean, look: this place is, like, the same on every plane."

Eiki furrows her brows. "What?"

"Seriously!" Giggling, Hecatia spread her arms out. "This cave's like, kinda sorta the same on all the worlds. Not the geographical bits, just the bit where Giygas should be, I think."

...Eiki nods. "That means?"

"It means they won't even really be _in_ Hell." Hecatia stated. "They'll just be in that cave place."

...After a moment, Eiki's eyes subtly widened. "Oo~h. I follow, yes. In that case, there should be no problem, as long as they return in adequate time."

"Splendid!" Yukari re-engaged herself. "Hecatia, can you teleport them, or do I need to gap you back so you can mark it down?"

"I'm'onna hafta mark it, Yukari." Hecatia floated towards the gap youkai. "Hell's big. Also, this body's not supposed to _be_ on Earth, so~..."

"Mmm." A gap opened. "Make haste, Hecatia. We count on you."

"Yeah, yeah." Hecatia hovered into the gap Yukari opened, and it closed behind her.

…

Standing on the grassy platform, Eiki turned to the party. "So… you brought up the possession problem, right?"

Hiyori nodded. "Mmm."

"It's good that you four have been working to prevent that. The past week, or so… let's just say things have been a little _busier_ than usual. It doesn't help that the souls come with remnants of his influence. I have to beat up some of them myself." Eiki explained some details about her job.

"What do you do, again?" Hikari was curious.

"She's a Yamaxanadu." Marigold answered for her.

Hikari didn't know what that was. Osamu spoke up. also not knowing. "Seriously, that the hell's a yamayamadoodah?"

Eiki opens her mouth to speak…

"She judges dead people." Marigold summarizes.

...Eiki seems slightly disappointed. "Well, in summary, yes…"

...After a moment of blank acceptance, Osamu double-took. "Wait, _another_ after-life thing!? Dude, are there like, _ten_ different places you go when you die!?"

At that, Eiki snorts. "There are at least ten pages of paperwork involved."

Osamu put his hands up. "Whelp, that's it. I ain't dyin."

' _Good luck._ '

"Easier said than done." Marigold smiles ironically.

...After a moment of idle silence, Hikari looks over the ledge again, cautiously.

' _Is it me, or is the darkness below churning?_ ' She focused her gaze, unable to tell if it was an optical illusion of some kind or not.

There was a little ringtone.

Yukari perked up. "Oh? That was fast…" She flipped out a rectangular device, which folded open. "Hello~. Found the place? Okay, they'll be right over."

' _What?_ ' Hikari stared at her, mystified.

Clapping her hands, and shutting the rectangle, Yukari shooed them. "Alright. Away you four go."

Gaps opened under them.

"Not again!" Osamu flapped his arms like a bird. "Fuuuu-"

Hiyori begrudgingly let herself fall in, while Marigold didn't have an immense choice due to her luggage.

Hikari knew she didn't really have a choice, at that point.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Landing in front of her friends, Hikari looked around…

"Hell welcomes you!" Hecatia beamed ahead of them. "...Well, this portion of Hell, anyway. The rest, uhh… yeah. I don't think you wanna see that stuff."

' _Already filling us with confidence._ '

" _Hrr-r-r-r-o-o-o…!_ " There was an unnatural hissing sound nearby, which slowly grew in volume.

Hecatia frowned. "U~gh… Just, no!" With a flick of her fingers, a column of flames erupted in the general vicinity of the hissing, rising from behind a large rock. "Stupid mantis things…"

...The party warily eyed the wall of flames.

"Good times." Marigold monotoned. "...Goo~d times."

' _I sort of share Marigold's fear of fire, now._ ' Hikari rubbed her skin idly… ' _It always felt horrible, but being lit on fire multiple times in rapid succession's_ _not something I want to do ever again._ '

"Just- just go in there…!" Hecatia whined, pointing at the similar cave opening repeatedly with both arms.

Before she was able to take a good look around at the red landscape of Hell, Hikari stepped inside the cave indifferently…

Like the previous cave, the grass was green, and the lighting was constant. The walls were weirdly rigid, purple orbs hung in the air, and there was that one little light orb that fell.

Hikari proceeded onto the wider, more fleshed out ledge. It stretched out slightly into the abyss, but didn't allow more progress.

There was a figure in a gi, sitting cross legged on one of the outstretching portions of the ledge. She had a large, red horn, and black hair...

' _Some oni, I guess._ '

On the other side of the abyss, however, she could make out somebody…

' _...Is that Yukari?_ ' She furrowed her brows, unable to quite make her out from the waves of yellow light that transmitted through the walls in sync with the blaring trumpet sounds. It was also as if a grey fog obscured specific details of the distance, rendering it a blur.

...Hikari turned to Marigold. "Shoot over there."

"A-ah? Okay…?" Marigold complied. "What gun?"

"Any." Hikari didn't care.

...Taking her Microwave Gun from her backpack, Marigold shot it at the wall on the other side of the abyss. The amber beam stretched across the length of the abyss, although the latter portion of it was obscured by the curiously transparent grey haze.

…

Yukari began drifting over, her form slowly becoming more and more visible.

' _Yeah, that's definitely her._ '

...Yukari's brow was risen as she neared the party. "So _that's_ how this place works…"

Hiyori's gaze was on the oni. "...What are _you_ doing here?"

Everyone turned to Hiyori, before acknowledging the meditating oni.

…

Moving next to her, Hiyori sat down in a similar position.

…

Yukari turned to Hikari. "Is this a normal thing, o~r…?"

"Are _you_ a normal thing?" Hikari didn't feel like being buddy buddy with the gap youkai.

Yukari scoffed. "Why, I'm seventeen years old, I'll have you know."

Marigold snapped her head towards her. "No. You're _not_. Don't."

"Fufufu~..." Adequately amused, Yukari relented. "Alright, I might be fibbing a _little._ But, do I not look seventeen?" To emphasize her point, Yukari props her arms under her breasts.

"You look seventeen." Osamu grinned.

"...Well, aside from her _actual_ age, she looks at least thirty." Marigold got into the pedantics of things.

' _This is the important discussion we must be having, right now._ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIYORI'S VIEW ====

Tuning out the bickering of the girls behind her, Hiyori began focusing on mediating…

' _The last time I really meditated…_ ' She shuddered at the feeling of getting her limbs and senses removed.

Even so, she continued to drown out the voices behind her, sinking deeper into her meditative state.

…

When all was quiet, she felt a presence before herself.

…

' _Who is there!?_ ' Konngara's voice blares in Hiyori's mind. ' _Name yourself!_ '

' _...Hiyori!_ ' It took her a moment, as she was surprised by the other oni's sudden aggression.

…

Konngara's question was simple. ' _How?_ '

' _My friends and I came here to find the source of Gensokyo's disruption._ '

' _Hiyori…_ ' Konngara was confused. ' _This is New Hell. What reason would it be here?_ '

' _A cave across from this abyss leads to the underground._ ' Hiyori informed her. ' _This place appears to exist on multiple levels._ '

…

' _That is very curious._ ' Konngara was indifferent.

' _...I'd like to know what you're doing in New Hell, though._ ' Hiyori was equally bemused by the other oni's supposed location.

' _I come here to sharpen my skills and train my mind._ ' Konngara reveals. ' _The foes here are plentiful and powerful, and the work the administration of right and wrong imposes on the oni here is… not necessarily grueling, but some might deem them 'morally daunting'. The oni here aren't quite like the oni outside._ '

...Hiyori would've nodded, were they not communicating with their _minds_. ' _I'll have to keep that in mind. How do you get here, anyway?_ '

Konngara describes the path, ' _There are two ways. The first is to go down an immense distance until you wind up upon the ceiling of New Hell. The other is to summon a portal. This is… a task of insane difficulty normally, but many ruins throughout Old Hell contain partially finished or simply deactivated gates. It's not difficult to rebuild, reactivate, and otherwise refurbish gates to get down here._ '

' _...I see._ ' Hiyori took a moment to absorb the information.

…

' _Has the power of the stars been of use to you?_ ' Konngara asked.

Hiyori didn't catch it at first… ' _The power of…_ ' Then, it clicked. ' _Yes, it has been immensely useful._ '

' _I'm glad._ '

…

Konngara questioned Hiyori again. ' _You felt it, right?_ '

This time, Hiyori had no leads. ' _Felt what?_ '

' _Moments ago. That pulse._ '

' _...What?_ ' She was lost.

…

' _I see. You must not be as sensitive to the world's flow as I am._ ' Konngara audibly sighed, as audible as thoughts could be. ' _...Even so, I'll teach what I felt, to you, if you so desire._ '

...Hiyori agrees with her offer. ' _Okay, sure._ '

Dizziness struck her for a moment, and then-

 _Fwoa~om_ …

Before her, a wooden floor spread out. Eventually, it formed a hexagonal platform, with a small rim around it to mark the boundaries. Beyond this platform was the darkness of mind Hiyori was familiar with.

' _Wh-what…?_ ' Despite still being in a meditative state, she felt floor beneath her. ' _This is…_ '

In her mind's eye, Konngara rose into a standing position.

' _Can you move?_ ' Stepping towards her, she reached out her hand.

' _...Let me~..._ ' Hiyori focused on attempting to mobilize herself, but nothing happened.

' _Don't think about moving._ ' Konngara instructed her. ' _Just move._ '

…

Hiyori's arm raised, almost involuntarily, and her hand took Konngara's.

Like this, the standing oni pulled her up, her legs moving to support a standing position.

' _I see…_ ' Hiyori let her movements flow. ' _This feels new._ '

' _I'd imagine._ ' Stoic, Konngara steps back, clapping her hands together. ' _I shall now demonstrate the technique's power to you._ '

…

Hiyori rose a brow not entirely voluntarily. ' _There's not really anything here to hit._ '

Konngara tried PK Starstorm Ω!

Looking up, Hiyori saw giant, pale blue, star-shaped masses whirling down from above, glowing brilliantly in the darkness of the mental space.

They quickly spiralled towards Hiyori, who gaped at the projectiles, which easily trumped the size of the previous incarnation quadfold…

' _Uh-uhm…!?_ ' Unsure what to do to defend herself in her mind, Hiyori guarded with her arms.

The thick stars slammed down onto the wooden platform.

Boom! Boom- Boom! Boom, boom- bwaa~sh!

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIKARI'S VIEW ====

Yukari reclined in her gap, staring at the two motionless oni impatiently.

"A~ny second now." Marigold smugly tried to reinforce a previous estimate of hers, regarding when they'd wake up.

Osamu had a dissenting opinion. "I say it takes her a day, too. It took Hikari like, a day."

' _I wasn't simply meditating, though…_ '

"Are you su~re we can't leave her behind?" Yukari lazily stretched her arm out, and poked Hiyori's forehead.

...Slowly, Hiyori tipped backwards, onto her back, before she began softly convulsing.

...

' _The gap youkai gets the gohei again._ ' Hikari rose her gohei, and casually progressed towards Yukari.

Grinning, Yukari held up a hand. "I had nothing to do with that. Honest."

"Which means you did." Hikari wasn't taking no for an answer.

"A-ah…" Hiyori's eyes shot open, her arms instantly propping themselves against the ground around herself.

Hiyori realized the power of PK Starstorm Ω!

...The other oni's eyes opened. "That should be all."

With that, she stood up. "I'll be off, now. Please, refrain from following me, for the time being."

Yukari pouted. "Aren't you gonna tell these ladies who you are?"

Osamu turned towards her, brows furrowed.

"It doesn't matter." Turning to look over the party, her gaze lingering on Hikari for a moment, it eventually rested on Hiyori. "...The flow of this world is no longer inhibited. Times will be interesting."

...Then, her eyes briefly glanced down at the mace Hiyori held.

Standing up, Hiyori stared at her, unsure what to make of the unclear information. As the oni turned to leave, Hiyori thanked her. "Thanks."

"...You're welcome."

After a few moments, the oni left the cave.

…

Marigold tilted her head. "So, who _was_ that?"

She eventually focused on Hiyori. Noticing her gaze, Hiyori focused on Yukari, hoping for her to make things convenient.

Smirking, Yukari shrugged. "I haven't the _faintest_ idea. Enlighten us… oni."

...After a moment of staring down the gap youkai, Hiyori gave a brief rundown. "Her name is Konngara. She's one of the devas of the mountain, and I had to face off with her… for this." Hiyori rose her mace.

"We found that in the mansion, though." Hikari noted, curious.

"...She didn't necessarily have it to give me, after we tied." Hiyori revealed. "She didn't even know where it ended up."

"You tied? And she allowed it to you?" Yukari was vaguely surprised. "My, how times have changed…!"

' _I thought she didn't know who she was…_ '

Marigold looked at Yukari, skeptical herself.

Osamu folded his arms behind his head. "So? People can _tie_ in fights."

Hikari snorted. ' _He missed the inconsistency completely._ '

Hiyori didn't dignify Yukari's prodding with a response. Instead, she tried to push things along. "...Shouldn't we be getting around to fighting Giygas?"

Yukari perked up. "Oh, right! Aa~h… well, from what I can tell…" Turning around, she pensively examined the statically lit room before her.

Another trumpet sound blared next to the party.

"U~gh…" Marigold was not enjoying them.

Yukari turned back to them. "I cannot detect a trace of Giygas' presence here, in spite of the fact he was, without a doubt, here the moment Hikari had awoken... and when I had gone here directly. I couldn't find him, though I could feel him."

Hikari nodded idly. "That means…?"

"Giygas isn't here." Yukari's face fell. "...I cannot detect him with Gensokyo's barrier."

' _...Oh, boy._ '

"Wait, so…" Osamu's mouth slowly opens. "Dude, did he fuckin' _run!?_ Ha~haha!"

"It seems very possible." Yukari brought a gloved hand to her chin. "...If so, I'll simply see what I can do to track him outside of Gensokyo. Such a being couldn't have gone far, I'm sure. Until I determine the best way to engage him-"

A ringing noise came from Yukari's dress.

...Reaching her hand inside, Yukari took out a rectangular device, and flipped it open. "Hello~? Yes, yes, you'll get your payment- look, I'm busy. Yes, genuinely. No. No. Why? For _what_ reason…? No." With that, she clicked the phone shut.

' _I have no idea what that was-_ '

It rang again.

Yukari rolled her eyes, flipping it open. "Yes? I know, I know- no, I didn't forget. Look…"

A gap opened before her. Eiki fell from above, sitting on a plain brown chair, holding a black, corded object.

"Happy?" Yukari spoke into her rectangle, before flipping it shut.

Eiki sighed. She let go of the corded object, and it flew back up into the gap, before it closed. "I suppose so."

...Then, Eiki looked around. "We'll need Hecatia here for a formal transfer back to Earth."

...Yukari stared at her dryly. "Genuinely."

"Mmm. Policy." Eiki folded her arms. "As she is the goddess of Hell and all, she is to be the one who oversees transfers of living or dead beings to and from the premises. The sending of souls to hell is strictly a court matter that has been pre-established-"

Yukari began clapping a hand open and closed to simulate her talking.

"-by the Administration of Right and Wrong. To this end, the exceptions to this rule are listed under article A-seventeen, G-seven hundred sixty seven, and X-three hundred sixty five, in light of recent events. Now, the subsection A represents-"

Yukari's finger emerges from a gap, lightly touching Eiki's lips. Pausing, she looks up at Yukari…

"In about a sentence or less, please." Yukari requests. "Not for my sake, but for theirs." She gestures to the party, as her finger slips back into the gap it emerged from.

' _I didn't get a single thing she said._ ' Hikari completely phased out any and all boring details.

"I got _some_ of it." Marigold was defensive. "Kinda."

"Bringing souls back from hell is not in my jurisdiction, and neither is it supposed to be _yours_." Eiki summarized, directing her statement towards the gap youkai.

...Reluctantly, Yukari flipped the rectangular object open again, and started dialing numbers.

"Okay, what the fuck is that thing?" Osamu was tired of being in the dark about it. "And why does it _beep?_ "

His last comment made Yukari grin. "...Why _wouldn't_ it beep? Or, rather… why _shouldn't_ it?"

The answer didn't help him. He resolved to fold his arms.

After a moment, she held it to her ears…

"Hey, Hecatia… No, I need you here. Not like _that_. I know I just told you… I know. If you do not come, I will regard this job as incomplete. That means no payment. Which means- okay, alright." She flipped the rectangle shut, and proceeded to toss it into the abyss behind herself.

Eiki chuckled.

Quickly, a gap opened before Yukari, and she plunged her arms in. After a moment of rummaging, she pulled out Hecatia.

"He-he~y! Lemme go!" Hecatia half-heartedly struggled, more annoyed than concerned.

"You are needed to transport them back." Yukari coldly instructed her.

"Gee~z…" Hecatia rubbed her arm, as if the manhandling actually bothered her. "Ran forgot to make ya pancakes this morning, or what?"

Yukari sighed.

"Hehehe!" With that, Hecatia turned to the party. "...Y'want me to bring 'em back to Earth?"

" _Yes._ " Yukari nodded exaggeratedly. "I would very much appreciate that."

"Enough to get that girl with the dolls to sew me another awesome shirt…?" Hecatia bartered her services.

Yukari had little choice. "Sure. Fine."

Marigold perked up at the not-so-veiled mention of her mother, but didn't obstruct the clearly precarious diplomacy any further.

"Awesome!" Hecatia clapped her hands. "You want Earth-me to go find where to plop 'em down?"

"No." Yukari shook her head. "Carry them one by one over there." She pointed to a ledge across the abyss.

...Hecatia double-took. "I'm sorry what?"

"Weren't you the one who said this place was multi-planular?" Yukari sardonically smiled at her surprise.

"...Oo~h! So that's, like…" Hecatia nodded. "Go~tcha."

With that, she casually drifted towards Hikari, and picked her up by the waist. Then, she carried her across...

...Hikari made the smart decision of looking down midway across, and felt herself freeze up.

At the other side, Hecatia plopped her down. Hikari eagerly and awkwardly stepped forward, away from the ledge.

Hecatia snorted, going back to get her friends.

' _Bottomless pits are scary._ ' Hikari thought back to the time she was cloud hopping. ' _...They only get less scary if you're forced to jump them all the time… which is a scary retrospect._ '

…

Osamu was dragged over next. "Hohoho~ly… That's a _big_ fucking hole, dude!"

"Yeah, if only." Hecatia idly commented, before moving to take another over.

…

"Gee…" Hecatia's face was obscured by Marigold's stuff. "You have enough things, there?"

"No." Marigold grinned.

After plopping her down on the ledge unceremoniously, Hecatia goes to retrieve the final girl.

…

…

Bam!

Hiyori falls from a gap before the party, instead. Hecatia's holding onto her horns, making a strained face.

' _Pffft._ '

"Ge-geez…" Hecatia huffs. "Oni are stupid heavy."

"Aren't you a Hell goddess?" Hiyori countered.

"I'd have to do stretches, first." Hecatia excused herself. "It's not every day I decide to lift oni, you know."

' _I don't think either of those are good excuses…_ '

Yukari and Eiki drifted over, taking their time as they did so. "There. Back on Earth, and by the Hell goddess' hands."

...Eiki turned to her. "You _do_ realize we never left Hell, right?"

Yukari grinned. "Go through that tunnel with them."

...Hikari looked forward at the familiar tunnel. Stepping towards it, her party followed behind her…

Hecatia got close to Yukari. "So~, was that a~ll?"

"...Indeed." A gap opened behind Hecatia, and Yukari pushed her, sending her flying in. "Woa~h!"

"I'll pay you soon!" Yukari called into the gap, before it quickly zipped shut.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Outside the cave, the amber glow of the underground's sky greeted the party.

"...Huh." Eiki nodded. "...Wait, that cave…!?"

"Finally." Osamu huffed. "That cave was freakin' _weird_ , dude."

Yukari drifted out behind them. "I apologize for leading you all around like so, but do understand that our opponent is _very_ slippery. We'd do well to remember this."

Eiki flipped out a blue rectangle of her own, and began rapidly pressing buttons that beeped.

Marigold stepped over to look over her shoulder. "Okay, _now_ I'm curious…"

Before she could take a good look at it, Eiki put it near her ear. "Hello? This is Eiki Shiki, Yamaxanadu of Gensokyo. I'll hold."

...Marigold blinked. "Who are you-"

Eiki talked over her. "Yeah, Anenokoji? I know- this is important. We've got another X-three hundred sixty situation on our hands. No- it's not another goddess. It's a _cave_."

Yukari slowly drifted towards her…

"We'll need some monitor teams down here right- Woah!" She fell into a gap, which promptly closed over her.

...Yukari sighed. "What a day."

' _You're telling me._ '

"...I believe I'll be sending you all back to the shrine." Yukari decided. "Be ready at all times, however. I aim to work quickly on finding our adversary."

"Sure." Hikari knew she couldn't necessarily say no. ' _If we're asleep, though, you're gonna be out of luck._ '

Opening a gap under the party members, Yukari didn't so much as warn them.

"Huwoa~h!" Osamu flailed his arms.

Marigold and Hikari simply froze up at the falling sensation. Hiyori flinched as she fell.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Hikari stumbled a bit after she landed. ' _Stupid gaps…_ '

"Can she, like, _warn us_ next time!?" Osamu dusted off his robe, climbing up from the floor.

...Marigold was lying back on her backpack, unable to maneuver her legs to get up. "Help."

...Hiyori grabbed her, and repositioned her onto her legs again.

"Thanks…" She brushed herself off.

 _Woosh!_

' _Wh-what!?_ ' Hikari's eyes widened, a dark purple blade barely missing her face.

Hiyori goggled. "Hi-Hikari!"

Scrambling backwards, Hikari retreated from the Invincible. ' _Nope! Hiyori can deal with you! I've had enough of you things!_ '

Unfortunately, as Hiyori neared it, the miko-esque being did a rising slash, closing the distance between itself and Hikari. However, it didn't come close enough to make contact, even if it did escape Hiyori's mace mania.

Hikari decided to go on the offense, seeing as she had little other choice. Leaping into the air, she brought her gohei down onto the shadowy being's forehead.

SMAAAA~SH!

Twirling back, the creature raised its blade to block, as if Hikari would somehow instantly follow up.

An orange beam from Marigold's Microwave Gun stretched out to meet the being. It cringed back from the collision, but it didn't seem to do much other than make the dark, smooth texture of the creature sizzle.

"S'that supposed to be, like, evil Hikari?" Osamu grinned at it. "Dude, look at those eyes! This thing looks like it came outta one of those, what're they called…"

"I'd appreciate it if you _attacked_ the thing." Marigold spoke over the hum of her Microwave Gun.

He grinned. "Alri~ght, alri~ght, easy peasy, lemon- Woa~h!" He ducked, the tall shadow miko quickly hovering towards him and attempting a broad horizontal slash.

' _She moves quick._ ' Hikari had to give it that.

"Stupid…!" Osamu clenched his fists.

Osamu tried PK Thunder ß!

Thwaa~sh!

Bam!

One of the stone stairs down a ways was stricken.

Thwaa~sh!

Bam!

 _Fwoo~sh…_

The Invincible was no more, a whirling vortex of wind expanding from where it once was.

Hikari held her still damaged clothing to prevent the wind from whipping it around. "...Well. I don't think that's a good sign."

"No shit." Osamu chuckled. "Dude. Evil Hikari was out to get us."

"Good thing 'Evil Hikari' didn't use her flashy sparkle attack." Marigold spoke 'Evil Hikari' like it were a foreign word. "We would've been blown away, then."

Fwoo~aam…

Rings of purple flames surrounded the party, before convening to form four Invincibles. As they rose to the air, their swords twirled out from the shadows behind them.

Hikari's jaw dropped. ' _You're kidding me…!_ '

Marigold reached for her Heavy Bazooka. "That's, uhm, a _lot_ of Hikaris…!"

"Oh, _fuck_." Osamu backed towards the party a bit…

Hiyori glared at the two she was facing, her mace held ready.

The Invincibles attacked, quickly floating towards the party at a constant rate.

Invincible A twirled through the air, pale blue orbs generating and fluttering down around it aimlessly.

Invincible B stabbed its sword into the stone path below it. From there, it broke down into a circle of purple flames again, seemingly abandoning the sword.

Invincible C swung for Hiyori, who blocked it with her already prone mace.

Cli~ng!

Invincible D arched its hand back in the air, a pale blue fireball forming…

' _We're going to have to do something, and quick…!_ ' Hikari was pretty sure they couldn't afford to dabble against four of these things.

One of the pale blue orbs floated into her, forcing her to flinch back. "Ahk…" ' _Stings a bit…_ '

"Fuck this, du~de!" Osamu's jaw slowly lowered at the assault.

Osamu tried PK Thunder ß!

Thwaa~sh!

Bam!

Invincible D lurched over, the fireball it was generating falling to the floor and fizzling out.

Thwaa~sh!

Bam!

It struck the unwielded sword of Invincible B, doing nothing.

Hiyori leaped after Invincible C, who tried to engage her, and cleaved her mace directly into its upper torso.

Fwo-wash!

Red mist dispersed, but drifted into the floor, the Invincible sent tumbling away.

Marigold fired her bazooka at it.

Fwoo~sh… Boom!

The form of Invincible C was no more, the gust of resulting wind immediately dispersing the smoke.

Invincible A went to swing for Osamu, this time swinging very, very low.

"Hughk!?" Osamu was sent flying from the awkwardly slanted blow, though a noticeable trail of blood was left in the air after the collision.

' _That… can't be good._ ' Hikari winced.

Hikari tried Lifeup γ!

…"I-I'm okay…!" Osamu gave a thumbs up from the distance. "Ju-just… a paper cut…"

"Hraa~gh!" Hiyori threw her mace. It flew through the air, towards the Invincible-

Cli~ng!

-which raised its blade to deflect it, allowing it to clatter to the floor. Immediately following up, it went for a mighty overhead slash, intent on striking Hiyori with it. She shielded her head with her arms, the blade falling too fast for any other measure.

Thwa~m!

It seemed like the blade tried to become partially magic, but her arms blocked the impact regardless. From there, Hiyori leapt, and attempted to wrestle the dark blade from the psuedo-miko. "Hrgh…!"

...Hikari looked around idly, a circle of purple flames slowly encroaching upon her.

' _This won't be fun._ ' She sighed.

Boom!

 _Fwoo~sh_ …

Invincible D was no more, its second attempt at generating a giant fireball failing it, having been blown apart by a bazooka shot.

Shink!

Hikari tried to dodge, but felt a blade inside herself anyway.

"Hi-Hio~!" She got her cry for help out with the last breath her lungs could manage before blood filled them.

' _Aaaa~h!_ ' Hikari was again reminded what immense pain felt like.

Hiyori turned while still wrestling with the Invincible. She suckerpunched it in the stomach, claiming the blade from it and darting towards Hikari's position. "Hikari~!"

Collapsing to the floor, Hikari felt the blade slide from herself.

Her mind went numb from the sensation, an almost iron twinge of indescribable dread and agony flourishing from her torso across her entire body.

Hiyori tried Lifeup γ!

Hikari collapsed on the floor.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIYORI'S VIEW ====

' _No!_ ' She tossed the blade at the offending Invincible, knocking it back as the broadside smacked it in the torso.

Kneeling next to Hikari, she watch the stab wound slowly heal…

...Moments later, Hikari groaned. "O-oowh…"

Hiyori sighed in relief. ' _Good… It worked quickly._ '

"Spirit Sign! Fantasy Orb!"

Hikari and Hiyori both perked up at the exclamation, surprised.

From the shrine's interior, five more Invincibles flew out, retreating from a barrage of rainbow colored orbs. Unfortunately for them, however, the orbs moved faster.

Fwam! Boom! Bam! Blam!

Wind violently howled, four of the five orbs wiping out the entire group of Invincibles.

The last orb went for Invincible B.

Fwam!

 _Fwooo~sh_ …

Hikari tried Lifeup ß!

...Slowly rising to her feet, Hikari felt her stomach for further complications.

Reimu rocketed towards her. Upon reaching her, her hands clamped onto her shoulders as she rapidly scanned her daughter's form. "Hikari! Are you hurt!? Where is it!?"

"A-ah!?" Hikari was put on the spot. "Uhm… not anymore?"

Hiyori smiled at the display.

...The unarmed form of Invincible A was terrorizing Osamu, running after him as he ran away from it.

Osamu tried Offense Up α!

" _Fuck_ you…!" Turning around, he tried to grapple with it, only for it to lift him entirely and throw him towards the party. "Oof…"

Reimu drew a needle from her sleeves, and tossed it towards it.

The Hakurei needle stuck in the side of the dark miko. It turned to face Reimu, and started sprinting towards her-

Boom!

 _Fwooo~sh_...

The group of enemies was finally cleared. The dark blade Hiyori had stolen earlier vaporized along with the form of Invincible C.

"What's going o~n…!?" Reimu yelled, frustrated. "The past hour's just been nothing but these stupid things…"

A yellow-clad Starman suddenly teleported in front of them. "Target_mass_identified. Plan_final_engaged."

"Plan 'final'!" Osamu yelled at it. "Oo~h, boy! Real scary!"

Reimu ran straight towards it.

Starman Super folded its arms, guarding against the incoming assault.

Leaping into the air, Reimu swung her gohei at it.

Thwa-thwack! Thwa-thwa-thwack!

The arms of the Starman Super buckled under the gohei strikes. Then, Reimu vanished.

...SMAAAA~SH!

Reimu descended from behind, knocking it forward with a downward kick to the back of the head with her sandal.

Glaring down at it, Reimu drew her arm back, four needles erecting between her five fingers.

Starman Super tried Teleport Ω!

Reimu's eyes tracked the stream of light as it teleported into an upright position to her left.

Then, she tossed the needles.

Starman Super tried Healing Ω!

Purple flames danced in the air, as one of the Invincibles came back to life, only to catch all five of the Hakurei needles to the torso.

' _Revived just to die._ ' Hiyori shook her head.

 _Boo~m!_

The Invincible was vaporized.

Reimu huffed. "Alright, that's it. Persuasion Needle!"

Seven Yin-yang orbs whirled around her form, materializing from holy light. Then, they glowed bright, rainbow colors, similar to her fantasy orbs.

Then, they began shooting quick, huge yellow Hakurei needles.

The Starman Super didn't have time to react as it was pelted by the oversized danmaku needles, sizzling under the heat of the danmaku-

Boom!

It exploded, the parts raining the nearby vicinity.

Clank!

...A sword landed on the stone pathway, next to Hiyori.

Curiously grabbing it, she held it up…

' _...Huh. What would that need with a sword?_ '

...She swung it a few times with her unoccupied hand.

' _Not particularly strong. It seems to be made of some kind of mythril. I think, anyway._ '

...Unsure what to do with it, she carefully tossed it near the porch of the shrine.

Reimu floated slightly closer to the party, her orbs still active. "Do you guys know what's going on here? Because I _don't_ , and it's driving me up the wall!"

Hikari shrugged.

" _Ooo~uuhh…_ "

...The party slowly turned to face the giant form of what looked like an oversized Invincible. It held no sword, and beared no faux clothing. The hair no longer resembled Hikari's instead being a frayed and tangled mess, tendrils of darkness composing its deformed body rather than the smooth form the others took.

The only resemblance it shared was the gaping, heart-shaped hole in its chest and the glowing, yellow eyes. Although, on this creature, they were more like industrial grade night lights.

Hiyori snorted at the thought of industrial grade night lights.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIKARI'S VIEW ====

' _That one doesn't even look anything like me._ ' Hikari felt vaguely offended at the sight of it.

"Another one of these things…!?" Reimu focused on the tall, shadowy adversary.

Osamu distanced himself towards the shrine. "You're gonna need a bigger stick thing, du~de…!"

' _...I don't think hitting that thing up close would be a good idea. At all._ ' Hikari warily eyed the giant.

Hikari tried Shield ß!

Hikari was protected by the power shield of light!

…

The giant, dark foe slowly, gingerly stepped up the staircase, having trouble articulating its legs independently from its torso.

Taking further into the sky, Reimu aimed her glowing orbs at the foe. Immense, translucent danmaku needles rained down from above, piling onto the creature's face.

It wiggled its head around, expressing some form of agony from the rapid impacts. Stumbling forward, it proceeded to plunge a hand into the stone floor before the party.

 _Fwoa~m_ …

Red, gooey liquid spread outward from its hands, slowly flowing across the surface of the shrine courtyard.

From the goo, the tall, unnaturally slender figures of the Invincibles began emerging, unarmed and bearing only their clawed hands.

"Again…?" Marigold furrowed her brows. "What _are_ these things…?"

' _This time I've gotta just clean house._ ' Hikari decided, focusing on the four new Invincibles rising from the goo…

Hikari tried PK Fantasy ß!

Casting an her left arm forward, she sent out a technicolor, glowing polygon of psychic energy.

FwOwOw!

It pierced the form of one of the Invincibles, knocking it back into the goo.

Then, Hikari threw her right arm outward, another polygon of energy rocketing outward.

FwOwOw!

A different Invincible was blown back into the goo. The two writhed in it, before repositioning themselves to get back onto their feet…

They weren't particularly given the chance, however.

Fizzle!

The dark evening was lit alive with the amazing, technicolor particles. The dark figures of the psuedo-miko beings took on curiously chaotic neon color schemes, the sharp edges of their beings better visible.

Fizzle!

The two stricken Invincibles from before collapsed back into dust and goo, while the other two curled up into balls, shielding themselves from the unrelenting onslaught.

Hikari focused her final psychic blast on the grander figure, intent on trying to assist her mother.

Bwaa~sh!

The psychic blast roared outward from the dark figure's head. It didn't seem to acknowledge it outright, and any damage that could have been seen was being obscured by the bright glow of her mother's giant danmaku needles.

Hiyori ran towards the two remaining Invincibles. When she stepped into the goo, she felt her legs sink in, prompting her to backtrack. "U~hm…"

"How about _this?_ " Osamu smirked, snapping his fingers.

Osamu tried Defense Down α!

The Darkside's defense dropped! It did nothing to outwardly signify this.

Reaching its hands into the dark puddle it created, it began digging around for something inside…

Reimu's orbs broke from her figure, and slammed the creature in the back.

Fwam! Boom, bam, blam!

' _Are we winning?_ ' When the creature's natural movements were all slow and sluggish, Hikari really couldn't tell.

"I've got it!" Osamu was confident that he was going to critically damage the giant monster that refused to be critically damaged.

Osamu tried PK Thunder ß!

Thwaa~sh!

Even though the thunder struck it directly on its head, no one could tell if any damage was done, aside from the crackling electricity it left.

Thwaa~sh!

Boom!

A chunk was blown off of the donation box, nearby.

' _...Good thing Mom's busy._ ' Hikari grinned.

An immense heave from the tall creature yielded results. Pulling its arms back with force, a large ball of whirling red and black energy was extracted from the ground. The red puddle in the shrine's courtyard began shrinking…

As it rose its arms, it accidentally tore apart the Shinto style arch that hung over the top of the stairway.

Reimu was angry. "No! That was- u~gh…!"

' _We're gonna have to get that rebuilt._ ' Hikari knew her mother wasn't a fan of things getting destroyed.

Navigating to avoid colliding with the giant ball, Reimu descended upon the creature's face, and began giving it hell.

Thwa-thwa-thwack!

Marigold tried firing her bazooka at the chest of the creature, as it rose into a standing position again…

Boom!

The blast yielded no results.

"What is this thing _made_ out of?" Exasperated, Marigold gaped at the big slow figure.

Hiyori shook a foot, watching the black goo drip and leave her form. "...Something bad."

' _Are you sure it's not just made out of chocolate?_ ' Hikari dryly jabbed at her statement mentally. Then, it clicked for her… ' _Wait, if this thing's so big and dark…!_ '

Hikari tried PK Flash Ω!

 _Fwaaa~sh!_

A blinding light covered the entire shrine grounds.

"Woah…!" Marigold's vision was filled.

"Holy-...! Who turned on the _sun…_?" Osamu covered his eyes.

"Ah…!?" Reimu leaped away from the Darkside's face, surprised.

In that one moment, it was as bright as day in Gensokyo, again.

As the light faded, the pseudo-sunny shrine grounds were clearly visible

The dark figure's form became incredibly misty and foggy, and the resulting fog quickly seemed to taper off and vaporize the further it went from its diminishing form.

From there, the staggering, shrinking form of the Darkside pumped its arms into the air, sending the dark ball soaring into the blue sky.

From there, it expanded, and it became dark as night, again.

' _Wow._ ' Hikari blinked. ' _Did it… did it intend to do that?_ '

"My e~yes!" Osamu protested to the rapid shifting in lighting. "It's gonna take _years_ to adjust! Seriously…!"

Marigold vainly looked in his vague direction. "Yeah. Years. If only eyes were so fragile."

...Hikari looked up, and saw smaller, similarly colored orbs floating down. They descended at constant, gradual ways, almost casually descending upon where the party members were standing.

"Hey, guys." Hikari got their attention. "Move."

Hiyori, Osamu, and Marigold began moving aimlessly.

"Mari- oh." Hikari began moving to stop her from walking onto the steep part of the hillside, but she turned around on her own.

Marigold looked towards her. "Yeah?"

The slowly falling orbs began colliding with the ground, producing dark splotches where they land.

Hiyori accidentally retread ground, and ended up walking into one. "Hnh…?" She flinched back as it violently flared on contact, leaving blue flames on her kimono that slowly died out…

" _Yeeoo~wch!_ " Osamu ran by Hikari, similar blue flames falling from his robes.

Marigold snorted. "Good job."

Then, as Hikari and Marigold were idle, more shadowy orbs slowly floated down, colliding with them.

' _Ugh…_ ' Hikari felt the flames spread across her figure. They didn't create a burning sensation, however. Instead, they made her feel… ' _Tired…_ '

Marigold hugged herself. "Wh-what is…!? N-no!"

"I'm on _fi~re_ here!" Osamu danced around. "Fucking…!"

Osamu tried PK Hydro γ!

An immense shuriken of water formed over the battlefield, raining water down onto the party.

All it helped do was make things darker, and wetter.

"It-it's darke~r!" Marigold wailed. "Where is everyone!?"

' _Aa~h…_ ' Hikari held a hand to her chest, watching the pale flames dance. ' _...N-no._ '

Hikari tried Lifeup Ω!

It was in that moment, that the flames licking every party member died out, as if blown out like a candle.

...Marigold sighed. "Alright, I hate falling orbs of evil now."

' _Because there was so much to like about them before._ '

Osamu began running erratically. "Nope! Not gonna hit me again! Fuck that!"

Hiyori looked around at the other party members. "...I assume those orbs are being problems?"

"Yeah." Hikari simplified it. "They make us feel weird."

Hikari and Marigold began using brisk power walks to evade the slow falling orbs that continued to rain down from above.

Thwa-thwa-thwack! Thwack, thwack, thwack!

Mist violently dispersed, as Reimu leaped away from the face of the Darkside again.

' _My light spell was so powerful…_ ' Hikari considered trying it again. ' _...But, what about the other spell? Did that get more powerful, too?_ '

She decided to find out.

Hikari tried PK Fantasy Ω!

Throwing both of her arms outward, Hikari sent two technicolor polygons out at once.

FwOwOw, FwOwOw…

They stopped before the Darkside, and rotated. Quickly, they began whirling around, focusing towards the face of the creature like a reticle. Hikari felt something surge from within herself…

FwOwOw…

The polygons stopped right before the face of the dark not-miko, to Reimu's curiosity.

Hikari's eyes were almost painfully forced onto the point they stopped at. Involuntarily, her attack continued, and for a moment, her mind went blank.

BABOOM, boom, boom…!

Yellow energy engulfed the top of the Darkside. The incredibly loud explosion forced Osamu and Marigold to instantly cover their ears, the latter dropping her weapon to do so. The light produced by the explosion was so immense, so bright, that they couldn't stare at it directly, as it was painful to do so.

Boomboomboomboom!

The shrine's grounds were thrown into disarray, a gridwork pattern of round, red yellow and blue particles whirling around. Pure, unfiltered technicolor energy echoed out from the blast, washing over the landscape and lighting up the night.

Bambambambambam!

As the blast spread out, the Darkside was nowhere to be found, at first. The colors took to the skies themselves, forcing it to flash neon shades of blue, red, and yellow. The surrounding mountains were alive with color, along with the trees. If anyone in Gensokyo was outside that evening and had epilepsy, Hikari probably just killed them.

Boo~m…

A final explosion echoed from the distance, somewhere.

…

' _Wo-...wow…_ ' Hikari was half numb, stumbling around as a newfound lightheadedness suddenly attacked her.

Hiyori eventually opened her eyes, darting them around the shrine's courtyard as the fruity technicolor tent to the land eventually gave way to the darkness of night.

"...What _happened_." Osamu rubbed his eyes. "Man, like… like what the hell do I even say about that? Was that a _nuke!?_ "

Marigold rubbed her ears, instead.

"Like, dude!" He turned to Marigold, incredulously gesturing to the place where the Darkside used to be. "You _see_ that!?"

Marigold stared at him gingerly, rubbing her ears. "...Wha~t!?"

...Hiyori realized what probably happened.

Hiyori tried Healing ß!

...

Marigold's eyes widened. "...Getting your hearing back is a weird feeling." She continued to rub her ears curiously…

Osamu grinned. "Freakin', Hikari set off a _nuke_ and you're just gonna rub yer ears about it. Alright."

' _I... sure feel nuked._ ' Hikari stumbled back onto her bum.

"Well, yeah. That happened." Marigold had little else to say about it. "Even with all that flash, it seems to only really affect whoever Hikari targets at the moment.

...Reimu lazily drifted down, to meet with the party. "...So."

Hikari looked up from the stone floor. "...Hi."

"Hi." Reimu grinned. "What was that?"

"Fun…" Hikari yawned.

A gap opened next to them. Yukari poked her head out, looking alarmed. " _What_ , exactly, is going on here!?"

"Fun." Hikari and Reimu replied simultaneously, smiling at her.

 _Fwawoo~m…_

More Invincibles generated in the darkness around the shrine, their presence made visible by the dull yellow glow of their eyes.

Osamu rushed up next to the two mikos. "Get us the hell outta here!"

...Yukari relaxed, noting no one critical was dead. "...Very well."

Gaps opened under everyone. Reimu and Hikari fell in without contest.

"Wha- woah!" Osamu was caught off-guard.

Hiyori had her mace up, ready to engage more foes, when she fell. "Hu-huh!?"

Marigold dropped, her backpack clipping the gap's edge on the way down, giving her an awkward spin. "Wha-wha~!?"

The gaps all closed.

…

The Invincibles hovered to where the five used to be, drifting aimlessly.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

"Can this, like _stop_ happening!?" Osamu rubbed his butt. "Fucking…"

The five were inside a rather comfy house, placed before a coffee table. The room had various appliances of unknown design and intent, but Hikari was able to make out the familiar, albeit high-tech, shapes.

' _...This is different._ ' Hikari welcomed the warmth of the house. She stared at the fancy stove, that seemed to be made of pristine steel. There was a large, white box with a oddly grainy pattern, and various other steel appliances that Hikari didn't know.

Reimu sat at one of the chairs around it. "Did you _still_ not get a kotatsu?"

"Shhh~..." Yukari shushed her, a playful grin on her face. "In due ti-"

Bam!

Marigold fell from her gap, falling things-first onto the table, breaking it in half.

...Yukari put her thumb into her mouth involuntarily, gently biting it. "...Oh, dear."

Reimu chuckled at her expense.

"Hnn~..." Marigold lugged herself from the table's ruins. "I cannot stress how much I hate falling."

...Turning around, her large backpack nearly knocking Reimu from her chair, she examined the ruined table…

"Oh." She stared at it blankly.

"Mmm." Yukari bitterly hummed. "Oh, well…"

With a sweep of her arms, she brushed aside the table parts, the books and broken teacups that sat upon it cast aside by an invisible force. The clatter they produced woke everyone up a bit…

A gap opened, and a new table of similar bland design dropped down.

"Now…" Yukari huffed…

Another gap opened above it. Hiyori dropped, and Yukari made sure to intercept her with a gap before she broke the new table. Redirecting her-

Bam!

-Hiyori found herself half-embedded in the floor again.

Yukari wasn't sure if she made the right choice. "...Regardless, what happened?"

Reimu perked up. "That's what I should be asking you. My shrine was attacked by what I can only assume were beings from the shadow realm. And we both know Gensokyo has a _lot_ of 'shadow realms'."

"Was there any red mist?" Yukari probed, intently gazing at the miko.

"Mmm." Reimu nodded. "It-..." She paused, and thought back to the last time she saw it. "...Mima?"

Yukari jerked her head back. "What? No, no… You heard the name Giygas, right?"

Reimu scrunches her face. "...Maybe."

...Yukari sighed. "Well, Gensokyo is under attack."

…

"When did this happen?" Reimu looked around at the party, genuinely confused.

"I think it was the night of the New Years party." Hikari recalled.

Reimu blinked. "...That was _weeks_ ago."

Leaning forward onto the table, propping her elbows on it, Yukari smirked. "Well, Hakurei, if your daughter had been a proper child, she'd've ran to you like a child should."

' _Sorry for being my own person._ ' HIkari was ready to rumble.

Reimu slightly furrowed her brows. "Hey, hey. Now's not really the time to be condescending."

...Yukari sighed. "Very well, Hakurei. I know you've not the mind to listen to me."

"And you're writing checks your thousand year old bones can't cash. What's going on?" Reimu interrogated the gap youkai.

Resisting the urge to glare at the miko, Yukari composed herself. "... _Well,_ while I brief you on these recent events, I have some poor news for the four elephants in the room."

Osamu instantly took offense. "Hey! If anyone's an elephant in here, it's _you!_ "

A gap opened under him. "You- fuck! Noo~!"

...Hikari glanced in his vague direction, before the gap closed. ' _I kinda expected that._ '

"Your shrine is not the only place being inconvenienced right now." Yukari revealed. "It is immensely hard for me to focus on the source, when these beings are completely running amok of the place."

' _Wait..._ ' Hikari's eyes widened. "You want me to- mmph!?"

Yukari's disembodied hands shoved an Elixir into Hikari's mouth, tilting it forward.

Reimu got up. "Hey, _hey!_ What are you doing!?"

' _Yu-yuck…!_ ' Hikari discovered Elixirs did not taste very good, after all.

Reimu leaped onto the table, but Yukari quickly slid back, her chair rushing down the room's length, which also shifted to accommodate Yukari's sliding.

"You, stupid…!" Reimu reeled her arm back, and tossed her gohei at Yukari. As it spun through the air, it became a disc of light, homing in on her.

The empty Elixir was plucked from Hikari's mouth. A gap opened underneath her and the remaining party members, too.

" _Give them hell._ " Yukari's voice was heard from below, as Hikari and company dropped in unceremoniously.

This time, Marigold made sure not to clip the gap's edge, thrusting forward to do so.

Hiyori sighed, falling straight down with her arms folded.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Thud. Thud thud, thud.

…

"Fucking…!" Osamu's anger was heard in the darkness.

"It's dark." Hikari stated aloud.

' _Too dark to see..._ '

"I can't see~..." Marigold walked around aimlessly.

Thud, thud!

Marigold protested. "Ow."

Osamu protested louder. " _Owch!_ "

"...It didn't hurt _that_ bad, you." Marigold grinned, but no one could see it.

"Maybe somebody could try to create some light?" Hiyori gave a suggestion to push things along.

…

Vzzt…

Marigold's Shield Killer lit alive, the harmless electric arrows giving the hall a dim glow.

In the darkness, they were able to make out the Scarlet Devil Mansion halls as their new location.

The faint light reflected off of the eyes of the Invincibles that hung still in the dark air. Slowly, their eyes began to glow, collecting the light.

…

"U-uhm…" Marigold felt her hair gradually fluff up as she took in the dazzling array of yellow dots down both directions of the hallway.

"Oo~h…" Osamu grins ironically. "We just can't get a break, dude…"

' _...We technically just had one._ ' Hikari debated whether or not ten seconds of warmth and drowning in Elixir was worthy of being called a 'break'.

Hiyori ran towards the manor wall with her mace ready-

Bam!

She cleaved a hole in it, tearing the wall down with one powerful strike.

Inside, fairies screamed. "Aaaa~h!"

Slowly, the Invincibles began twitching to life, recovering from their stasis they had seemingly been entranced by in the dark, lightless hall.

The fairy's room was also dark, but the shifting of feminine forms betrayed the life inside.

Also, there weren't a horde of angry Invincibles in there, so Hikari would take whatever was in there any day over what was likely soon to be a blade maelstrom.

"Go, go!" Hiyori yelled for them to get in. Quickly, the four piled inside the hole in the wall, and into the fairy's bedroom…

"He-he~lp…" A fairy's voice weakly drawled.

"Fufufu~... it seems we have visitors, honey bun."

' _Nevermind, this might be worse than blade mayhem._ ' Hikari's expression was vain.

Marigold rolled her eyes at the sultry tone. "...It's come to this, hasn't it? I always knew one day we'd be raped by succubi in a dark bedroom."

' _That's pretty specific…!_ '

Osamu beamed. "What!? _Succubi!?_ "

"Fufufu~!" A chorus of haughty laughs came from across the room. The intense scent of perfume flared up, causing Hikari's head to swim.

' _Wo-woah…_ '

"Ho~h, shit…!" Osamu realized how many there were.

Hiyori rose her mace. "Show yourselves!"

Fluorescent candles lit up across the room, dim amber light washing over the party.

Succubi, all of identical appearance, with long, red hair, mirthfully floated in the room's airspace.

"I wanna fuck the tall one…"

"Dibs on the adorable little lewd shrine maiden!"

"I'll lick that _magi_ clean…"

' _There's probably only one way out of this…_ ' Hikari braced herself- ' _Woah!_ '

She suddenly found herself glomped from the side. "Hehehe~!" The succubus put her lips to Hikari's cheek. "Mwah…"

The red lipstick marked her cheek, and her mind instantly dulled…

' _Wo-wow…_ '

...Hiyori grimaced as the succubi surrounded her.

"Why don't you put down that _big_ mace of yours…?" The succubi directly to her front posed, making sure to allow the maximum bounce in her breasts. "I'm sure someone like you is _full_ of passion…"

Hiyori felt a hand grab her shoulder.

Acting quickly, she spun on her heel, twirling the mace around like a stick as she spun rapidly.

Bam! Bam!

Two succubi were blown away by the action, soaring into the walls.

 _Fwo-Fwoo~sh_...

They exploded into red mist akin to the Invincibles, annihilated by the force they were stricken with.

The succubus from before rushed up to Hiyori. "Got you, baby!"

Her claw went for Hiyori's neck.

Her nails snapped against Hiyori's thick skin.

"...Oh."

Hiyori hastily uppercutted her.

Bam!

...The succubus ended up half-embedded in the ceiling, before she exploded into mist.

Nearby, the others winced. "Oo~h…"

Marigold had her Microwave Gun out, as it was the easiest to pull out at the moment. "St-stay back! I know your game…!"

"Hyah!" A succubus grabbed a part of her already scorched and depleted adventure dress.

Ri~p!

"My- my dress…" Marigold whined, mourning the further damage to her blown away dress.

"Strip for me." The succubus demanded of her. "I just wanna make you feel _goo~d…_ "

Aiming her Microwave Gun at her, Marigold unleashed its amber ray.

The hum of the gun, and the bright glow of the beam flowed brilliantly throughout the room.

The succubus gapes, caught in the copper beam's path. "O-oh! A-aa~h, turn it _off!_ Turn it o~ff…!"

After a few moments, she bubbled, her skin boiling, until-

Plop!

Red mist floated into the air, and molten latex splotched the carpet, permanently staining it.

Hikari weakly fought the succubus' grasp, as she dotted Hikari's neck with kisses…

"Chu…chu...chu~, fufufu~..."

"Ye-yes…" Hikari submitted, hugging her succubus closer to her.

And then Osamu leaped onto the Succubus' back. "He~y, baby!"

"Wh-what…!?" The succubus froze up, before grinning. "Hello~ the- ere!?"

"Hey, s'it okay if I just, like…?" He gives her breasts a squeeze. "Like that?"

"Nn- I-..." Letting go of Hikari, the succubus moaned. "No~..."

Hikari stumbled back, wistfully gazing at the succubus, before her knees gave in. From the floor, she continued to be in trance…

Whirling around, the succubus knocked Osamu from herself. "I'm after the miko, boy. Wait your turn."

He flew back, landing in the arms of a different succubus. She grinned, "Here. Let me-"

Bam!

She was blown to mist by a wave of Hiyori's mace. Osamu slid across the floor, somewhat offset by the power of her swing.

"Wooa~h!" He proceeded to slide under the bed.

...Under it, fairies were trying to keep themselves scarce. They shrunk back as he slowed to a halt under the mattress.

Raising his face from the dust, he stares at them. "...'Sup?"

They began scooping up dust, and throwing it at his face.

"Whe~re was I…?" The last succubus leered down at Hikari. "Oh, yes. Bonding with my _pet_."

' _Pe-pet…_ ' Hikari shuddered, smiling up at the succubus drunkenly.

A low hum was emitted from Marigold's Microwave Gun. Hikari stared up at the succubus, whose form began glowing…

"Wh-whaa~... N-no! Please! Do-"

Plop!

She was but mist and latex.

Marigold switched off her beam.

It was at that moment, that there were no more succubi left jumping on the bed.

"Fu- ack! Get- oof!" Osamu fought with the cuddly fairies under the bed, pushing them out as he crawled out.

A brown-haired fairy girl pouted. "No~! I don't wanna eat cool whip!"

"I ain't gonna make ya eat cool-" Boof. A pile of dust met his face. "...Alright, s'time for the fuckin' cool whip!"

"I knew it!" She raised her fists. "Fight me!"

Osamu grinned. "Hell yeah!"

Osamu tried Offense Up α!

Feeling strength well up in his muscles, he moved to engage the fairy…

' _...I-I need to…_ ' Hikari's hand slowly drifted south, her face flushed…

Marigold walked up to her. "Hikari? Everything alright?"

Hikari glanced at her. "Ma-Marigold… I…"

Hiyori stepped up, as well. "...Looks like someone got smooched."

Hikari shuddered. "Y-ye… yeah…"

…

Hikari began touching herself somewhere not entirely fit for description in a T-rated fic.

"You know…" Marigold sighed. "I don't think she's fine."

"...Status effect, o~r…?" Hiyori looked away out of respect.

Marigold smirked. "Heal her, and find out."

…

Hiyori tried Healing ß!

…

Hikari gasped, taking her hand away from her south enclave. "A-ah!"

' _Oh my god oh my god oh my god…!_ '

Hiyori was vaguely relieved. "...Status effect, I guess."

Hikari stared at the wet, clear substance on her hand, before shaking it rapidly. "Yu-yuck…"

Marigold moved up to her side, and patted her on the back. "Don't worry, Hikari. We all have our urges."

...Hikari glared at her. "Sh-shut up…"

' _I-I almost… in front of them._ '

Suddenly, Hikari had the sense to look around for Osamu…

Whack!

Osamu gritted his teeth, the fairy pushing him back.

Wha-whack!

"U~rgh…!" He stumbled back further. He went for a hook, but the fairy uppercutted abruptly.

Whack!... Thud.

"I win!" She held her arm up, beaming. "We did it, girls! We beat the horny bus station people!"

"Yea~h!" The fairies under the bed cheered.

' _...Well, at least the witnesses are limited to the girls._ ' Hikari relaxed. Somewhat.

Marigold grinned. "...Maple-chan, leave him alone."

Maple turned to her. "Wha~t? But why?"

"He's dead enough as it is." Marigold moved towards the closet. "You guys still have the muskets in the closet?"

Maple stuck out her hand. "Uhm, Mari-chan, I wouldn't…"

Marigold swings the closet door open.

"Fu-fuhck mee~..."

Komi's arms were wrapped inside of warped coat hangers, her form naked and covered in kiss marks.

"Fu-fu~uuh…" She writhed, eyes darting around feverishly, her body flushed.

...Marigold closed the closet.

"...No muskets, either." She frowned. "Darn."

' _...I'm not gonna ask what was in there._ '

...Hiyori turned to the hole in the wall, where multiple invincibles were stuck, only their blades managing to fit as they all got in eachother's ways.

' _Good to see that they're as tactically talented as we are._ '

The dark, candlelit room suddenly had a very entrapping atmosphere. With little way in or out other than through the hallway of horrors, Hikari was forced to brainstorm...

"...How do we fix _this?_ " Hikari looked around, at a loss.

Hiyori took her mace, and mauled the wall.

Bam!

...Another empty fairy room sat on the other side.

"Fufufu~!" Not so empty, as it turns out.

"We don't." Hiyori grinned.

' _Oh, boy…_ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

END OF CHAPTER 28

Protagonist: Hikari Hakurei, Disciple of Paradise

-Inventory-

Weapon: Miracle Gohei - Ability to whack stuff really hard. Amplifies whacking power, too! Able to deal magical damage. Adds an increased chance to deal critical hits. Recreated by the dream realm.

Arms: Iconic Hakurei Arm Sleeves - Keeps arms warm. A Hakurei tradition. How they stay on is a Hakurei family secret.

Body: Devastated Miko Outfit - Her combat miko outfit, except mostly annihilated. It's going to need some serious repairs.

Misc: Royal Red Ribbon - A ribbon made with rich materials, with a floral pattern.

-Skills-

Attack: Quickly! Swing your gohei at them for massive damage!

PK Fantasy α, β, γ, Ω - Bombards the enemy with pain in the form of flashing colors. Deals magical damage. Heavy mental strain that increases with each tier. Third tier forms a barrier, which breaks upon moderate damage. Final tier is a non-elemental nuke of immense magical power.

PK Flash α, ß, γ, Ω - A bright flash that distributes very random status effects to enemies. Usually makes people cry. Higher tiers increase chances, and introduce possibilities of fainting or dispel. Higher tiers can instantly destroy more varieties of foes, and make people feel weird.

Hypnosis α, Ω - Puts weak enemies to sleep for a short time. Works better on tired or exhausted foes. Can also be used in a far more costly form that works on multiple opponents.

Shield α, ß - Halves damage the target takes. Only works against physical attacks, and enough strikes, or powerful strikes, will dispel it. Higher tier turns it into a power-shield that protects even better and even reflects a fraction of protected damage.

Lifeup α, ß, γ, Ω - Heals target a little. Higher tiers heal more grievous wounds, like bone fractures. Highest tier heals everybody in the party.

Healing α, ß, γ - Heals basic status ailments. Higher tiers can cure more dire effects, like burning alive.

Teleport α, ß - Allows instant transport to the general location of an area remembered by oneself or one's party members. Requires a long, fast run-up to execute, however. Higher tier allows a circular motion to control the run-up instead, giving Hikari more control over the teleport.

Ofuda Toss - Throw a holy ofuda that does massive holy elemental damage to youkai and dark elemental foes. Effect lessens the more holy the thing you're attacking is, to the point of healing holy things. Only works if you actually have ofuda, though.

Cautionary Barrier - Summon a barrier that deflects attacks and magical attacks of all elements. Can be broken by stronger attacks, and is holy elemental.

Lightshine Ofuda - Two ofuda which explode into orbs of light. Area denying holy attack.

Summon Koishi - Using the Heart Gem's power, Hikari summons Koishi Komeiji. Casts three random HK spells on enemies, before using a higher tier one that depends on her current mood. Typically can manage two uses before she's out of mana. Costs sizable mana.

γ-γ-γ-γ

Mage: Osamu Katsumi, the Wannabe Mage

-Inventory-

Weapon: Fisticuffs!

Arms: Nothing

Body: Rugged Robe - A sturdy robe enchanted to resist damage. Made partially with sturdy cloth from deep underground.

Misc: Red Mage Hat - A red colored mage's hat made from cloth in the Human Village. Minor resistance to thunder, ice, and fire magic from its well worn usage in the past. Didn't see much action… until Osamu bought it!

-Skills-

PK Thunder α, ß - Very random thunder attack that deals limited damage. Higher tiers increase number of bolts, and sometimes power.

PK Hydro α, β, γ - Gets everyone wet. Usefulness with PK Thunder and PK Freeze depends on whether you hit yourself or not! Creates whirling water spirals at higher tiers.

PK Freeze α, β, γ, Ω - Generates ice crystals at the target's location. Medium damage and effect; may freeze some targets, especially wet ones. Highest tier has a near-guaranteed freeze chance and immense ice damage, at the cost of being very taxing.

Fireball - Manipulate mana to make a shoddy fireball. Low damage and effect.

Static Hands - Not a real spell. Result of a very undercharged PK Thunder that can accidentally go off.

PSI Telepathy α - Speak to friends you haven't met yet! Unstable connection and only works if they have the skill or are asleep.

PSI Shield α, Σ - Halves damage from magical and psychic attacks. Thunder spells fry it instantly, and harder blows dispel it. Second tier applies basic shield to entire party at higher mana expense.

PSI Magnet α - Costs no mana to use, and steals a very tiny amount of mana from the enemy. Enemy has to have mana in the first place for it to work, though.

Offense Up α - Get pissed! Boosts strength and confidence depending on caster's power and receiver's power.

Defense Down α - Throw the enemy off their game. Makes them slightly more vulnerable to physical attacks.

γ-γ-γ-γ

Inventor: Marigold Knowledge, the Tri-Magi Love Child

-Inventory-

Weapon: Spectrum Shotgun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Filled with foil chip bags to conduct the mana, and it is transmitted into a wind stone. Upgraded to draw mana from a simple wooden block filled with immense magic reserves, giving it virtually unlimited ammo. The addition of a battery and a prism allow it to fire seven rainbow colored beams at a wide spread, which deal non-elemental damage. Firing long enough allows them to focus and deal incredible damage, at the cost of insane recoil and instability.

Arms: Nothing

Body: Really Custom Adventure Dress - A custom dress made by Alice, burnt into fragments by an inferno. Provides slight defense against magical and psychic attacks. Now allows very free movement, but is worse for the cold.

Misc: Swirly Glasses - Lets Marigold not be blind.

Backpack - Allows extended inventory. Aged relic from the Kourindou.

Unnamed Lock Opening Device - Opens locks very precariously. Made with steel, burnt cloth, packaging peanuts, thumbtacks, string, and wooden wheels. Don't even ask…

Ruler - Lets you measure the world around you!

Protractor - Lets you find the angles of anything ever. Totally overpowered.

Scotch Tape - Transparent adhesive from the outside world. Weak, but handy!

Deck of Cards - Allows Marigold to play Strip Poker with the party. Just kidding… or am I?

Shield Killer - Electrical device used to subdue harassers. Has settings ranging from Tickle Torture to Arse Blaster. Fires electrical projectiles, of unknown power.

NF Burst Gun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Uses a Pop Gun as the base, but amplifies its power with an array of random batteries jammed into the base with the Pop Gun. The more batteries, the better, but the typical yield is about five bullets per trigger. Spamming the trigger doesn't make it go any faster, unfortunately. Has no foreseeable ammo limit, and the batteries are only there for mana circulation, meaning their power is really inconsequential.

Holmes Brand Designer Hat - Village swag! A retro village hat that ceased production ten years ago. Sells for a pretty penny nowadays, but it's pretty useless otherwise.

Slime Generator - A bulky box that shoots a small splat of slime. Doesn't seem good for much.

Counter-PSI Device - A weird device Marigold found from a flying saucer. Works in strange ways, and seems to disrupt everyone's concentration. Marigold is immune to its effects.

Charm of Sleep - Grants immunity to sleep while equipped, or held. Can be equipped to Arms or Misc.

Microwave Gun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Constructed with a controlled flame crystal and metal parts, it fires a beam of sustained microwave energy that cooks biological foes alive. Fire-elemental at its core, it's also very inefficient against machines.

Defense Shower - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Made of a broom, a showerhead, some magnets, and uses jars of water as ammo. Slapped together with ofuda, giving it a holy defensive effect. The jars are usually filled with Talcum Powder, for alchemical purposes. The liquid that is dispensed becomes auto-applying lotion.

Heavy Bazooka - An invention developed in part by Kappa Tech and Marigold Knowledge. It shoots heavy fire-based blasts of fire magic, and deals high knockback. It was constructed by stuffing some fire and gravity stones into a tube, adding a cap on one side to direct the fire, and hooking a magical wire to the handle. Nitori did most of the work, though...

-Skills-

Can Open Forth the Gates to Hell - She's got the keys to the bus, du~de!

Knows How To Do the Scarlet Tango - Only in theory, though…

Good Natured towards Fluffy People - Although, some say she isn't.

Likes To Ship Characters in Fiction - As do many inclined teenage girls!

Is The CEO of Mann. Co. - And she's gonna burn this place to the _ground!_

γ-γ-γ-γ

Fighter: Hiyori Hashimoto, the Buddhist Oni

-Inventory-

Weapon: Mace of Devas - The last of the four treasures held by the Devas of the Mountain. Ability to whack stuff really hard. Increases critical hit rate by lieu of being a really big, blunt, spiky weapon. Allows partial blocking of magic attacks.

Arms: Shackle of Devas - The first of the four treasures held by the Devas of the Mountain. Grants immunity to sleep-inducing magic. Grants fifty percent resistance to wind and thunder magic.

Body: Kimono of Devas - The second of the four treasures held by the Devas of the Mountain. Grants immunity to paralyzing magic. Grants fifty percent resistance to fire magic. Insanely durable. Has a floral design to it…!

Misc: Bows of Devas - The third of the four treasures held by the Devas of the Mountain. Grants immunity to confusion-inducing magic. Grants fifty percent resistance to ice magic.

-Skills-

PK Starstorm α - Summons forth the stars from the night's sky to rain down upon enemies. Hits all enemies, and deals high magical damage, at the cost of being highly mentally taxing. Can hit allies if they're in the effective area, as the white stars don't have homing properties. Power proportional to amount of enemies, as well.

PK Fire α, ß - Creates an igniting blast of flames at the target's location. More impact comes with higher tiers.

PK Freeze α, β, γ - Generates ice crystals at the target's location. Medium damage and effect; may freeze some targets, especially wet ones.

Shield α, ß, Σ - Halves damage the target takes. Only works against physical attacks, and enough strikes, or powerful strikes, will dispel it. Higher tier turns it into a power-shield that protects even better and even reflects a fraction of protected damage. Highest tier applies a basic shield to the entire party.

Lifeup α, ß - Heals target a little. Higher tiers heal more grievous wounds, like bone fractures.

Healing α, ß - Heals basic status ailments. Higher tiers can cure more dire effects, like burning alive.

Teleport α, ß - Allows instant transport to the general location of an area remembered by oneself or one's party members. Requires a long, fast run-up to execute, however. Higher tier is largely automatic and requires little room to execute.

Martial Arts - Skilled in hand-to-hand combat.

γ-γ-γ-γ

Author's Note:

oof, forgot to write this author's note and upload this for like a week after the chapter was finished

made this chapter a bit longer, mostly to make more things happen between all the action scenes that were happening; the whole "shit hits the fan" series of scenes is a bit longer than i expected it was gonna pan out but i feel it necessary in a few ways

namely being level ups for the people who are not hikari, showing how powerful hikari's become (if she's not getting seduced by succubi), and showing just how wide giygas' final shitstorm on the land really is

rest assured next chapter'll probably have actual progression and things in terms of EB's plot points

as always, see you all next time!


	29. We Dream of Hakurei

The library door slammed shut.

Marigold panted, backing away from the door as it magically sealed itself. "Ha~h… ha~h…"

Fwi-shi~ng!

The door shimmered, the lock fully realizing itself.

"Du~de…" Osamu was happy. "There're so many hot chicks! I mean, they want us dead, but… holy shit!"

Hikari was covered in lipstick marks. "I feel violated."

' _The fact my clothes are half disintegrated_ really _doesn't help…_ ' Hikari shuddered, recalling the feeling of hands caressing her curves. ' _That's gonna be in my head for too long._ '

Hiyori had a single, large lipstick mark on her cheek. "I'm glad we escaped from that."

"Get back he~re!"

At that moment, three succubi roared by, fleeing from a flock of tomes being led by Koakuma.

…

With her breath recovered, Marigold turned to Hiyori cynically. "I blame you for that."

"I accept the blame." Hiyori continued to stare in the direction they departed.

Ahead of them, four succubi hovered out from behind a bookshelf. Their eyes glimmered, red light flashing in them the moment they saw the party.

Hikari felt herself shiver involuntarily. ' _No-not again…_ '

Osamu groaned. "Fucking… When'll these succubi just _get lost!?_ "

Osamu tried Defense Down Ω!

"O-ooh…"

"Ahn…"

"N-no~..."

The four succubi all moaned as their defense fell, feeling even softer than ever before.

...Marigold blinked. "What was that?"

Osamu grinned. "Yelling magic, dude."

They continued towards the party, now slightly softer.

"Like, which of you wants to fuck the _tall_ one?"

Marigold readied her Heavy Bazooka, taking aim with it…

One of the succubi got groped by her friend. "Ah-ahn…!"

"She's got big boo~bs, too!" They all lecherously eye Hiyori-

Boom!

 _Fwo-Fwo-Fwoo~sh_ …

Three chummy succubi were vaporized by the blast.

The last one's eyes went wide. "A-aah!? Holy shit…!"

"Pfft…!" Osamu chuckled. "Hahaha~! Fuckin' _wasted!_ "

...Outnumbered four to one, the final succubi flew back into the shelves, not confident that she could take on the party.

After that, the party was alone.

Hikari sighed. "...Getting further's going to be a project, isn't it?"

"Probably." Hiyori folded her arms, walking ahead. "Stick behind me."

' _She's the most sturdy of us._ ' ...Hikari timidly looked over the kiss marks on her body. ' _And more disciplined._ '

Progressing forward, the party hung low beneath the library's grand shelves. Above them, dogfights between succubi, Invincibles, and giant angry tomes played out.

Lasers shot out from shelves adjacent to the party, stretching into the dim airspace of the library. They struck tomes, vaporizing them.

' _Uh oh._ ' Hikari felt like there was more laying low than just them.

Marigold noted this development, as well. "...Someone's intervening and making sure my mother's tomes don't get very far."

"What, really?" Osamu looked up, unable to make sense of the chaos. "...How?"

"Do you not _see_ them being wiped off the sky?" Marigold exasperatedly threw her arm up, sweeping it overhead.

"...Like, with a cloth, or something?" Osamu grinned.

"Yeah." Marigold slowly raised her bazooka towards Osamu… "Exactly."

One of the thin anti-tome lasers cut through the book shelf.

Vrrrr~!

"Woah…" Hiyori stumbled out of the way, the beam nearly grazing her.

' _Well, I think we know where-_ '

Boom!

The bookshelf blew open, books flying towards the party at high speeds.

Hikari tried Shield ß!

Hikari was protected by the power shield of light!

The tidal wave of tomes flew into her. as she shielded herself with her arms.

"Hngh…!" Hikari gritted her teeth, the many books slamming against her form. Eventually, they piled high upon her, burying her. "He-hey! No!"

…

Hikari was trapped under the pile of books, the interior illuminated by the shield of light. It weakly repelled the books, allowing Hikari to curl up into a ball shape to avoid being crushed.

' _It's snug._ ' She found herself unable to make progress.

…

' _So this is how it ends, huh?_ ' Hikari joked to herself.

It took a few moments for Hiyori to dig her out. The books near where Hikari's head was slid away, and she looked out.

"Hi." Hikari greeted her gingerly.

Hiyori hastily began trying to dig the other books off-

Fwaaa~m!

A thick laser blew Hiyori right off the pile, and also blew the pile off of Hikari.

Hikari would've flinched, were she not held in place. "A-ah…!"

Before the party was a huge, brass robot. It was similar to the spinning robots Hikari faced in the woods before, except it was big, and brass. Similarly to its cousins, it jerked and moved like a poorly calibrated Roomba, spinning and moving imprecisely on its large treads. The large body atop the treads was chaotic in the manner it addressed the party.

A wireframe limb that resembled an arm stretched upward, glowing brightly..

FwiChoo~m!

Thin lasers stretched towards all party members-

"A-aackh…" Including Hikari, who got a beam through the gut. ' _Ow, ow, ow…!_ '

Marigold was grazed, her flesh searing where the beam passed it. "Aah…"

"Gah!?" Hiyori was pierced by the beam, which traveled through the kimono she wore, though it didn't damage the clothing itself.

" _Oouu~w!_ " Osamu roared in pain, clutching his new incision. "Son of a _bitch!_ "

Hikari stumbled from the books, a hand held on her new, bleeding hole. "Uugh-"

Swish!

The machine disregarded its treads entirely, its arms spinning like tiny, highly propelled bundles of branches. The floor creaked in protest as the machine bounced along, foregoing navigation to hit Hikari.

She was knocked aside. "Au-augh…"

' _Th-this can't…_ '

Hikari tried Lifeup Ω!

...Hiyori looked up from her wound, disregarding the growing red blotch on her kimono. Lifting her mace, she charged at the robot. "Hraa~h…!"

She swung-

 _Cla~ng!_

The robot was dented, but not moved by the strike.

' _Holy…_ ' Hikari blinked at the machine's durability, as her wound quickly closed itself. ' _That thing's strong…_ '

FwiChoo~m! Hikari's power shield of light shot a thick beam at the robot.

 _Cla~ng!_

Its results were similar to Hiyori's smack with her mace.

' _That should've been a magical attack, too…_ ' Hikari backed away slowly, before her back bumped into a shelf.

Osamu fought his way from the books that went up to his waist, his own wound closing. "It's a _giant fucking robot_ , dude!"

"Oh, really!?" Marigold shouted at him from across the battlefield.

Osamu tried Defense Down α!

 _Bo~ng_. A few bolts slipped off of the metal sheets that composed the robot's body.

Hikari giggled at the sudden noise. "O-okay, then…"

Voile Destruction Device tried Shield Ω!

Voile Destruction Device was protected by the power shield of light!

Conductive Spirit was protected by the power shield of light!

Succubus was protected by the power shield of light!

From beneath the books, the brightly flashing form of an electrical skeleton rose, pushing books from itself. From there, it jittered as it rigidly approached Marigold.

Marigold grinned slowly as she backed away from it. "Wh-what is this? Get away from me, you…" She aimed her bazooka at it.

"And now you're _mine!_ " The succubus from before swooped down from above, homing in on Hiyori…

Hiyori extended her arm, and allowed her to fly into it.

Bam.

"Damn it…" The succubus reeled back.

A beam shot from her shield of light, striking Hiyori. "Hnh…"

' _Why can these things use my shield?_ '

Voile Destruction Device tried PK Thunder ß!

Thwaa~sh!

The conductive skeleton was stricken. It consumed the thunderbolt whole.

Thwaa~sh!

Bam!

"Egeguguhuh!?" Hikari was stricken. For a moment, everything was white. Then, everything was black.

…

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: MARIGOLD'S VIEW ====

"Egeguguhuh!?"

Marigold head Hikari wail from the nearby pile of books. When the electricity faded, the jittering and smouldering form of Hikari was left wobbling around.

' _O-oh, no!_ ' Marigold knew just how bad the results of getting electrocuted could be. "Hi-Hiyori! Heal her!"

Hiyori looked to Hikari. "Right!"

The succubus attempted to intervene with her claws. "No! Lights out, honey!"

She threw an orb of darkness towards Hiyori. Quickly, darkness gathered around her eyes, rendering her blind.

Hiyori tried Lifeup γ!

...Hikari flopped over.

' _Hikari!_ ' Marigold stepped forward cautiously, almost sliding to her doom after stepping on a few loose books on the tome-laden floor. ' _Wo-woah…_ '

...She was reminded the electrical skeleton existed. It reached out to try and poke her, but she leapt away. "He-hey! He-ah…!"

She ended up tumbling down the side of the pile. She reached for her bazooka-

Boom!

' _Eheh… accidental discharge…_ '

A pile of books was blown up, nearby.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIKARI'S VIEW ====

' _Uurh…_ '

Boom!

Hikari was roused by the explosion.

' _Is the world over, yet?_ '

...Hikari opened her eyes. She saw an electrical skeleton casually marching towards her.

' _...I'll take that as a yes._ '

"Fire Metal Sign! Saint Elmo's Pillar!"

Hikari looked to the sky, to see a giant orb of fire rain down from above. Quickly, she scrambled back onto the book pile, very reluctant to be caught in the path of the fire bomb.

 _Boom!_

The fireball became an immense pillar of flame, stretching to the library's ceiling. The whirling robot was flung into the air, before it came back down-

Bam!

It was left half-embedded in the floor.

' _...Woah._ ' Hikari blinked.

Boom!

Another explosion rang out. Hikari witnessed the electrical skeleton falling apart, as if the bazooka blast that ended it only faintly coerced it into falling over.

' _So many explosions…_ ' Hikari rubbed her ears.

The whirling robot found its limbs obstructed by the floor.

From above, Patchouli floated down, nimbly floating out of the way of oncoming succubi, and returning fire with crystals of flame she had flying by her side.

Osamu tried PSI Shield Ω!

"Wo-woah…" He _felt_ how much mana he used.

The entire party, Patchouli included, were protected by psychic power shields!

...Patchouli curiously tapped hers, causing it to shimmer. "Hmm. Impressive."

Hiyori flailed her limbs at the succubus, pushing her away from herself.

"You…" Eventually, she moved away, and went around Hiyori's arms. "Come here!"

Tackling Hiyori from the side, but failing to even nudge her, the succubus laid a thick kiss on her other cheek.

"Mmm~..." She moaned into Hiyori's cheek. "Mwah!"

...Hiyori moved her arms to embrace the succubus.

She smiled mockingly. " _There_. That be-"

 _Fwoo~sh_. The succubus was crushed after Hiyori abruptly jerked her arms towards herself.

"Hmph." Hiyori was blushing, but otherwise unaffected. "Flying obscenity."

Marigold looked up at her mother, who seemed to have successfully warded off the opposing succubi with sustained firepower. That, and the assistance of very large, multi-elemental books.

"This should be the last one." She gazed down at the giant brass robot. "Water Sign, Jellyfish Princess!"

A bubble of water formed around her in addition to her psychic power shield.

Osamu snorted. "Geez. Got enough defense, there?"

Patchouli focused on the trapped robot. Her fire crystals focused on it, and continually shot small, spammable fireballs at it.

They lightly clinked against the metal exterior of the robot, which was slowly moving to free itself of the pit it got stuck in…

Marigold furrowed her brows at her Microwave Gun…

Voile Destruction Device tried PK Thunder ß!

Thwa~sh!

Hiyori jittered mildly, the bolt striking her horns first. The electricity promptly jumped from her horns to her shackle, arcing through the air to do so. The shackle glowed a pastel yellow, before dimming again.

' _...Lucky._ ' Hikari furrowed her brows, envious.

Thwaa~sh!

Patchouli's water shield jiggled as the electricity surged through it. In moments, it was neutralized. "As anticipated."

The robot spun its arms. It smashed the branch-esque appendages against the library's floor, righting itself.

"Hikari!" Marigold called out. "Do you have that moon lens, that one magician gave us?"

' _What?_ ' Hikari drew a blank… ' _Oh, yeah._ ' "Why now?"

"I need it." Marigold elaborated. "For things."

' _...Good reason as any._ ' Taking the lens from her pocket, Hikari leapt across the books to where Marigold was.

She landed loudly, wincing a little. ' _Gravity sucks._ '

"Hey, now…" Marigold eyed her friend's legs warily. "...Oh, you didn't break them, somehow."

Hikari's expression became dry. "Here."

Taking the lens, Marigold kneeled, holding the Microwave Gun by its side. "Thanks, Hikari!"

"Earth Metal Sign…" Patchouli waved her arms in front of herself. "Emerald Megalopolis!"

In that moment, a large crag of emerald stone erupted from the floor, launching the Voile Destruction Device.

Boo~m. The library shook as another protrusion of emerald was erected, for the robot to fall onto-

Krraa~ng!

The metal lurched violently as the emerald spike bested its brass form-

Boo~m. The head of the robot was removed from its main form, a third large emerald spire forming even though it was as good as dead anyway.

From there, the brass robot was no more.

' _Wow._ ' Hikari was impressed with the prompt destruction. ' _...I think she has better spells than us. She didn't use any of those while she was possessed..._ '

...Patchouli sighed, floating downward. "There. Now my tomes can defend in peace."

...Marigold huffed. She had replaced the standard glass lens on the Microwave Gun with the moon lens the magician had given them. "I wanted to test this on it…"

As she approached the floor, Patchouli dispelled her water shield. The liquid that formed it rained to the floor-

Splash!

Hikari flinched back as the water splashed onto her, a few drops flecking her face.

Osamu's jaw dropped. "Dude! You like, soaked all the books!"

...Patchouli's expression was blank. "Waterproofed."

' _That's cheating._ ' Hikari instantly wanted her books at home to be waterproofed. ' _I could read books in the hot spring…_ '

...Osamu stared at the books in awe.

Hiyori stepped down the mound of books she stood upon-

Crunch, crunch, crunch!

She stomped some books flat on the way down, involuntarily.

...Patchouli sighed, bringing a hand to her face. "I don't know when you four got here, but this is not the most opportune time to browse."

"We got dropped here by a youkai that can make holes." Marigold explained to her. "You know. The one."

Patchouli went from rubbing her temple to facepalming. "Excellent. Should we expect her to airdrop us an arsenal of rocks, as well?"

The party observed her growing annoyance. ' _To be fair, I think we're able to do more than rocks…_ '

After a pause, Patchouli continued. "Wait, the Yakumo are active? Marigold, what are Yukari's intentions to deal with this incident? I believe it has gone far beyond the boundary that standard nonsense may walk, and if she's not already mobilized, I will see it so."

Marigold snorted, before pointing to Hikari.

...Hikari noticed her friend pointing at her, only after a moment of Patchouli staring at the two of them idly.

"You were not gifted with a voice box to avert the use of it." Patchouli jabbed.

Grinning, Marigold used her voice box to the best of her ability. "Yukari wants Hikari and the rest of us to fight the source of this incident."

…

" _Why?_ " Patchouli seethed. "Has she genuinely become mentally deficient at last? Does she plan to be rid of you? Is this some 'trial by fire' nonsense?"

Marigold put her hand up. "Hey, hey, you're one to talk, about that last one."

"There are a number of better candidates for this all-out war than the four of you." Patchouli folded her arms. "This implies that oni of yours is useful for more than taking damage."

Hiyori furrows her brows.

"Because you're really good at taking damage yourself." Marigold jeers back at her mother. "Mother, now's _really_ not the time to be getting upset about stuff."

"The idea is to not-..." Patchouli switched tracks. "This, of all times, is _not_ one where upset is warranted!?"

' _She said the wrong thing._ ' Hikari sighed. ' _Moms are voracious._ '

That was when Hiyori fell into a gap, with a yelp. "Huah!?"

' _...Oh._ ' Hikari took a moment to process that.

Osamu was next. "Oh- shit!"

...Marigold saluted, before she fell straight down.

Patchouli fluffed up. "That _damned…!_ "

Hikari gave her a thumbs up, before dropping into a gap herself.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Hikari landed in a cushy chair. ' _...This is good._ '

Around her, her party was also seated. Except for Marigold, who's backpack full of stuff ended up tipping over the chair on landing, it seemed.

"Uu~gh…" She groaned, lying beside the chair and still stuck to the backpack.

Hikari tried Lifeup α!

' _That looks like it probably hurt._ '

She gave Hikari a thumbs up, moving to get into the chair... "Th-thanks…"

...Across the room, Reimu was also in a cushy chair. Next to her was Yukari, who had numerous glowing seals adorning her form.

Reimu double-took upon seeing Hikari. "What _happened_ to you!?"

...Hikari tilted her head. ' _Uhm…?_ '

Reimu disregarded the bland plastic table's existence by stepping over it to reach Hikari, to Yukari's visual disdain.

The room they were in resembled the inner rooms of Eientei, blue trimming lining the edges between the blue tiled floor and the sterile white walls.

Reimu dropped down next to Hikari, and began examining her face and neck…

' _Oh. The kiss marks._ ' Hikari had let them slip her mind when she got fried by a lightning bolt. ' _Also, the char marks from the lightning, but that probably wouldn't've been terribly obvious on its own._ '

"Where are these from?" Reimu rubbed one, the lipstick smearing off onto her hand…

"...Molestation." It took Hikari a moment to think of a good one-word explanation, as she likes to do.

Reimu snorted. "So it seems…" Bringing her lipstick-smeared thumb to her face, Reimu took a sniff. Her eyes widened, "Wo-woah… potent stuff."

Osamu grinned. "Dude, hundred yen if you lick it."

...Reimu's blank stare slowly shifted into a glare.

Osamu put his hands up in surrender.

"Come, sit, Reimu. Eirin will be here shortly." Yukari requested.

...Reimu huffed. "Fine."

With that, she relocated herself to her cushy blue chair proper.

Moments later, a simple wooden door swung open, Eirin stepping in. "Hello, hello. I see a crowd has gathered in honor of Yukari's passing, here."

Yukari folded her arms, taking a moment to peel one of the seals from herself. "Master of comedy. Wouldn't you be so kind as to inform these curious interns of how you plan to aid them in the fight against Giygas?"

Eirin smiled. "I won't."

…

"In all seriousness…" Eirin dryly continued after her attempted jeer, "Giygas himself seems to have been all but evacuated from Gensokyo at this point. Chasing a formless entity who borders on conceptual is rather futile."

"Says you." Reimu countered, before turning to Yukari.

...Yukari sighed.

Eirin observed. "...Point. Regardless, it is impossible to simply directly engage Giygas at this point."

...Hikari nodded. ' _Okay…_ ' "So, now what?"

"It is simple." Eirin stepped towards a immense cloth in the back of the room, past the table. Grabbing it, she pulled it off.

Inside sat a cerulean gate, big enough to fit a human.

...Reimu brings the thumb to her mouth, and licks the residual lipstick while no one is watching, curious.

"Giygas is to return, and likely will not interfere in excess until he believes himself long forgotten." Yukari speaks. "Once his attack inevitably falls flat to the force of Gensokyo, he'll bide his time."

"Pftoo~!" Reimu spat the lipstick out onto the floor. "Nasty…"

...The party stares at her dryly. Unfortunately, Osamu missed the exchange, raising his brow at her displeasure.

"So we just wait?" Hiyori tilts her head.

Yukari snorts. "No~, no, no. Too much can happen to Hikari in such a time frame."

Reimu glared at her. "Can you not write my daughter off as _dead_ in front of me?"

"As such…" Ignoring the shrine maiden, Yukari gestured for Eirin to pick up the slack with her gloved hand.

Eirin makes an announcement. "The four of you will be going forward in time."

…

' _What._ '

"Wha~t!?" Osamu and Reimu hollered.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Osamu's head was face down on the table. Marigold seemed drowsy, and Hiyori was counting the ceiling tiles.

"And such is why the~..." Eirin paused, finding words. "...The flux device? Yes, it would seem to be. The flux device is in need of systematic modulation sequencers, the kind of which can only be fully realized by material of another quantum level. Specifically, time, and not ours."

' _She just doesn't stop talking…_ '

Hikari tried Hypnosis α!

Energy rippled around Eirin, but served no purpose.

"When I told you to 'get on with it…" Yukari was lurched over, lounging on the table. "I didn't mean-"

"This is getting on with it. I'm simply giving the essentials." Eirin countered. "To properly educate them would require classes, which we haven't time for. You see, time travel in the-"

Lazily, Yukari drawled at her. "No~, it _wouldn't_ require classes..."

...Eirin's brow twitched. "I'm sorry? Do _you_ wish to explain the task at hand, then?"

"Science." Reimu's muffled voice came from her arms, which she had resting on the table along with her head.

"Mmmph." Osamu was unintelligible.

"Time stuff." Marigold yawned.

"Things." Hiyori was still looking at the ceiling.

"A time portal you jump in and stuff." Yukari explained. "We're not _building_ it, you know. If we were making a gun, must you explain the gun's design to us?"

Eirin was perturbed. "Wouldn't knowing the design be the first step in making it?"

"Eirin…" Yukari spoke up softly.

"I never gave you permission to use my first name." Eirin coldly shot back at her.

"Eirin, Eirin, Eirin…" She wagged a finger at her. "It's just a _portal_. If it's not as simple as pushing a button for the consumer, what good is it?"

Eirin furrowed her brows. "But- the complexity warrants it! It's _convenient time travel!_ You can't expect it to be as simple as-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Yukari waved her hand. "Look, you can explain more when we're done here. For now, in simplest terms, inform Hikari what steps need to be taken for time travel."

' _I'm not sure about this whole 'traveling through time' thing…!_ ' Hikari was annoyed by Yukari's insistence.

...Eirin takes a breath. "Hikari needs to find traces of alien rock in order for the time machine to _function_."

' _...I think I know where to get that._ ' Hikari nodded.

"Explain it to her like she's five." Yukari grins. "It's the only way."

Eirin audibly sighed. "...Hikari needs space rocks to time travel."

' _Why._ ' Hikari stared Yukari down.

"...I don't think that was entirely necessary." Marigold perked up at the new discussion.

Osamu rose his face from the table. "Can we go back to fighting the big breasted succubus things?"

Reimu double-took.

Hiyori grinned at the bluntness of his statement.

"Ye- no." Yukari resisted the urge to thrust the party into another unfortunate situation. "Instead, you four will be searching for some sort of extraterrestrial rock. In the meantime, I'll see if I can fetch you a qualifying rock from the moon, instead."

Hikari spoke up. "There was this meteor that landed near the shrine, a few weeks ago. I saw one of those Starman things near it, for the first time."

…

Yukari blinked, bemused. "When was this?"

"The Gensokyo New Year party." Hikari provided. "You were dead drunk."

...Shaking her head, Yukari propped her elbow on the table, and her head on her arm.

…

"Time is ticking." Eirin stares at Yukari expectantly.

…

Eirin bites. "What are you doing?"

"Genuinely reflecting." Yukari stares into space, grinning.

"You'll be something to genuinely reflect upon when I'm done with you." Eirin threatened loosely. "Make haste. I've much work to be doing, including reparations."

"Alright, alright…" Yukari stood. "I'm gapping you all to the meteor."

"Why can't you just grab it yourself?" Reimu stood, ready to beat Yukari up again.

"...I don't feel like it." Yukari winked at her.

Fully expecting it this time, the party let her gap them, complacently dropping into the holes below, ready to land.

Reimu raised her gohei into the air, marching towards the gap youkai with the intent to bludgeon.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

It was dark, again.

Hikari looked around for her friends. She saw dim figures next to herself in the shade.

Six, to be exact.

' _Uh oh._ ' Some of them probably weren't like the others.

Osamu made himself known. "Marco!"

Marigold was across the dim shrine's interior. "Polo!"

Hiyori's horns were easy to make herself out. She walked into a figure, who wasn't Osamu or Marigold. ' _Or me._ '

Thud. The figure fell to the floor.

"Oh, sorry…" Hiyori apologized.

"Hrr~h…" The figure hissed up at her.

Marigold flipped on her Shield Killer.

An Invincible, unarmed, was on the floor. She leapt up at Hiyori, wrapping around her upper torso.

"Wo-woah!" Hiyori was more surprised than hurt by the resulting clawing.

Hikari held her gohei high. "Hey, hey…!"

Thwack!

The Invincible looked at her, but refused to acknowledge the hits, hugging itself against Hiyori like a frazzled cat.

Hiyori reached up and grabbed the Invincible, and attempted to pull it off, only to find it highly resilient.

"Dude, lemme- oah! Woaa~h!" Osamu falls over.

Marigold shines the Shield Killer towards him, only to find that he was crawling away from an actually armed Invincible.

"We've got a big one!" Marigold backed away, skittish.

' _Oh, boy._ ' She reached for her ofuda…

The Invincible spun in the air, a flurry of pale blue orbs hovering in the shrine's interior. Unfortunately, most of them collided either with the floor or with walls, neutralizing the vast majority of the attack.

Marigold took this moment to take out her Microwave Gun, which now had the moon lens attached to it. "Alright, here goes!"

She fired it. A pale blue beam stretched towards the Invincible. The hum was more ethereal, and echoed.

 _Wou~h-h-h..._

As it struck the Invincible, it hovered unaffected, even as pale flames ran up its form. Floating down, it stabbed its blade in the floor…

' _Here we go…!_ ' Hikari mentally prepared herself to be stabbed in the stomach, again.

...The Invincible never became its invisible form. Instead, it floated idly in the air, the blue flames becoming more subtle but still visible on its limbs.

…

' _It's not doing anything._ ' Hikari stared at it blankly.

The abyss stared back.

Marigold held the beam on it.

Osamu stood up again, watching the Invincible carefully.

…

 _Fwoo~sh…_

Hiyori killed the Invincible clinging to her face by repeatedly smashing her head into the wall.

"That thing just… gonna stare at us?" Osamu questioned it.

The Invincible idly switched its stares between the party members, as if contemplative.

"It's genuinely reflecting." Hikari joked.

Marigold and Osamu snorted.

After a moment, the Invincible lifted its blade from the floor.

' _Dang. I was kind of hoping it was friendly…_ '

It hung in the air menacingly. Eventually, it spun around again, but created no orbs.

"It's just spinning like a retard!" Osamu was amused.

In response, the Invincible stabbed its sword into the floor, and became idle again.

…

Marigold turned off the blue beam. The Invincible continued to 'burn'.

Hikari decided to engage it.

Thwack!

It didn't react past a subtle flinch.

"I think we broke it." Marigold deduced.

...Hiyori lifted her mace. "Should we finish it off?"

It lifted its sword from the ground.

"Yes." Hikari backed away.

Hiyori ran up to the altered Invincible, and brought her mace down on it.

 _Fwoo~sh_ …

Air whipped the party's hair for a moment, before everything was quiet again.

' _Now…_ ' Hikari stepped forward. ' _To find that meteor._ '

Thud. Her leg hit the kotatsu. "Ow…!"

The party looked in her direction, only to find out that she bumped her leg on the kotatsu.

"Nice goin'." Osamu sassed her.

"Yeah, yeah…" Hikari huffed. Looking around the floor of the shrine, her eyes rested on something that slipped her mind…

Trying to keep the party on target, Hiyori began speaking. "Where will that meteorite be?"

"Just outside, in the woods." Hikari slowly stepped through the darkness, her eyes locking onto an object.

Kneeling, she reached for the jet black gohei.

"Let's get goin'!" Osamu clapped his hands. "It's fuckin' _dark_ in here!"

Wrapping her fingers around the gohei, Hikari found herself unable to let go.

' _Let's do this._ ' Hikari was more confident, this time.

Dizziness struck her…

"Hikari?" Marigold became unsure of her friend's presence. "Are you still-"

Thud.

The party moved closer to her. Marigold shined her Shield Killer on Hikari's body, the evidence of what happened in her hand. "Of all the times…"

Osamu rose his brows. "Damn, dude. Y'think she picked it up by accident?"

Marigold furrowed her brows. "...How would it _ever_ be by accident?"

==== BLOODLINES BEQUEATHED ====

Hikari stood in the strange space she had encountered once before. Yin-yang patterned tiles stretched as far as the eye could see above and below. Images of the Hakurei Shrine and surrounding hillside filled the horizon, messing with Hikari's depth perception a little…

' _This place is still weird._ '

"Ah. It's you, again."

Hikari turned, and saw the form of Sendai Hakurei no Miko behind her, sitting with her legs crossed. The jet black gohei lied in her lap.

...At that moment, Hikari assessed herself, and found that her clothes were intact and she was free of molestation marks in this dimension. ' _Mental space is fun space._ '

Springing to her sandals, Sendai gripped the gohei tightly with one hand. Looking down at it, she rose a brow. "This thing's been a hot commodity, recently. Black and red freaks've been coming in here. Reimu toss me into an abyss or something?"

Hikari shook her head. "Nope. Evil dark abomination tried to invade Gensokyo, this is the final lash, I think."

...Sendai shrugged. "Good reason as any. I guess you'll be needing this?" She holds up the gohei.

Hikari brought up her own gohei. "I'm sure you're not going to make it easy."

At that, Sendai grinned. "Bingo."

Reeling her arm back, Sendai tossed the gohei into the distance, where it whirled off until it became a blur.

Hikari felt her body prepare itself. ' _I'm stronger, now. I'm definitely not going to go down as badly as last time._ '

…

Hikari tried Shield ß!

Hikari was protected by the power shield of light!

Lashing out, Sendai sent a barrage of three ofuda outward, fast as lightning.

Hikari reacted on instinct, stumbling out of the way. ' _St-still so fast…_ '

Smirking, Sendai began strafing. "You managed to dodge that, this time. Barely."

Not bothering to retort, Hikari held her gohei tightly…

Flinging herself forward like a bullet, Sendai extended her knee outward in an attempt to strike Hikari.

"Ha~h!" Hikari heaved as she leapt upward as fast as she could. She fell somewhat awkwardly, not expecting to gain the height she did. ' _Wo-woah! I almost hit the ceiling, there…!_ '

As she fell, Sendai ran to engage her with her dukes.

Unable to do much about the incoming blow, Hikari swung at her-

Thwack! Bam!

They exchanged blows. Hikari was sent flying from Sendai's dark punch, while Sendai's head only jerked in the direction it was stricken.

"Pffft…" Sendai folded her arms. "You hit way harder than last time, and it's only been a few days. I assume whatever the hell's goin' on outside of here's been beefing you up, a bit."

Hikari skidded to a stop, clutching where Sendai struck her stomach… ' _Pa-pain…_ '

Hikari tried Lifeup α!

...She felt better. Sort of.

A thick beam shot from the power shield of light. Sendai reached out and grabbed the beam's tip with her hand as it homed in on her, neutralizing it.

"...Still hasn't taught ya to stop spamming _healing_ spells." Sendai cracked her knuckles. "I _was_ gonna go a little easy on ya, there being some kind of disaster going on and all, but if you think you can just _heal_ your way out of this…"

' _Nevermind. I don't feel better._ '

WIth that, Sendai sprinted towards Hikari, increasing in speed as she neared.

' _A-ah…!_ ' Hikari tensed up, readying to either tank or dodge.

Sendai leaped into the air, and at the apex of her jump, she summoned a large Yin-Yang orb. It rained down from above like a meteor, forcing Hikari to relocate herself to avoid being crushed by it.

As Sendai neared the floor, Hikari thought she could use this opportunity to exploit one's inability to control their downward momentum. She ran for Sendai, and swung.

Woosh.

Sendai backflipped away from the swipe, before skidding to a halt only a few feet from where she began.

' _Now…_ ' Hikari decided it was time to take advantage of her expanded mana pool, since physically attacking seemed to not be going anywhere very fast.

Hikari tried PK Fantasy ß!

Hikari threw her right arm forward, a technicolor polygon of psychic energy rocketing out.

FwOwOw!

Sendai was taken by surprise. Guarding with her arms, she tanked the hit. "Ghn…"

Repeating her right arm's action with her left, Hikari surprised her with another technicolor projectile of blunt trauma.

FwOwOw!

"Hnn…" Sendai grunted, sliding back from the impact.

Red, yellow and blue sparks of energy rained down from above, bypassing her defenses.

Fizzle!

Sendai instead chose to focus on staying steady enough to tank the next onslaught, rainbow energy roaring across her body.

Fizzle!

Hikari was put off by how well Sendai seemed to grit her teeth through the attack.

Through this focus on the elder miko, Hikari unleashed her final psychic blast of the attack.

Bwaa~sh!

"Ho~h…" Sendai exhaled loudly as the blast flung her into the air. As she floated for the floor again, she promptly executed a backflip to land on her sandals stably.

' _...I'm going to have to use a lot of attacks._ ' Hikari concluded.

Sendai grinned. "That's the attack you used before. You caught me off guard a little, this time, starting with those glowing box things first."

...Hikari blinked. ' _I did?_ '

Stepping forward, the elder miko exuded confidence. "Unless those are the kinds of attacks you've been holding back, and not just some one-shot desperation move… this is gonna be _really_ one sided."

She arched back, floating into the air. " _Thousand Blades!_ "

Ofuda flowed out like a waterfall from her sleeves, quickly working to generate axes around herself.

' _Not this time!_ ' Hikari was sure she had a way to counter it, this time.

Hikari tried PK Fantasy γ!

Throwing her arms out, she launched two more polygons of seizure-inducing psychic energy outward.

FwOwOwOw!

Stopping before the many developing axes, their energy blossomed outward, constructing a solid hexagonal wall.

TinkTinkTinkTink!

The yellow and red hexagons stood tall before Sendai, as her axes began to blossom outwards themselves.

Many broke apart on Hikari's hexagonal fantasy shield. Ofuda which glowed with vibrant rainbow energy exploded from numerous of the axes that attempted to bust through the shield, until a few finally broke one.

ShatterShatterShatterShatter!

Shards of energy shimmered through the air, as a single hexagon's destruction caused a chain reaction, leading to a maelstrom of hurtling towards Sendai.

She lowered from her floating posture, only to be bombarded. "Hu-guhk!? Hua-huwah!?" She was juggled through the air slightly by each strike, red and yellow energy obscuring her form.

Hikari focused on her, her eyes flashing.

Bwa~sh!

"Hnh…!" Sendai was air tossed once more by the final psychic blast, though all it did was allow her to recover with her backflip again.

' _I have a lot more mana than I thought…!_ ' Hikari felt like she could use her third tier flashy spell more often.

"Now, _that's_ better…!" Sendai's eyes were full of excitement. "One hell of a defensive move!"

...Hikari dared to grin. ' _I think… I think I got this!_ '

Sendai ran towards her, before dropping into a slide, moving along on her hip across the tiled floor.

Hikari's eyes widened, and she ducked.

"Ho~h!" Sendai kicked upwards, flying over Hikari. She landed on the floor a few feet behind Hikari, before pivoting on her heels.

Hikari pivoted as well, feeling slightly dizzy from doing it so fast. ' _Ah…_ '

Sendai pulled out a book, and flung it forward. It began spiralling around in the air, the pages floating out and becoming razor sharp blades that followed the book as it moved.

Cautiously eying the sharp pages, Hikari easily found a spot out of their path. ' _The books have betrayed me._ '

She looked up, seeing Sendai rise into the air with a fierce, darkness-imbued uppercut.

' _She's coming back…_ ' Hikari predicted. She found herself stuck inside the ring of razor sharp pages. ' _Only one way out of this…_ '

Hikari tried Shield ß!

Hikari's power shield of light grew stronger!

Sendai descended from above with a flying kick. "Hra~h!"

Hikari shielded with her arms.

 _Bam!_

Hikari slid backwards, into the pages-

Shink!

She slid _through_ the ring of whirling pages. ' _Ow, ow, ow! That sti~ngs…!_ ' The cut she received was not grievous, or deep. For that reason, it stung worse than a myriad of other injures she'd endured.

Hikari tried Lifeup ß!

...The bruise on her arms began to de-escalate, and her super paper cut quickly sealed itself.

Annoyed by the healing, Sendai quickly stomped her front foot into the tile before herself. Flinging herself backward, she spread her arms.

Eight similar tomes flew out from _somewhere_ on her person. Hikari double-took upon seeing the sudden spike of angry tomes. ' _U~gh, this is gonna sting, isn't it…?_ '

The books whirled into the air, while Sendai stayed on the floor below them. They aimed their selves in the air to arc slightly downward, facing Hikari.

" _Holy Spark!_ " Sendai snapped her fingers, holding a hand up high into the air as she pointed upward.

Hikari's eyes widened. ' _Wait, what…!?_ '

From the tomes came a pure white laser, which filled the entire airspace between the each of them.

Hikari braced herself. ' _Holy…!_ '

Vrrrrrr~!

…

As the laser faded, Hikari stood numbly in the center.

' _...Ouch._ ' Hikari was mostly unaffected by the holy attack, even if she felt extremely uncomfortable after being blasted by one of such intensity.

Sendai chuckled. "What, that really scare ya!? Aren't you _holy_ elemental!?"

...Hikari huffed. "Big lasers… are always big lasers." ' _And big lasers… are scary._ '

With that, Sendai abruptly ran at Hikari again.

"A-ah…!" Hikari found her movements stiff after being caught in the holy laser. She awkwardly leaped, this time gaining far less height than she anticipated. She attempted to take the opportunity to swing downward, but Sendai uppercutted, soaring into the air and colliding with her from underneath.

Bam!

"Ghuhk!?" Hikari's wind was not only knocked out of her lungs, but her lungs now owed the environment air they didn't have.

The dark uppercut ended at the ceiling, where Hikari was slammed into the ceiling.

Bam! "H-hu~h…!"

...Sendai fell to the floor again, accelerating the process with a downward kick.

As Hikari fell, her mind raced. ' _My-my…_ '

Hikari tried Lifeup γ!

...Her stomach gradually felt better-

Thud. "Ghuh…" Hikari landed on her legs awkwardly. ' _Da-darn it…!_ '

Sendai stepped up to her, sensing the progression of the battle. She barely acknowledged the light beam that roared out of Hikari's shield, destroying it with a powerful swing of her arm. "...What? S'that it?"

Hikari felt her adrenaline build as the elder miko neared…

' _It-it's now, or never!_ '

Hikari tried PK Fantasy Ω!

Two more colorful, technicolor polygons zoomed outward on Hikari's command, as she flung her arms from the floor.

FwOwOw, FwOwOw…

Sendai attempted to strike the incoming polygons as if they were trying to collide with her. Unfortunately, they rotated rapidly instead.

FwOwOw…

Zooming in, they finally closed in on Sendai. Curious, she stared at them as they neared…

Hikari's eyes flickered as they were painfully forced open by her attack, forcing her to focus on the elder miko. '.. _.I-I should probably mentally prepa-._.." Her mind was drowned out by noise.

KABOOM, boom, boom…!

Blue and yellow energy erupted around Sendai, encapsulating her. Her yells were drowned out by the deafening roar of the psychic blast, which filled the entirety of the mental space. Immense light caused all of the space to go blank with intense, overbearing yellow light…

Boomboomboomboom!

A gridwork pattern of round blue, yellow, and red dots was all Hikari's mind processed, and all that filled the mental space for a brief period of time. As the energy power surge spread and diluted, raw technicolor tones randomly colored the entire linear world. The tiles were inconsistent rainbow colors, the horizon was nothing but blurry colors, and the round curves of Sendai's form could barely be made out in the violent whirlwind of blinding vibrance.

Bam, bam bam!

The colors died down. The space's normal colors and images began quickly returning, their colors only slightly offset and weird from the previous attack.

…

The realm was quiet.

…

Hikari's senses returned to her. "...Wh-wha~h…?"

She looked around, dazed. Ahead of her, she could see the kneeling form of Sendai Hakurei no Miko, her outfit slightly disheveled and hair frazzled.

' _...Did… I do it?_ '

...Slowly, Sendai stood, her breathing ragged. "...Not… bad."

Hikari tilted her head.

"...Not bad at all." She took a deep breath. "...That was your Fantasy Heaven."

' _...Was it?_ ' Hikari blinked. ' _I don't get to see much of that last one… but I can tell it makes big things happen._ '

"But I'm still standing." Sendai promptly stumbled a little. "...Barely. Heheh…"

...Hikari wasn't sure whether or not to engage, from here.

"Unfortunately…" Casting her head downward, the elder miko grinned widely. "You're gonna have to live through _mine_."

Hikari tried Lifeup γ!

Quickly, Hikari clumsily clambered to her feet, immediately knowing bad things were about to happen. ' _S-so lightheaded… I-I have to get away…_ '

...Kneeling over, the miko that came before felt her impulses surging through herself. " _...Fantasy Heaven!_ "

Darkness flowed out from the core of her being, quickly progressing up her form until her being was coated in a single tone of shade.

Hikari stared into her eyes. Though her body didn't resemble it, the yellow glow of her eyes reminded Hikari of the Invincibles that roamed the shrine grounds as of present.

' _...I expected something more explodey._ ' Hikari reflected. ' _I remember Mom's being a nightmare for her opponents…_ '

The hunched form of the dark miko ran along the floor, her long nails allowing her to gain traction with all four limbs as she shambled after Hikari.

Hikari leapt into the air-

 _Swish_.

The feral miko moved erratically, zipping somewhere behind Hikari before zooming out from her left, stopping in front of her.

' _Woah!_ ' Hikari's eyes widened, and the hair on the back of her neck stood.

Lunging forward, the feral miko began clawing at her with her two long-nailed hands.

 _Swi-swi-swi-swish, swish!_

"Ghnh…" Hikari felt herself hang in the air as the claws bombarded her arms, no blood emerging from her new scratches. Even so, a dull pain creeped up her arms.

The feral miko arched back, and began kicking at Hikari using her sandals.

"He-hurk!?" Hikari tried to object, but found the kicks more powerful than she anticipated. "Au-agh-augh!"

Curling up into a ball, Sendai spun around Hikari, unseen slashes keeping her suspended in the air.

 _Swish, swish, swish, swish!_

"Ehn- ahn- ga~h…" The slashes that seemed almost harmless at first started to wear at Hikari's energy, the pain building…

Arching back in the air, Sendai unleashed a flurry of slashes in a sphere all around herself, their paths illuminated brightly in the air.

 _Swoo~sh!_

Finally, Hikari was released from the massive stunlock attack, allowed to be sent flying back. "Gua~h!"

...Thud. Hikari landed on the floor, all her wounds finally bleeding.

' _Aaaa~h!_ ' Instant indescribable pain slammed Hikari's mind all at once, almost sending her into shock.

Hikari tried Lifeup Ω!

...Her wounds began to heal, but the pain stuck around for awhile. That, and the tier she used was meant for healing parties and not individuals, rendering it less effective.

" _A-aah, aah, aa~h…_ " She hissed repeatedly into the air, her entire form sticky and adorned with red splotches from the numerous tiny cuts and incisions the residual darkness left by Sendai's slashes caused.

A few feet away, Sendai stood on her hands, and kicked her legs into the air, accomplishing little other than showcasing her extraordinary handstanding skills.

...Hikari's power shield of light shimmered brightly, before-

Fwam!

A massive beam shot out, homing for the feral youkai miko.

The laser struck it, and it flew back, knocked into the air.

Hikari drew her ofuda quickly. ' _Sh-she's weak to holy…!_ '

She tossed two ofuda at the miko.

Slap, slap!

No noise was produced by the aerial miko, but it was flung higher into the air. The ofuda glowed brightly, holy flames beginning to burn its form.

Hikari began running towards the shady being, her gohei ready.

As it slowly drifted towards the floor, Hikari swung her gohei at the back of the feral youkai miko.

SMAAAA~SH!

The miko was juggled, again.

...Hikari realized something she should have done a lot sooner.

Hikari tried PK Flash Ω!

Fwaa~sh!

Blinding, white light filled the realm.

…

As it faded, the regular form of Sendai Hakurei no Miko was on her knees, breathing heavily.

…

Hikari gingerly walked up to her, cautious.

Sendai looked up at her, taking deep breaths. "...Wha' the hell… was that last one?"

"Holy." Hikari went into vivid detail. "I thought you knew I was holy elemental."

...Sendai chuckles. "Guess so. Well… I'm not gonna lie and say you were skilled, but you've got a _hell_ of a lotta heart."

Hikari furrowed her brows.

Sendai laughed. "Hahaha! Lighten' up. Skill comes with time, y'know. Even though I may've been more skilled when I was your age…" She tilted her head side to side, debating how to judge. Finally, she smiled. "Well, you're not dead. I think that's what counts."

Hikari was not reassured. "...I see."

Slowly, the realm began to fade to white.

"Give Reimu the good 'ol one-two, for me!" Sendai gave her goodbyes. "...Also, feel free to pop in again for an ass whoopin'!"

"I'll think about it." Hikari would really rather not.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Hikari obtained Jet Black Gohei!

Hikari's eyes shot open. She was greeted by darkness.

' _...Huh._ ' She wasn't sure what to do about that.

Fortunately, Marigold pointed the Shield Killer at Hikari. The vaguely electrical-elemental arrows traveled into her eyes, blinding her.

"He-hey…" Hikari rubbed her eyes.

Putting a hand next to her mouth, "She's up, guys!" Marigold called out to the absent party members.

Thump, thump. Stuff fell over in another room.

' _...What were they doing, while I was out?_ '

Some doors swung open.

"Shit, shit…!" Rushing back into the main room, Osamu quickly slammed the door, pressing his back against it. Scratching was promptly heard from the other side...

Hiyori closed the one she emerged from marginally more calmly.

Marigold idly shined the Shield Killer at his eyes, instead of at Hikari's.

"Fr-freaking…" He held an arm over his eyes.

Marigold relented, tilting the device to the side a bit.

"Guys…" He began. "I think I found bats."

' _Bats._ ' Hikari blinked.

"Bats, huh?" Hiyori echoed.

Bam, bam! The door began shaking.

"...Let's just go." Hikari decided, moving for the door out of the shrine.

"Yeah. Fighting bats in the dark doesn't sound fun." Marigold would really rather not do that.

Hiyori followed behind them. Once they had all mostly left the room, Osamu abandoned the door, sprinting after them.

On the outside, things were also dark, but much brighter than inside the shrine. A half moon hung high in the sky, the sound of bugs chirping echoing out around them.

A few Invincibles hovered in the air over the shrine, seemingly idle as they drifted in vague directions.

' _Hope they don't see us._ ' Hikari felt like they'd see her the moment she thought that.

Once they were outside, the party made note of the fact that Hikari now held the Jet Black Gohei, unaffected. Osamu's eyes widened. "Du~de!"

Marigold glanced over, but jerked her head to stare at the gohei. "Oh!"

' _What…?_ ' Hikari noticed where they were staring. ' _Oh, right!_ '

Proudly, she held the gohei up high. "I won."

"Wh- how!?" Osamu requested. "Dude, she was like, a _god!_ "

Grinning, Marigold nodded. "Maybe you're just bad at fighting on your own."

...Osamu whirled to face her. "Yeah? Like you _are?_ "

Marigold shook her head. "...Maybe if I didn't have this fifty pound backpack on me."

Expecting her to full-on retort instead of agree, Osamu's argument lost wind. "...Yeah, guess I could see that."

The Invincibles overhead started floating down towards them, as they moved across the shrine courtyard.

' _This time I remember that they're weak to holy._ '

"Incoming swordswomen!" Marigold thought they were women, since they resembled shrine maidens, if only vaguely.

As the party readied for more engagement…

Hikari tried PK Flash Ω!

Fwaa~sh!

In that moment, Gensokyo was as bright as day, again. The party all closed their eyes, the brightness becoming too intense…

"We~ll…!" Osamu walked around aimlessly. "That's _one_ way 'a doin' it!"

...As the light faded, the bright white tint across the land revealed that most of the Invincibles were gone. One was left, but it was jittering awkwardly in the air, seemingly unable to locate the party.

It swung its sword wide, no where near the ground, unable to hit anything at all.

' _I wonder if light blinds it, or if it just doesn't like being in the light..._ '

...Hikari began strutting forward. "Let's move, guys."

"Mmm." Hiyori agreed.

Sharing no further commentary, the party quickly moved to the hillside aside the shrine. Hikari stepped down it with ease-

"Wo-woaa~h!" Osamu slipped, and began sliding down it. "Oo~h shi~t!"

Marigold, who was still before the decline, guffawed. "Pfffft-hahaha~h! Wow!"

' _...I suppose she liked that._ ' Hikari thought it was pretty funny, too. Hiyori didn't display much more than a wide grin, which Hikari thanked the fading artificial light for letting her see.

Hikari and Hiyori continued down the hillside. Hikari looked back, seeing Marigold awkwardly try to move her way down the slippery, dew-laden decline.

' _Should I help her?_ ' Hikari contemplated watching her slip and slide, too…

"Wh-wa~h…" She quickly tried to dig her shoes into the grass, only to begin sliding. "He-help!"

Deciding to aid her, Hikari moved to grab her as she slid. While she succeeded in grabbing her-

' _A-ah!_ ' Hikari did nothing to stop her downward momentum, instead being pulled along with her.

...Hiyori increased her tred to a brisk powerwalk to keep up.

The slide was quick and painless overall, their speed quickly decelarating to nothing once they reached the bottom.

"Oof." The oversized backpack collided with Osamu.

' _Now half of me is soaked from the dew…_ ' Hikari was vaguely annoyed. ' _It's chilly..._ '

Slowly, they all got up, half-heartedly attempting to pat their clothes dry as if it would help. Hikari wiped what water she could from her exposed patches of skin.

Hiyori eventually caught up. "You guys had fun?"

Even though the light Hikari cast was almost all but gone now, she could tell from Hiyori's voice that she was quite, quite smug. "Yeah, yeah."

"...Woulda been awesome if it were like, summer." Osamu hugged himself. "It's fucking _cold!_ "

"It _is_ a bit nippy…" Marigold supposed. "Especially with our outfits half gone."

...Osamu shrugged. "I mean, I ain't complainin'..."

"I have a bazooka." Marigold assured him.

Suddenly, the leaves overhead shuffled, causing the party to come to a pause. They stared at the nearby tree curiously.

...Hikari looked at her hands. In one hand was the Miracle Gohei, and the other held the Jet Black Gohei. ' _I can only really use one well…_ '

...She turned to her friends. "Who wants a free gohei?"

Osamu's eyes lit up. "Dude, me! I need a good weapon!"

Shrugging, Hikari tossed it to him. He fumbled to grab it, but once he secured it, he hugged it to his chest. "Oh, baby!"

Hikari snorted.

The tree overhead rustled again.

' _Someone's here._ ' Hikari was pretty sure, now. Pointing her Jet Black Gohei at the tree, she called it out. "Show yourself!"

Out of the tree's leaves came a crow. It was a rather familiar looking crow, to Hikari…

' _...This thing, again…_ '

"Cahahahaw!"

A crow wearing cartoonishly large sunglasses landed before them, laughing and grinning slyly.

...Marigold stared at it blankly. "What is that?"

"A crow wearing sunglasses." Hikari confirmed. "Why wouldn't it be?"

Stoked by the appearance of the crow, Osamu marched up to it. "Dude. Du~de. I found my pet, guys."

Hikari grinned. "Really, now…?"

"Yeah! Dude, this crow's a badass!" Osamu gestured to it with both arms. "Imagine the ass it can kick!"

...Suddenly, the crow flew up, and swooped for his eyes.

"No-not mine! Dammit!" He swung the Miracle Gohei at it wildly.

Think. He clipped the enemy with it, but it didn't do anything productive.

Moving to rescue him, Hikari lunged forward with her Jet Black Gohei-

Thwack!

It wobbled in the air after the strike barely collided with one of its wings. Dissatisfied with the results, Hikari smoothly moved to execute a similar strike, her movements more fluid than she remembered...

SMAAAA~SH!

The full-on blow sent the crow straight into the floor at immense speeds-

Krik! It bounced off the floor a good foot into the air, before resting in the autumn leaves a short distance away.

…

"Whoops." Hikari realized that she may have killed it.

Hiyori sighed. "...I think we can exercise a _little_ self-control, you know."

"What the fuck…" Osamu brought his hands to the sides of his head. "You fuckin' _killed_ it! Du~de, I had a name for him and everything…!"

...Then, to their surprise, the crow rose again. It removed the pair of glasses with one wing, revealing that one of the lenses was shattered completely. "He~h heh heh he~y…!"

' _That must have been the cracking sound._ ' Hikari rose a brow. ' _...I kinda just assume cracking sounds mean someone broke their bones, by this point…_ '

Osamu was overjoyed. "Holy shit it's alive!"

Then, it flew away.

"Fuck, no!" He ran after it. "Come back! Little dude! Little du~de!"

It was too late. The crow was gone.

...Osamu shook his fist in the direction it took off. "Fine!"

Marigold grinned as he returned to the group. "...I don't think it would've made a particularly good pet, anyway."

"It had _sunglasses_ , dude." Osamu stressed. "When're we ever gonna find another crow with _sunglasses?_ "

' _Hopefully never._ '

As the party continued into the woods, Hikari reflected on the crow a bit…

' _The first one I fought turned back to normal. It was probably possessed by Giygas…_ ' She tilted her head. ' _That one didn't, though, and I must've hit it way harder than when I was just starting to get thrown into this…_ '

She shook her head. ' _Maybe it was just… a youkai?_ ' Hikari wasn't certain, anymore.

Hikari felt herself mentally pause, making sure they were going in the right direction.

The bushes rustled nearby. The other party members looked to it, but Hikari kept walking…

' _Last time I came here, I was thinking the entire time, too. I think we're on the right track, then._ ' Hikari's logic was precarious, but worked.

"Awoooo~!" The piercing howl of a stray dog rang out from the bushes. It suddenly bolted from the bush it disturbed, throwing itself towards Hikari-

Thwack!

"Arf!" The dog was whacked on the muzzle. Hikari's strike was a bit awkward, since the arm she used was on the opposite side of her body, but it made the dog pause regardless.

' _There. Self-control._ ' Hikari excused her lack of force.

Marigold nodded. "...Huh. It's a dog."

Osamu clapped his hands. "Alright, dude, _that's_ my pet."

Marigold's expression was vain. "What's with you and pets…?"

"Dogs _love_ guys. They're like, man's best friend!" Osamu casually walked up to the wild dog, and moved to pet it. "Who's a good-"

Crunch!

" _Yeee~ow!_ " He flailed his arm, unable to free it from the dog's maw. "Hikari, somebody! Kill this stupid thing! He~lp!"

Hikari kicked it.

"Arf!" It released Osamu's hand, and ran off into the bushes.

' _...Seemed like a normal dog. It was probably scared by all the sword wielding maniacs that've been on shrine grounds._ ' Hikari reflected. ' _And the robots. And my explosions…_ '

Now that she thought about it, she was probably seriously disruptive these past twenty four hours.

Hikari tried Lifeup α!

Osamu's hand healed up… "Stupid, mangy mutt…"

"I would recommend not petting wild dogs." Hiyori advised.

"How's I supposed to know that…!?" Osamu protested.

Continuing forward, Hikari's intuition proved to be true, when the party came across a glowing hole in the Earth…

' _Here it is._ ' Hikari took a deep breath. "...This is where I first got my Sound Stone."

"No foolin'?" Osamu was the first to march ahead, and stare into the crater.

' _...Technically where I got my Sound Stone, anyway._ ' Hikari remembered. ' _That bee actually gave it to me, but I met the bee here._ '

Eventually, the party all gathered around the crater, the orange glow pulsating off of the rock within.

"...So, who wants to burn their hand off touching that?" Marigold proposed.

Hiyori moved without comment, kneeling and reaching her hand in. She touched the meteor's surface, before plunging her hand into the rock, forcibly extracting a chunk of meteor with her fingers of steel. Her hand glowed as a result of the immense point-blank heat the meteor produced.

' _That works._ ' Hikari was happy that Hiyori was physically superior than herself in every way. ' _Except for speed, maybe, but she can go pretty fast when she rips apart the floor in the process…'_

"I'm surprised this thing is still hot after a few weeks." Hikari reflected.

"It snowed, too." Marigold knew all too well.

Holding the meteorite fragment, Hiyori turned to Hikari. "...Do we just get gapped back now, or what?"

...Hikari realized a shortcoming of Yukari's plan. "Good question."

Slowly, the party came to the realization that they were stranded.

"...Aa~h, shit." Osamu sighed.

"We can just teleport there." Hikari spoke. "They're at Eientei, I think."

" _Not so fast, Hakurei!_ "

The loud, echoing voice caused the party to look around in the dark night…

Lights glimmered somewhere in the night sky. After one sharply sparkled, it seemed to expand before the party…

"...Did a sun explode?" Marigold's eyes slowly widened at the expanding light.

"Yes." Hiyori confidently stated.

As the light lowered to the leaves below, it revealed itself not to be something celestial, but rather...

Thunk!

Before them, in the dirt, was a round, metal ball. Piercing lights shone from a ring around its body, fiercely lighting up the forest around them.

"Cool…" Osamu liked the aesthetic.

"Annoying." Hikari's eyes were going to take a moment to adjust…

As she was able to stare at the creature more closely, she saw a shadowy presence forming next to it…

" _I have come to claim you, Hakurei!_ " The visor of the tall, shadowy form glowed red as it 'spoke'. " _For you oppose Lord Giygas' will!_ "

Hikari snorted. "...Yeah, well, I'd rather not be 'claimed' by anything."

The Ghost of Starman slowly panned its head to gaze at the party before it. "... _I did not say you had a choice, in this matter._ "

The robot next to it stood. Long, lanky hose appendages began expanding, each hose tipped with a sharp, metal spike. The spikes had small holes at their tips. A small protrusion rose from the top of the metal ball, revealing itself to have two cylindrical eyes.

' _At least, I think they're eyes…_ '

Ghost of Starman tried PK Starstorm α!

More lights came hurtling down from above. The party looked up curiously, but Hiyori quickly recognized what was happening as they neared…

"Incoming!" Hiyori darted for the nearby trees.

As the yellow stars homed in on various party members, everyone else quickly recalled what this attack was, as well.

' _Well…!_ ' Hikari didn't expect an attack like this out of the blue. Moving quickly, she went for the trees, as did the other party members.

The unaimed, white stars got in Marigold's way.

Bam! "Guh…!" Marigold shielded herself with her arms, before the yellow stars trailing her slammed into her, as well.

Blam, bam! "Gua~h!" Thunk. She flew into a tree trunk, pressed against it from the knockback.

Boom, blam! "God _da~mn!_ " Osamu wailed from the forest floor.

Hiyori ran from the woods, the stars still trailing her. She leaped over the immobile ghost with a mighty bound, the stars lowering in ignorance of their new obstacle-

Bam! Boom!

The ghost's form shimmered, some of its energy dispersing. " _Ignorant fool!_ "

Hikari tried to follow suit. Unfortunately-

Bam! Boom! The stars flew into her back.

"Oauh!" Hikari cried out, the magical impact's energy forcing pain to spike throughout her entire body.

Stumbling forward, she managed to avoid shambling into the immobile ghost. ' _...Good thing-_ '

Vzzt!

The tubby robot began firing lasers from its spike tentacles, aiming them precisely at party members.

Vzzt! Vzzt!

Hiyori was caught off guard, being the first target. "Ah…" Both her kimono and her gauntlet glowed, doing their part to reduce the damage the magical attack did to her.

"Hukh!?" Osamu gasped for air from the floor, suddenly finding his lungs not working.

Hikari's stomach was pierced, again. "H-hkh…" ' _Yo-you'd think… I'd be used to this by now…_ '

She grasped her wound, finding liquid hitting her hand.

' _He-heal! Heal!_ '

Hikari tried Lifeup Ω!

...Like the waking dead, Marigold and Osamu rose from the floor, their bruises and incisions healing.

Giving a thumbs up, Osamu thanked the healer. "Damn, that heal everyone!?"

Ghost of Starman tried PK Starstorm α!

Hiyori looked up, and sighed.

Hikari looked up, too. ' _You're kidding me._ '

Everybody just tanked it, this time.

Blam! Bam! Boom! Bam!

"Fu-fu~ck…" Osamu flopped to the floor. "Wake me up when we're dead…"

"Je-jee~z…" Marigold's knees gave in, and she dropped to the floor. "It-it hurts…"

Hiyori violently exhaled. "Hoo~h…"

Hikari made no noise, her eyes shutting from the sudden pain. ' _For crying out loud…_ '

Hikari tried Lifeup Ω!

...Once more, Marigold and Osamu stood up.

"Fucking…" Osamu focused on the Ghost of Starman. "Oo~h, yeah, you're _real_ scary, spammin' that one _stupid_ move!"

...The ghost panned its visor towards him. Then, mysteriously, it whispered. " _Three…_ "

Hikari rose a brow.

Osamu tried PK Thunder γ!

Clapping his electrical hands, Osamu yelled. "Eat shit!"

Thwaa~sh!

Go~ng.

The robot was struck.

Thwaa~sh!

Electricity ran down the form of the Ghost of Starman, more energy dispersing from it, and its form dropping in visibility.

Thwaa~sh!

The next bolt hit the robot, again.

Go~ng.

"Three?" Marigold snorted.

Osamu's eyes widened. "Holy shit…!"

Hiyori brought her mace up, but reconsidered physically assaulting the ghost.

Hiyori tried PK Freeze γ!

KaKaKa~...

A snowflake pattern of ice crystals generated inside the form of the Ghost of Starman, rapidly freezing and thawing…

Boom!

After its process was done, the frosty blast it unleashed froze a portion of the Starman's figure, solidifying it.

" _Two…_ " The ghost mumbled, jittering its red visor around.

' _Now!_ ' Hikari saw her opportunity. Rushing up to the Ghost of Starman, she swung at the solidified bits-

SMAAAA~SH!

" _Uu~ooh!_ " Turning solid, Ghost of Starman wiggled stiffly, the powerful smashing sensation frightening it.

Like water flowing around an obstacle, Hikari swung again, a line of black left in the air behind her Jet Black Gohei.

Thwack!

The solid form of the Starman was struck, albeit it only slightly vibrated from it. ' _Seems like hitting it while it's frozen does more…_ '

The robot brought one of its tentacles over its own head. It began to drip tiny, scarce drops of golden liquid onto its own form, replenishing its fuel supply.

Marigold pulled up her Microwave Gun, and fired the pale blue, moon lens-accented beam.

The beam's hum echoed across the clearing as it stretched to meet the Ghost of Starman. It stopped on its form, the azure flames instantly spreading across its entire figure. It tried to become ethereal again, but stuck in its solid state.

" _What!?_ " Even when startled, Starmen made no physical reactions that might hint that their emotions were genuine.

Seeing her opportunity, Hiyori began marching towards the ghost, her mace ready…

Ghost of Starman tried PK Starstorm α!

…

But it failed!

" _Three…_ " Suddenly, the solid red visor glowed immensely, casting a red glow on Hiyori as she rose her mace to smash it…

Hiyori brought her mace down on its head.

Bam! Purple sparks flew from the place where its scrunched head was, the crunch of metal being smooshed starting and ending abruptly.

The Nuclear Reactor Robot slowly rotated on its stubby legs, and began using its tentacles to fire more lasers.

Vzzt! Vzzt! Vzzt!

Hikari felt the urge to roll her eyes, as the beam instantly connect with her thigh. "Hn~h…"

Osamu shook as his stomach was pierced, again. He stuck up his middle finger at the robot. "Fuck yo~u!"

Marigold, being the last to be shot at, managed to fall out of the way of the beam. "Oof…"

Hikari felt mental fatigue as she focused on the party's status. ' _Ugh… We have to end this quickly._ '

Hikari tried Lifeup Ω!

...Osamu broke from his stiff position. "Alright! Hiyori, kick its ass!"

Osamu tried Offense Up α!

...Hiyori took a deep breath. "On it."

With newfound strength, Hiyori marched up to the Nuclear Reactor Robot, bringing her mace up. "Hra~h!"

She struck the broad, round body it had.

 _Clo~ng!_

Her mace bounced off the side, leaving a large dent in the metal. The robot jerked to the side, before dropping down on its stubby legs to steady itself in the dirt.

Hiyori didn't let up, bringing her mace up again. "Hn~aah!"

 _Clo~ng!_

The dent got deeper, the metal buckling from the strike.

Marigold moved around the side, aiming her modified Microwave Gun at the side of the machine, curious. Pulling the trigger, the ethereal beam stretched out to meet the robot…

The beam connected, and the robot 'burned'. It didn't seem affected, though.

Osamu tried PK Hydro α!

A bubble of water floated out from his position, slowly hovering over the robot…

One of the robot's tentacles hovered over its own head. Then, it began dripping tiny, golden drops once more. As they connected with the metal, they were absorbed, replenishing its fuel supply.

...The dents Hiyori made began to creak, becoming undone.

Hiyori furrowed her brows.

Drawing an ofuda, Hikari lobbed it at the bubble.

Pop!

Water rained down on the machine, coating it in water. "Use magic!" Hikari instructed her party.

"That's the plan!" Osamu agreed, rubbing his hands together.

Osamu tried PK Thunder γ!

Thwaa~sh!

The first bolt struck the robot, its bright lights becoming bright enough to blind most of the party. ' _Hey…_ '

 _Clo~ng!_

Thwaa~sh!

The second bolt struck the ground next to Marigold, making her flinch. "Ah!?"

Thwaa~sh!

A third and final bolt hit the robot again.

Crrea~k!

The robot's top began shifting unevenly, the tentacles flailing wildly as they seemingly became misaligned and miscalibrated. A faint hissing sound came from the uneven seam around it…

Hiyori brought up her mace, and hit it again. "Rah!"

Bang! The top of the Nuclear Reactor Robot was knocked from its seams, bisecting the machine. The gas inside was exposed to the world.

For only a moment, Hikari had a good view of the machine's blindingly bright interior.

KA~ _BOOM_

' _Wa~h!?_ '

The night was lit ablaze by the amber blast. Hikari found herself flying through the woods-

Bam! Her side hit a tree, creating an impression on the tree's bark, and slightly tilting it.

"Hkh…" She felt her body scream at her as she rolled from the tree's side. Pain continued to build as she fell to the floor, and her vision blurred, though she wasn't sure if it was from tears, or because her body just slammed into a tree at high speeds.

' _Aaaa~h!_ ' If she could scream, she would.

"Fuaauaauaa~!" Osamu's roar was heard somewhere over the crackling of flames.

In this moment, Hikari didn't care how much healing ate at her mental strength.

Hikari tried Lifeup Ω!

For a moment, she felt better. Then, she realized she was on fire. ' _No, no, no~!_ '

Patting at herself frantically, she decided to try and undo the fire.

Hikari tried Healing γ!

...She sighed in relief, the flames going out, her seared and charred skin still stung by the flame's intensity.

...Wiping her tears with a charred arm, she focused on the forest around her.

It was burning.

' _Oh, good. Great!_ ' She ran into the forest's midst, looking for her party members…

She saw Hiyori's horns from the distance, and ran up to her figure…

Though she was burning, she didn't seem particularly affected. She was embedded halfway into the floor, at an angle, her posture stiff as a board. "...Hi." She greeted Hikari.

"He-hey…" Hikari panted. "The-the others…"

Hiyori tensed up. "You didn't find them?"

"Try healing them." Hikari's eyes wandered, and she found the destroyed robot's form. Neon green liquid of some kind was flowing from the overturned lower half of the machine, which was all that seemed to be left.

Crrea~k! Trees began falling, the intense flames consuming them.

Hiyori tried Healing γ!

Hikari tried Healing γ!

' _I have no idea if that worked._ ' Hikari reflected.

Hikari tried Lifeup Ω!

' _Ahh…_ ' She felt her vision blur for a different reason, her reserves beginning to drop.

For awhile, all they heard was the crackling of flames…

Osamu tried PK Hydro γ!

A shuriken of water formed over the forest, and Hikari sighed in relief. Heavy drops of water rained across the land, wetting the trees and the nearby embers.

It seemed as though the fire only marginally lessened by the time it was over.

' _Uhm…?_ ' Hikari stared into the bright, intense flames.

"Help! He~lp!" Marigold came running through the flames, burning again.

Hikari tried Lifeup ß!

Hiyori tried Lifeup ß!

As a result, Marigold healed twice as fast. Unfortunately, however, she was still on fire.

"Do-don't just heal me!" She cried, dropping to the floor. "Put me out! Put me _ou~t!_ "

Hiyori tried Healing γ!

Hikari tried Healing γ!

The flames went out with a hushed gust of air. Marigold was still shaking, hugging herself on the forest floor. Osamu ran from the other end of the clearing, somehow not burning. "Holy fuck! _Holy fu~ck!_ "

"We should just get out of here!" Hikari shouted over the flames. "Everyone, me!"

Marigold scrambled from the floor, and Osamu danced towards Hikari, revealing that his shoes were burning.

Hiyori fought to free herself from her indent in the forest floor, reaching the party's read as they lined up behind Hikari.

"Let's go!" Hikari didn't give them any prep time.

Hikari tried Teleport ß!

The party began running into the burning midst of the woods. Hikari scrunched her face and squinted her eyes whenever they passed or dashed through a patch of particularly heated inferno.

The forest, again, was as bright as day, for different reasons.

As they sped up, narrowly dodging trees and getting scraped by burning bush branches-

KraKoo~m!

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

KraKoo~m!

The party flew straight into the glass doors of Eientei-

Shatter!

-and saw to it that there were no more glass doors.

At the front desk, Reisen widened her eyes. "Whah!?"

Hikari tried to dig her sandals into the floor below to stop the party, only to find that the tiled floor was unforgiving.

' _O-oh no!_ '

Bam!

"Urk!" Hikari felt her stomach slam into the counter, saliva flying from her mouth at the impact. "Ough… oo~h…"

Reisen stared at her with wide eyes.

…

Slowly, Osamu and Marigold peeled from the conga line. Osamu began running in circles. "Dudes- I'm burning! I'm _burning!_ "

The sprinklers went off.

...He slouched, the flames on his robes and shoes slowly going out under the showers. "...Cool."

Something within the service desk began cracking and popping loudly.

Reisen jumped. "Eep!?"

...Hikari sluggishly broke from the desk, dropping to the floor. "U~gh…"

Marigold timidly stared down, rubbing her burns. "Hi-Hikari…? Are you okay?"

"Kill me." Hikari felt dead inside.

Hiyori stared at her arms. "...Uh~m…"

...The party looked at themselves, as they began to glow neon green.

"Dude…" Osamu grinned. "We got the power to glow in the dark!"

Reisen quickly shot for the desk, tearing the shelf holding the ticking object out. The object she pulled was a Geiger counter. "Yo-you…"

' _...Not sure if this is good or bad…_ ' Hikari examined her glowing arms. ' _I'm going to assume good._ '

Marigold knew what radiation was, though. "We-we're… oh, _dear_ …" She covered her face with her hands.

Osamu rose a brow. "...What's up with you?"

...Marigold took her hands from her face, staring at him. "Look at us! We're going to _die!_ "

Osamu chuckled. "H-how!?"

Reisen informed them. "Yo-you… you're all poisoned!"

' _Oh._ ' Hikari sighed.

Hiyori decided to question her. "...How so?"

"Ra-radiation poisoning…" Reisen seemed to want to leave the room, slowly backing for the back door. "It-it slowly breaks down the body, and-and… y-you're all going to _die!_ "

Marigold lurched over. "A-aah…" She held a hand to her stomach. "I-I'm going to be-"

Hikari looked over at her-

"Bwaa~h!" Marigold threw up, emptying her stomach onto the floor.

Hikari wiggled away from it. "Yu-yuck…"

Reisen slowly shook her head. "I-I'm so sorry…"

...Hiyori furrowed her brows. "How long does it take to kill?"

"Con-considering…" Reisen narrowed her eyes, unsure. "I-I don't know… maybe less than a day?"

' _What!?_ ' Hikari tried to sit up. Looking to the side, she saw the red vomit puddle. ' _Geez…_ '

"A _day!?_ " Osamu stepped forward, before tripping. "Ah- hey!" Thud.

Dizzily, Hiyori stepped up to the counter, taking care to not step in the blood puddle. "There's a cure for this, right? Isn't this place the surface's healers?"

Reisen slowly shook her head. "I-I… I don't think… we'd have anything for… radiation this severe."

...Hiyori silently stared at her, and looked back at the party, realization setting in. "Really?"

Hikari tried to get up, but found her legs too weak. "A-ahn…"

...Osamu began yelling. "Guys! Oh, _fuck!_ "

"St-stop shouting…" Marigold sat down.

"My _hair!_ " He began brushing his head, his hair becoming loose and leaving his scalp. " _Fuck!_ "

"Th-there has to be a way!" Hiyori slammed a fist on the counter, cracking it. "Genuinely?"

Reisen frowned, looking as if she was about to cry. "I'm… I'm sorry."

...Hiyori looked over the party, her anger growing as they seemed to grow worse.

Marigold lied down. "A-ah…"

Osamu couldn't get up off of his stomach. "Grh…"

Hikari felt it become harder to breath. ' _Th-this can't…_ '

Reisen sprinted for the phone, picking it up and dialing rapidly.

Hiyori felt her adrenaline kick in, even if she couldn't do anything. She knew healing them before didn't cure the status, but…

"Ei-Eiri~n!" Reisen wailed into the phone. "We-we've… I-I know, listen! I-..."

Hiyori slammed her arms on the table. "It _won't_ end here!"

Crack! The desk broke open, the plastic top breaking inward and dropping into the interior shelves.

Hiyori tried Healing Ω!

…

Slowly, the party began to stop glowing.

Hiyori looked over them, a new realization washing over her.

"It-it's the four! Th-the shrine maiden and her friends!" Reisen drawled into the phone. "Th-they have acute radiation syndrome!... Wh-what do you mean, 'what'!?"

Gradually, the geiger counter began ticking slower, before stopping altogether.

The remaining noises were the groans of the party members, and the white noise the sprinklers produced.

Hiyori realized they still weren't getting up, so she acted.

Hiyori tried Lifeup γ!

...Hikari suddenly felt a whole lot better. "A-ah…?" She was still really cold and wet, though. Sitting up, she noticed the water had caused the blood Marigold vomitted up to spread, and it had flowed into her side. "Really…"

Hiyori tried Lifeup γ!

...Marigold sat up, soaked and sad. "So-so cold…"

Hiyori tried Lifeup γ!

' _Hn~h…_ ' Hiyori groaned mentally at the mental exertion.

Osamu's hair slowly began to grow back. He rose from the floor, his robe sloshing about in the water. "Damn it…"

...Hiyori wasn't sure about her own status, so-

Hiyori tried Lifeup γ!

-she healed herself, just to make sure. She didn't feel much different, though, sans the dizziness which departed.

' _Wet, wet, wet…_ ' Hikari tried to wipe her face of water with her arm, only to find water there. ' _Annoying…_ '

"Th-they're going to _die!_ " Reisen wailed into the phone. "I-I'm so sorry, Yagokoro-sama~!"

' _...That's going to be trouble._ ' Hikari realized.

A gap opened adjacent to Hikari. Yukari zoomed out, looking around with a serious expression. " _What's going on._ "

...The wet party stared at her blankly, while Reisen began shaking…

"My hair!" Osamu pointed to his full head of hair, again. "It's _gone!_ "

…

Yukari slowly hunched over, his dress beginning to press against her body as she was quickly soaked by the sprinkler.

"...It's not." Marigold corrected him.

Osamu furrowed his brows. "...What, you freakin'..." He brushed a hand across his hair. "...Oh. The fuck."

Yukari slowly drifted towards Reisen, who dropped the phone, backing towards the corner of the room. "I-I, uhm…!" She crouched, shielding her ears.

Hiyori saw the angry Yukari begin to raise her hands, and called out to her. "Don't. She was right, for awhile."

...Yukari slowly turned to her. "How are you right, ' _for awhile_ ', about something like this?"

Hikari blinked, the past few minutes she was afflicted sort of a blur to her. ' _...This is going to be awkward._ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

The party chose to trek to the room manually, Yukari following along behind them.

"You do realize how angry your mother will be, yes?" Yukari once again asked Hikari.

"You keep saying that like it's my fault." Hikari was anxious, despite her counter.

"...I know." Yukari sighed. "It matters not whose fault it was. But, do be aware, heads will be rolling."

' _I figured as much ten minutes ago._ '

Hikari felt a strange sense of relax wash over her as she approached the room's door.

"I mean, she can't be _that_ angry, right?" Osamu grinned. "She didn't bust a wall in, or-"

Bam!

A wall was blown open.

"Gugh!" Eirin was slammed against the hallway wall by a large yin-yang orb, which broke from her form and returned into the room.

Yukari facepalmed. "Here we go…"

Dropping from the wall, Eirin brought up her bow. "Hakurei! You leave me no other choice than to-"

SlapSlapSlapSlapSlap!

Eirin was covered with seals, which pushed her back into the wall. Once they were all on her, they lit up a bright, golden color. She dropped to her knees, and let go of her bow.

...Osamu, Marigold, and Hiyori all began hugging the wall to the left of the hole in the wall, intent on not being spotted.

' _Oh, boy._ ' Hikari was ready to watch the fireworks.

Reimu darted from the hole in the wall, tears in her eyes. She sniffled loudly as she looked around, and she spotted Yukari.

...Yukari put an arm up. "Now, Reimu… If you'd just give me a moment to-"

Slap. A seal met the hand Yukari rose.

Yukari sighed.

Bam! Bam, bam, bam!

Yukari was knocked down the length of the hallway by a surge of yin-yang orbs, which rushed after her to beat her up. Gritting her teeth, Reimu roared after her, more orbs forming in the air around her.

…

"Whelp." Osamu grinned. "We did good, guys."

Marigold snorted. "I think the doctor needs a doctor."

Hikari looked over to Eirin, who was lying on her side, covered in glowing seals. Approaching her, Hikari could see the doctor was staring up at her, unable to move her own head.

"Hi." Hikari sat down in front of her.

Eirin opened her mouth, but couldn't speak.

' _Considering her deadpan expression, she seems fine._ '

...Leaning over towards her, Hikari began removing the seals with her bare hands, working to free Eirin from her imprisonment.

Osamu decided to help, too, so he came over and grabbed a seal-

Zap!

" _Ow!_ " He shook his hand. "Stupid…!"

' _Good job._ ' Hikari smirked as she continued to remove Eirin's seals. The party watched, until Hikari removed the last seal, which was on Eirin's forehead.

By that point, Eirin was sitting, with her legs crossed. "...These will be an eventful few days, won't they?"

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

END OF CHAPTER 29

Protagonist: Hikari Hakurei, Disciple of Paradise

-Inventory-

Weapon: Jet Black Gohei - The gohei once wielded by Sendai Hakurei no Miko. Theoretically, anyway. Boosts attack power, and critical hit rate. The dark impulse of the gohei frequently allows Hikari to strike twice instead of simply once, even when unprepared.

Arms: Iconic Hakurei Arm Sleeves - Keeps arms warm. A Hakurei tradition. How they stay on is a Hakurei family secret.

Body: Devastated Miko Outfit - Her combat miko outfit, except mostly annihilated. It's going to need some serious repairs.

Misc: Royal Red Ribbon - A ribbon made with rich materials, with a floral pattern.

-Skills-

Attack: Quickly! Swing your gohei at them for massive damage! Sometimes happens twice from the Jet Black Gohei's dark impulse.

PK Fantasy α, β, γ, Ω - Bombards the enemy with pain in the form of flashing colors. Deals magical damage. Heavy mental strain that increases with each tier. Third tier forms a barrier, which breaks upon moderate damage. Final tier is a non-elemental nuke of immense magical power.

PK Flash α, ß, γ, Ω - A bright flash that distributes very random status effects to enemies. Usually makes people cry. Higher tiers increase chances, and introduce possibilities of fainting or dispel. Higher tiers can instantly destroy more varieties of foes, and make people feel weird.

Hypnosis α, Ω - Puts weak enemies to sleep for a short time. Works better on tired or exhausted foes. Can also be used in a far more costly form that works on multiple opponents.

Shield α, ß - Halves damage the target takes. Only works against physical attacks, and enough strikes, or powerful strikes, will dispel it. Higher tier turns it into a power-shield that protects even better and even reflects a fraction of protected damage.

Lifeup α, ß, γ, Ω - Heals target a little. Higher tiers heal more grievous wounds, like bone fractures. Highest tier heals everybody in the party.

Healing α, ß, γ - Heals basic status ailments. Higher tiers can cure more dire effects, like burning alive.

Teleport α, ß - Allows instant transport to the general location of an area remembered by oneself or one's party members. Requires a long, fast run-up to execute, however. Higher tier allows a circular motion to control the run-up instead, giving Hikari more control over the teleport.

Ofuda Toss - Throw a holy ofuda that does massive holy elemental damage to youkai and dark elemental foes. Effect lessens the more holy the thing you're attacking is, to the point of healing holy things. Only works if you actually have ofuda, though.

Cautionary Barrier - Summon a barrier that deflects attacks and magical attacks of all elements. Can be broken by stronger attacks, and is holy elemental.

Lightshine Ofuda - Two ofuda which explode into orbs of light. Area denying holy attack.

Summon Koishi - Using the Heart Gem's power, Hikari summons Koishi Komeiji. Casts three random HK spells on enemies, before using a higher tier one that depends on her current mood. Typically can manage two uses before she's out of mana. Costs sizable mana.

Ω-Ω-Ω-Ω

Mage: Osamu Katsumi, the Wannabe Mage

-Inventory-

Weapon: Miracle Gohei - Not nearly as effective in Osamu's hands. Does a tenth of its usual damage, and is unable to inflict critical hits. Might break if swung too hard.

Arms: Nothing

Body: Rugged Robe - A sturdy robe enchanted to resist damage. Made partially with sturdy cloth from deep underground.

Misc: Red Mage Hat - A red colored mage's hat made from cloth in the Human Village. Minor resistance to thunder, ice, and fire magic from its well worn usage in the past. Didn't see much action… until Osamu bought it!

-Skills-

PK Thunder α, ß, γ - Very random thunder attack that deals limited damage. Higher tiers increase number of bolts, and sometimes power.

PK Hydro α, β, γ - Gets everyone wet. Usefulness with PK Thunder and PK Freeze depends on whether you hit yourself or not! Creates whirling water spirals at higher tiers.

PK Freeze α, β, γ, Ω - Generates ice crystals at the target's location. Medium damage and effect; may freeze some targets, especially wet ones. Highest tier has a near-guaranteed freeze chance and immense ice damage, at the cost of being very taxing.

Fireball - Manipulate mana to make a shoddy fireball. Low damage and effect.

Static Hands - Not a real spell. Result of a very undercharged PK Thunder that can accidentally go off.

PSI Telepathy α - Speak to friends you haven't met yet! Unstable connection and only works if they have the skill or are asleep.

PSI Shield α, Σ - Halves damage from magical and psychic attacks. Thunder spells fry it instantly, and harder blows dispel it. Second tier applies basic shield to entire party at higher mana expense.

PSI Magnet α, Ω - Costs no mana to use, and steals a very tiny amount of mana from the enemy. Enemy has to have mana in the first place for it to work, though.

Offense Up α - Get pissed! Boosts strength and confidence depending on caster's power and receiver's power.

Defense Down α, Ω - Throw the enemy off their game. Makes them slightly more vulnerable to physical attacks.

Ω-Ω-Ω-Ω

Inventor: Marigold Knowledge, the Tri-Magi Love Child

-Inventory-

Weapon: Spectrum Shotgun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Filled with foil chip bags to conduct the mana, and it is transmitted into a wind stone. Upgraded to draw mana from a simple wooden block filled with immense magic reserves, giving it virtually unlimited ammo. The addition of a battery and a prism allow it to fire seven rainbow colored beams at a wide spread, which deal non-elemental damage. Firing long enough allows them to focus and deal incredible damage, at the cost of insane recoil and instability.

Arms: Nothing

Body: Really Custom Adventure Dress - A custom dress made by Alice, burnt into fragments by an inferno. Provides slight defense against magical and psychic attacks. Now allows very free movement, but is worse for the cold.

Misc: Swirly Glasses - Lets Marigold not be blind.

Backpack - Allows extended inventory. Aged relic from the Kourindou.

Unnamed Lock Opening Device - Opens locks very precariously. Made with steel, burnt cloth, packaging peanuts, thumbtacks, string, and wooden wheels. Don't even ask…

Ruler - Lets you measure the world around you!

Protractor - Lets you find the angles of anything ever. Totally overpowered.

Scotch Tape - Transparent adhesive from the outside world. Weak, but handy!

Deck of Cards - Allows Marigold to play Strip Poker with the party. Just kidding… or am I?

Shield Killer - Electrical device used to subdue harassers. Has settings ranging from Tickle Torture to Arse Blaster. Fires electrical projectiles, of unknown power.

NF Burst Gun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Uses a Pop Gun as the base, but amplifies its power with an array of random batteries jammed into the base with the Pop Gun. The more batteries, the better, but the typical yield is about five bullets per trigger. Spamming the trigger doesn't make it go any faster, unfortunately. Has no foreseeable ammo limit, and the batteries are only there for mana circulation, meaning their power is really inconsequential.

Holmes Brand Designer Hat - Village swag! A retro village hat that ceased production ten years ago. Sells for a pretty penny nowadays, but it's pretty useless otherwise.

Slime Generator - A bulky box that shoots a small splat of slime. Doesn't seem good for much.

Counter-PSI Device - A weird device Marigold found from a flying saucer. Works in strange ways, and seems to disrupt everyone's concentration. Marigold is immune to its effects.

Charm of Sleep - Grants immunity to sleep while equipped, or held. Can be equipped to Arms or Misc.

Microwave Gun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Constructed with a controlled flame crystal and metal parts, it fires a beam of sustained microwave energy that cooks biological foes alive. Fire-elemental at its core, it's also very inefficient against machines. The lens used in it was switched with a Moon Lens, allowing it to instead deal moon-elemental damage and silence foes. Silenced foes are unable to use spells.

Defense Shower - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Made of a broom, a showerhead, some magnets, and uses jars of water as ammo. Slapped together with ofuda, giving it a holy defensive effect. The jars are usually filled with Talcum Powder, for alchemical purposes. The liquid that is dispensed becomes auto-applying lotion.

Heavy Bazooka - An invention developed in part by Kappa Tech and Marigold Knowledge. It shoots heavy fire-based blasts of fire magic, and deals high knockback. It was constructed by stuffing some fire and gravity stones into a tube, adding a cap on one side to direct the fire, and hooking a magical wire to the handle. Nitori did most of the work, though...

-Skills-

Is A Nuclear Girl - She got it cleared up, though.

Comes From A Nuclear Family - Not really.

Comes From A Modern Stoneage Family - From the town of bedrock!

Is The Real Identity Of Hong Kong Phooey - She's quicker than the human eye!

Radiated - Hehehe~y, kid! Wanna get… _nuuhuhuhuu~ked!?_

Ω-Ω-Ω-Ω

Fighter: Hiyori Hashimoto, the Buddhist Oni

-Inventory-

Weapon: Mace of Devas - The last of the four treasures held by the Devas of the Mountain. Ability to whack stuff really hard. Increases critical hit rate by lieu of being a really big, blunt, spiky weapon. Allows partial blocking of magic attacks.

Arms: Shackle of Devas - The first of the four treasures held by the Devas of the Mountain. Grants immunity to sleep-inducing magic. Grants fifty percent resistance to wind and thunder magic.

Body: Kimono of Devas - The second of the four treasures held by the Devas of the Mountain. Grants immunity to paralyzing magic. Grants fifty percent resistance to fire magic. Insanely durable. Has a floral design to it…!

Misc: Bows of Devas - The third of the four treasures held by the Devas of the Mountain. Grants immunity to confusion-inducing magic. Grants fifty percent resistance to ice magic.

-Skills-

PK Starstorm α - Summons forth the stars from the night's sky to rain down upon enemies. Hits all enemies, and deals high magical damage, at the cost of being highly mentally taxing. Can hit allies if they're in the effective area, as the white stars don't have homing properties. Power proportional to amount of enemies, as well.

PK Fire α, ß - Creates an igniting blast of flames at the target's location. More impact comes with higher tiers.

PK Freeze α, β, γ - Generates ice crystals at the target's location. Medium damage and effect; may freeze some targets, especially wet ones.

Shield α, ß, Σ - Halves damage the target takes. Only works against physical attacks, and enough strikes, or powerful strikes, will dispel it. Higher tier turns it into a power-shield that protects even better and even reflects a fraction of protected damage. Highest tier applies a basic shield to the entire party.

Lifeup α, ß - Heals target a little. Higher tiers heal more grievous wounds, like bone fractures.

Healing α, ß - Heals basic status ailments. Higher tiers can cure more dire effects, like burning alive.

Teleport α, ß - Allows instant transport to the general location of an area remembered by oneself or one's party members. Requires a long, fast run-up to execute, however. Higher tier is largely automatic and requires little room to execute.

Martial Arts - Skilled in hand-to-hand combat.

Ω-Ω-Ω-Ω

Author's Note:

OOH this chapter's a biggun, yo

13 k words instead of the normal 10k, mostly 'cause there was a lot of action and i wanted to push things along a bit so you guys feel like this went somewhere

nuclear reactor robots are fun

added in radiation as a status for funsies; i bet the party will think twice before blowing up walking nuclear reactors again

that forest's gon' be ugly when they get back, though

anyway yeah lots of robots and bad guys and stuff; really reflects how the end-game of many games is full of LONG AND DAUNTING encounters, which end up being either SUPER IMMERSIVE or SUPER ANNOYING because of their length and difficulty, which, in some games, doesn't really translate well with their mechanics

earthbound's kinda fine because you have plenty of ways to circumvent encounters you don't want to fight, that and the combat system is either like "wow i just blew past ten battles without trying" or "the first fucking fight half my party got wiped by a series of unfortunate events"

i have a love/hate relationship with that battle system! i think it fits thematically though

i got this feeling that the shock value of the party getting beat the fuck up has gotten kind of dry if there was any to begin with, but that actually work 'cause the party is getting stronger and the story's almost over anyway so you should kinda be used to me fucking their shit up with tough encounters

to be honest, the AFTERLIFE BUREAUCRACY and YUKARI being the control freak she is HAVE made the end-game plot kinda clunky thus far (at least i think) but the next chapter should largely be some FINAL PREP and some steps into the END END (which is before the END END END).

so yeah wanted to push things along and make ya guys feel like this is movin', 'cause it is

also updated things in the freakin' end-chapter spell and inventory... inventory, to more accurately reflect what they freakin' should be; should be LESS STUFF MISSING now

as always, see you all next time!


	30. Hakurei to the Future

Hikari stared down at the half-eaten, slapdash pancakes that sat on a paper plate. ' _People say you can taste the love people put into cooking. Right now, I'm tasting the lack of it._ '

The party sat around one of those cheap, unfoldable plastic tables.

"Mass produced pancakes." Marigold noted, dryly staring down at her half-eaten plate as well.

Osamu's plate was empty, but he was still chewing. "S'good…!"

' _How._ ' Hikari may have been hungry, but she got sick of eating the pancakes halfway through them.

She looked over at Hiyori's plate.

It was half scrunched, but the pancakes were gone. "...Paper plates are still a strange magic."

"I didn't specialize in the culinary arts." Eirin annotated from across the room, sifting through some tools in a drawer. "That, and time is of the essence."

' _Supposedly._ '

The clinic shook.

"...Do you have any control over your mother?" Eirin turned to Hikari.

"Nope." Hikari shook her head.

"...Unfortunate." She sighed. "I was going to request Yakumo enlist some kappa to speed this process up, but I can't do that if your mother's behaving like an angry wasp." Then, she pauses, before turning to Hiyori. "The meteorite you obtained. Show it to me."

...Hiyori blinked. "Sure."

She took it out from a glowing pocket on her kimono. Holding it before Eirin, she offered it.

Eirin quickly grabbed it, and held it close to her face, examining the material carefully. "...Yes, this seems adequately charged. Yakumo was grabbing random rocks and such from space, but none of them had the precise charge I required. It's not necessarily extraterrestrial, it's…" She furrowed her brows, looking for a better word. "It's unique."

' _How is she not burning her hand?_ ' Hikari figured it might've been the gloves.

"There is a certain energy, from these rocks. Could you sense it, Hakurei?" Suddenly inquisitive, Eirin turns to Hikari.

' _They burn indefinitely, so you'd think it would be guessable…_ ' Hikari tilts her head back and forth.

"...Good enough." Eirin turns back to her tools. "I'll need to install this into the temporal gate's power circuit."

With that, she began her work. Taking a wrench, she moved towards the large ring at the back of the room, and kneeled at the side. Flipping open panels and flicking switches, she did things beyond the party's comprehension.

The strangely big surgery room, which lacked more than the foldable tables and some of the stock surgery room counters, was quite tall. The large, ring-like device in the back was as tall as three people, with equal width. It sat upon crude metal props, kept in place with bolted latches. The ring itself had many lines and panels along its smooth exterior. The lines faintly glimmered with blue light every few moments.

Marigold was interested. Sneaking up behind Eirin inadvertently, she brought her arms behind her back and observed. "...What're you doing?"

"Working." Eirin was in no mood to interact, unfortunately.

...Marigold continued to press, though. "What do those switches do?"

...Sighing, Eirin tries to smoke her out with an influx of information. "Well, each one handles a unique and specific subroutine of the temporal gate, specifically designed to allow for dynamic and streamlined modification of not only the power grid but of multiple fail safes. These fail safes must all be active at vaguely the same time to ensure overall stability for the duration of the temporal gate's performance. Were it not active, it would instead be a deadly time-elemental weapon, which isn't exactly what we want."

' _...I kinda got that. It's a layer of technical stuff that keeps it from exploding._ ' Hikari nodded.

Marigold slowly nodded as well. "But, how do they do it? The switches."

"Each one controls an interlocking chamber, and a series of them are able to influence the fluctuation, production, and direction of the spells being cast to produce the temporal modification fabric. Fabric being a simple label, of course, for something not really fabric, but moreso a spell juncture that produces a unified time-elemental shape in space."

"...Ah." Marigold had her brows furrowed. "So they mostly restrict paths and stuff."

"Basically." Eirin continued to work.

"...How do you cast time spells?" Osamu stepped up as well.

The attention began to annoy Eirin. "Very carefully."

Osamu slouched. "Gee, thanks..."

He turns to Marigold. "Dude, do you know?"

She shakes her head. "None of my moms knew anything about time spells, really. Even the bookworm."

Eirin snorted, speaking under her breath. "Moms…"

"What I did learn, though, is that they're really, really hard." Marigold folded her arms. "For good reason, I suppose. Most of the time, you need catalysts that are totally unobtainable, or a natural affinity for time magic."

Osamu poses. "I bet _I_ have a natural affinity for time magic!"

"No human in the history of humanity has had an affinity for time magic." Eirin spoke idly. "Don't get your hopes up. Actually, don't have hopes."

Thud, thud, thud!

Eirin pauses, looking away from the machine. "...You four. Throw yourselves at whatever's in the hallway."

"On it." Osamu gives a thumbs up, and proceeds to walk towards Hiyori. "Let's go!"

Hiyori gives him a sardonic glance, before casually stepping forward to the door. She pushed it open, and peeked outside…

Fwoosh, woosh-woosh-woosh!

Yukari swung two short, solid beams of danmaku around like swords. Whirling around, she spun on a single heel at a time as she gradually encroached upon the hall space Reimu held.

Cli~Cli~Cli~Cli~ng!

Reimu actively blocked the danmaku beams with her gohei. It crackled with magical energy, of the same color as Yukari's knockoff lightsabers.

Yukari tried to throw in a kick to throw her off-

Cling!

Reimu blocked it just like she blocked the beams, and retaliated.

The rest of the party was leaning out the door, now.

Thwack! Reimu's combo began with a single downward hit, similar to how Hikari hit things.

Then, she spun away from it. The unheld gohei continued to spin into Yukari, striking her stomach- "Ouh!" -her back- "Ohn~!" -then her stomach again- "Ahn!" -before returning to Reimu as she spun back into melee range.

Reimu leapt into the air, unleashing the finisher of her combo, a downward, gravity-assisted…

SMAAAA~SH!

"Aaa~h…" Yukari pivoted on her heel, and fell forward, away from Reimu, and onto her stomach. "Oof."

...Reimu let out an exaggerated sigh. "Get up. I'm not done with you." Moving up to Yukari, she brought out more seals. "I said get up."

' _Maybe I should stop her…_ ' Hikari contemplated. ' _...Or maybe not._ ' She grinned.

Yukari opened a gap under herself, and fell into it.

"No! No you don't!" Reimu leapt after her, tossing seals into the gap.

The gap shut.

…

Then, Hikari was bowled over, a weight colliding with her stomach and throwing her into the gate room proper. 'Wa-wah!?"

Thud!

Blinking a few times, Hikari looked up from the floor to see her mother atop her.

It took Reimu a few moments to process what happened. "...Hi-Hikari?"

"Hi." Hikari looked up at her. "I'm alive."

"You're okay!" Reimu glomped her.

' _...This is more physical contact than I'm comfortable with, at this age._ ' Hikari blushed, feeling awkward. "Ye-yeah…"

Reimu promptly broke from her, and shoved her thumbs in her daughter's mouth, proceeding to stretch her mouth a bit. "It's really you, right?"

Hikari stared at her dryly. ' _I don't think this is an effective way of checking someone's identity._ '

"...Sorry." Reimu grinned, standing from her. "Geez… Was that thing about poison some stupid lie?"

' _...Technically, no._ ' Hikari found yet another difficult situation to explain. ' _You see, we actually only have ten minutes to live, not ten days._ ' She grinned at her own ill-fated joke, unwilling to actually execute it aloud.

Looking conflicted, Hiyori felt the need to reply to that. "Well, technically…"

Marigold elbowed her. Though Hiyori felt little more than a poke, she got the message.

...Marigold rubbed her elbow.

"Although, now that I have a moment…" Reimu furrows her brows at the party's state of undress. "What happened to your clothes? You were all half-naked, but it somehow got worse between now and the last time I saw you."

...Hikari sighed. ' _Fire hurts._ ' She found that even less of her clothes existed after she was caught in a nuclear blast, leaving her with half-revealed chest bindings, and a pair of riskily tiny shorts that used to be her hakama.

"We~... were attacked." Marigold formed a complete sentence, attempting to beat around the bush. Her custom dress was likely beyond the point of being considered a dress, but she still had far more black and charred fabric than Hikari did, even if her arms, midriff, and legs were showing. Her boots were now charred black, too, with patches of cyan that weren't there before jutting out.

...Reimu grinned enduringly. "By?"

"Clothes eating ants!" Osamu threw his arms into the air. His robes were surprisingly mostly intact, even if they bore a few holes.

…

"You know, those singe marks aren't fooling anyone." Her expression reverted to a cynical one.

"Clothes eating _fire_ ants." Osamu stuck to his guns, folding his arms.

"We got attacked by fire monsters." Hiyori admitted, refusing to let the lie snowball. Her robes were pristine, if somewhat dirty. Despite its immense fire resistance, there were singe marks on some patches of the robe's magical fabric. "We got better, though."

...Reimu nodded. "Well, I guess so. You wouldn't be standing here if you didn't."

' _You'd be surprised._ ' Hikari wasn't sure her mother realized just how potent nearly-free healing actually was.

...A gap opened next to Reimu. Yukari leaned out, grinning. "All better now, Re-"

Reimu raised her fist up and backwards, to punch Yukari in the face.

"Ow!" Yukari rubbed her nose, pouting. She replied in a nasally voice, "What'd I do to deserve that…?"

Reimu didn't dignify her plea with a response, instead settling for a frustrated expression.

"If you've finished playing around with the Hakurei…" Eirin spoke up, breaking from her work upon the gate to address the gap youkai's return. "I would like to request that you arrange for a division of kappa to come down here and aid me with this temporal gate."

Reimu gave her the best look of frustration she could muster, but Eirin wasn't affected.

"Oh? Can the lunar prodigy herself not handle this all by her lonesome?" Yukari teased the scientist, her voice back to normal.

Eirin was still seemingly unaffected. "Which is why you sent _those four_ of all people to grab a rock you well knew the location of. Because you're capable of handling things in the extremely inefficient manner of tackling them yourself."

' _I'm glad we're being reassured that we're the people for the job._ '

"Alri~ght, alri~ght…" Yukari smirked. "Don't get your garments in a twist. They'll be here in a jiffy…"

A gap opened along one of the walls of the room.

From it, a few kappa fell down. They had dark blue, lime green, and blue hair respectively.

"Oof!"

"Woah!"

" _Fuck!_ "

Eirin's brow twitched at the last one.

' _Oh, hey._ ' Hikari recognized one. ' _It's Nitori._ '

...The first to get up was the angry, dark-blue haired one. "O-oh, woah! Where the _hell…!?_ "

Backing against the wall, he pointed at Eirin. "Who're you!?"

...Eirin took a moment to speak. "I am Eirin Yago-"

"And who're _you!?_ " He pointed at Yukari, while Eirin deflated in the background.

"Just a lovely, seventeen ye-"

"A~nd…!" He held up his finger. His eyes laid on the party. "Oo~h, shit, it's these clowns again."

' _What?_ ' Hikari was surprised, herself.

...Marigold snapped her fingers, coming to a realization. "Oh! It's that one kappa! With the industrial grade night light!"

It came back to Hikari. "Oh, yeah…" ' _That was pretty cool, if somewhat dangerous… and overkill._ '

"I remember!" Osamu grinned. "He was a-..." By some miracle, he managed to restrain himself.

It was for naught, though, as the kappa took notice. "...A what? I was a _what!?_ Go on, finish that, I dare ya!"

...Hikari turned to Osamu. "I think we found your long lost brother."

Osamu pointed at him. " _Ass._ "

...Folding his arms, the kappa seethed. "Well, that's just rude."

' _I half expected that to become a fist fight._ '

Nitori gave the other kappa a light nudge. "Cheer up, Katai. I'm sure he doesn't mean it."

Katai turned to her, frowning. "Aa~h… what do you know about humans?"

The lime-green haired kappa took his time standing up. Once he was up, he looked around gingerly.

The other two kappa turned to him, staring at him.

"...Am I dead?" He guessed.

"Yes." Katai confirmed.

"No?" Nitori tilted her head.

Pulling a small, pen-like device from his pocket, he aimed it at his arm. "I'll check!"

Katai's eyes widened. "Wh-what the-"

Shink! A piston shot from the pen and went straight through the lime-green haired kappa's arm. "Shh- aa~h! I-I'm not dead! I'm not dead!"

Katai facepalmed. "...Torazu, you _idiot_."

Eirin was skeptical. "Yakumo, you do realize that if this temporal gate doesn't function to perfection, we-..." She glanced at Reimu. "...might not be able to turn it on, yes…?"

Her sentence caused Yukari to giggle merrily. "Fufufu~! Yes, indeed. Worry not, these three are all geniuses in their own rite."

Torazu was curled up in a ball, next to the temporal gate, nursing his punctured forearm. "...I _wanna_ be dead, now!"

"...For some reason, I am reluctant to take your word." Eirin narrowed her eyes at the gap youkai.

Instead of replying, Yukari settled for being smug, much to Eirin's dismay.

"...Well, then." Eirin turned to the temporal gate. "Time to get to work."

' _Time to go find the snacks._ ' Hikari slowly began to back towards the exit of the room… ' _I know this place has-_ "

Reimu grabbed her shoulder. "Where're you going?"

...Hikari casually turned towards her. "Finding some snacks."

Reimu smiled. "You should be finding some clothes, instead."

' _Dang… although in retrospect..._ ' Hikari looked down at her barely existent clothing. ' _Maybe I've put off getting them repaired long enough._ '

"We could teleport to Mom's place." Marigold proposed. "She'd be able to fix up everything, again."

' _Now that I think about it, I'm glad that nuclear explosion scorched those kiss marks off my body._ ' She looked over her rather dirty skin. ' _...If the shrine wasn't under attack by shadow creatures from another dimension, I'd propose we take a bath there._ '

Reimu rose a brow. "Teleport?"

Hikari snorted. ' _Oh, right. She never figured it out, I think…_ '

"Yeah, we can teleport." Hikari came clean. "...We've been able to for awhile."

...Reimu was confused. "We?"

' _Whelp._ ' Hikari considered plans of action. "Well, it's more like one of us does the teleporting and everyone else just kinda hangs on for the ride."

Osamu suddenly becomes part of the conversation, wedging between Marigold and Hikari. "Yeah, we all just like, daisy-chain together and run at the speed of _light_."

' _He somehow made it sound a lot weirder than it actually is._ '

...Reimu processed this. "So you're all going to… somehow get to Alice's house from here, then?"

"Basically." Marigold moved into the hallway, Hiyori trailing behind her.

...Marigold turned to address their oni friend. "I don't think you need new clothes."

Hiyori blinked. "...Oh, right. I just kinda went with the motions, there."

Osamu, Hikari, and Reimu moved out into the bleakly lit hallway as well, closing the door behind themselves as the room became alive with the subtle sounds of wrenches clicking, and the occasional bang of a hammer.

"...If Eirin's doing some kind of time gate thing, she's going to need the bum of a princess to fuel it." Reimu declared. "Considering I don't see her around, I don't know if anyone actually put in the thought to go get her."

"That would be a problem…" Marigold noted. "...But why her?"

"She's got lots of mana, and is actually pretty good with time magic." Reimu admitted. "Not that she'd ever do much with it."

Marigold rose her brows. "Wait… are you saying that she's a _time mage?_ "

Reimu nodded. "Yeah, pretty much."

" _Her?_ " Marigold was baffled.

"...Shocking, I know." Reimu grinned. "Anyway, you." She points at Hiyori. "...I don't think you need to go on a clothing trip."

Hiyori agreed. "I suppose not."

"You can go fetch the lazy bum." Reimu declared. "She's over, um…" Reimu points down the hall, before waving her hand about. "Yeah. She's got pink clothes and black hair. Just ask the tall rabbits where she is, and say Eirin sent you. I mean… they _probably_ wouldn't second guess you." She glanced at her horns. "...Just don't ask the short rabbits, or they'll play tricks on you."

Hiyori blinked. "Alright, then. This sounds like it will be… interesting."

As the party lined up to teleport, Hiyori meandered off, in search of the lunar princess.

Hikari was in the front of the line. "...Should we try the running teleport? I don't think we can spin very well in this hallway."

"Sure." Marigold was behind her.

"Dude, what if I upped our strength while we ran?" Osamu had a bright idea, as he lined up behind Marigold.

"Then we'd have more strength to beat you over the head with if it screwed everything up." Marigold retorted.

"...I have no idea how this is going to work." Reimu lined up behind Osamu, apparently.

' _Wait, what?_ ' Hikari turned vaguely to the side. "...You're coming, too, Mom?"

"Just incase Alice's house is overrun by shadow monsters." Reimu justified. "Considering I had my hands full with my shrine, of all places…"

' _...That's a good point._ '

"On three, we're gonna begin running." Hikari announced.

"Alright…" Reimu adjusted herself.

Osamu grinned widely, noting he was between two girls.

"Mmm." Marigold was used to the drill.

"One…" Hikari mustered what wind she could from the desolate clinic halls.

"I'm not sure how this teleports us." Reimu confesses.

"Just bear with us." Marigold instructed her, readying herself.

"Two…" Hikari felt her muscles tense up, as she readied to book it.

Osamu felt slight apprehension at having to consistently haul it with the group, which wasn't a new feeling, to be certain.

"Three!"

The four began running nearly simultaneously, their posture ricketing a bit from the delay. Reimu bolted so quickly at first that she accidentally pushed Osamu into Marigold, causing a chain reaction that Hikari barely managed to avert.

' _Woa~h!_ ' It did give a huge speed boost, however.

Rapidly, the party began building up speed before they even reached the end of the hallway-

KraKoo~m!

Lunar and Earthen rabbit alike stared at the smouldering trail in awe, amiss to what the loud noise was.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

KraKoo~m!

Hikari struggled to dig her heels into the dirt, fighting the force of her party being thrown along, and the fact her mother continued to move after they had reached the other side.

' _Tree, tree, tree-_ ' "Tree, tree, tree…!" Hikari instinctively used her gohei to block the incoming tree she was being pushed towards.

Cling!

' _That's not the sound wood should make, ever._ ' Hikari blinked.

"Uou~gh!" Osamu was crushed between Reimu and Marigold.

"Oof…" Marigold crashed into Hikari.

Though she temporarily avoided it, her fate was unavoidable. "Ah-!"

Bam! Hikari was pressed against the tree.

...Reimu dizzily stumbled away from the conga line. "Woa~h…"

Eventually, the line fell apart. Osamu sat backwards, onto the floor. "Th-tha~t… wasn't everything I expected it to be…"

Marigold snorted, breaking from Hikari. "What… did you even expect?"

"Pain..." Hikari kept herself stable by clinging to the tree for a few moments longer, until her balance found its way back.

After a few moments, everyone was back on their assorted footwear. Looking around, they saw signs of conflict, but no actual conflict.

Doll parts laid strewn around the house's perimeter, along with numerous intact or patrolling dolls. The house held many dents and holes, but was relatively sound, if a bit scorched. Metal fragments were strewn about everywhere.

...Reimu leaned over, and picked up some sort of electric rod-

Zap! "Ow, ow…" She flailed her hand, dropping the rod. "Stupid…"

Bam! She had expanded a yin-yang orb, and used it to crush the metal rod.

"Warzone." Hikari summarized the situation.

" _Du~de…_ " Osamu looked around in wonderment, albeit tinged with disappointment. "We missed it!"

"...I'm somewhat glad we weren't here at the time." Marigold knew firsthand what kind of crossfire there was when her mother got her dolls out for real.

Strutting up to the door, Hikari rapped her knuckles on it.

…

It creaked open, Alice on the other side. Her eyes widened for a moment, when they ran across the party's figure. Then, she sighed. "What happened to you three _now…?_ "

...Then she noticed Reimu. "Oh. Hi, Reimu."

"Hey." Reimu greeted her equally casually. "I brought the kids to be patched up."

' _...It feels kinda weird being called a kid._ '

"I ain't no kid!" Osamu objected, taking offense. "I'm, like, eighteen!"

" _Like_ eighteen." Alice interjected. "Which would imply you actually aren't, for better or worse."

Folding his arms, Osamu ceased replying, knowing this was a battle of wits that couldn't be won.

Inside, Hikari considered finding the main table, only to find it. ' _...It's in three pieces._ '

Walking towards the not entirely intact counter at the back of the living room, Alice began using dolls to shuffle through materials on it before she even got there. "How'd your shrine defense go, Reimu?"

"Terrible." Reimu huffed. "They just kept coming, even though I was swatting them down like flies."

Surprised, Alice turned to her. "Really…? I got a single wave of hardy opponents here. Some lightning elemental thing, and some earth-elemental robots."

Marigold smirked. "...Earth-elemental robot seems like an oxymoron."

"You'd think that would be a long-winded way of saying 'golem', but it's not." Alice continued. "Full fledged, metal robots… except earth-elemental."

"I'm glad this place didn't explode." Reimu gave her sentiment as she took a chair from the demolished table, sitting on it.

"I'm glad, too." Alice continued to sift through stuff on her drawers with her own hands, still assisted by dolls.

Hikari and her friends looked for more chairs, only to find none. Osamu tried to sit upon the broken table, only to slide off of it, and onto the floor. Consenting to gravity, he sat on the floor. "Stupid, freaking…"

"I take it I'm to fix up your clothes again?" Alice turned to the party, expression neutral.

"Yeah…" Marigold was sheepish. "Sorry I ruined it so fast."

"Oh, it's no big deal." Alice smiled. "I still have the designs written down. I should probably upgrade it, so that it doesn't happen again. I could only imagine what you had to have done to ruin an already enchanted costume so quickly."

' _I think playing in volcanos would ruin anyone's stuff really quickly._ ' Hikari snorted at her own thought.

Stepping towards the party, Alice looked over Hikari. "...What even _happened_ to you?"

Hikari decided upon the only logical answer. "I fell in a volcano."

...Alice looked over at Reimu, who slowly brought her hand up for a facepalm.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

' _I'm not sure how comfortable I am about the bathroom having a hole in the wall._ '

Hikari looked up from the filling bathtub, mourning the room's insulation as the cold air easily infiltrated it due to the gaping hole.

"...I mean, no one lives out here anyway." Marigold reasons. "Aside from one of my mothers. And a lot of youkai. I'm pretty sure there's some human scavengers once in awhile, too, but they don't usually last long."

' _...That last one was pretty morbid._ ' Hikari considered. ' _Then again, this is probably the village we're talking about. I don't remember them valuing their lives, that much..._ '

However, just as quickly as they were making good conversation from the hole in the wall, some dolls quickly moved to place wooden planks over the hole systematically. Other dolls assisted to hammer them in place.

' _That's pretty efficient._ '

"...Well." Marigold nodded. "Mom's on the ball."

Alice stepped in through the bathroom door. "Hey. We're low on water."

Marigold jerked her head towards her mother. "Don't we have a well?"

"It blew up." Alice revealed. "...Well, more than that, actually. We still have _some_ water, so…" She watched the slowly filling bathtub for a moment. "...What you see might be what you get."

Marigold grinned. "What do you mean, 'it blew up'?"

"The electric sword of that floating… thing fell into it. It's actually a good thing the well blew up, or we couldn't use _any_ of the water."

...Marigold made an 'o' shape with her mouth.

Once the bathtub was nearly full, the water from the faucet began tapering off…

' _Oh, boy._ '

Like that, they all stared at the slowly dwindling water flow.

…

"You've got options." Alice began spelling out the situation, "You could take baths one after another, but the latter gets cold water…"

Both girls cringed.

"...one of you could just not take a bath..."

They gave Alice dry stares.

"...or you could bathe together." She finished.

…

They shrugged.

"There you go." Alice nodded.

Osamu giddily stepped through the bathroom door. "Last one in's a rotten egg!"

He leapt through the air, making an attempt to land in the bathtub- "Oof!"

He was intercepted by a swimsuit clad doll, springing from its perch upon a high-up shelf. It promptly pushed him out of the room itself, Alice following slowly behind. "You'll get your bath, alright, at this rate…"

The door closed.

…

It swung open again, Reimu poking her head in, smiling. "If either of you think of fooling around, I'll know."

Hikari regretted leaving her gohei in the other room.

The door clicked shut, again.

...Looking towards her shrine-maiden friend for a moment, Marigold rolled her eyes. "...Don't tell me she actually bothered you, with that."

Hikari looked away awkwardly. "We-well, no."

"You need more fortitude to that kind of thing." Marigold began removing her charred black rags, their curious, plastic-like substance giving a hollow clack against the floor. "When you practically live with a succubus in the house, half the time, you begin to tune things out." ...She furrowed her brows. "That, and the fairies aren't much better, really."

...Looking down at her friend's nearly entirely carbonated adventure dress, Hikari realized something. "Doesn't your mom need our clothes to fix them?"

Marigold snorted. "...It'd be pretty amazing if anyone managed to recover something from these." She poked the rag she dropped with her foot, the odd plastic substance squishing in as she pressed on it. "...They might be a _bit_ beyond fixing."

Hikari looked down at her own rags, which were almost nothing but the basic strings that kept the hakama on, and some tiny patches of cloth. ' _There's not really anything to fix._ '

The water from the faucet was little more than a drip.

"Let's see…" Freeing herself from relatively intact but moderately vaporized undergarments, Marigold looked over the one-person bathtub. "How're we gonna make this work?"

Hikari lifted the band of latex rags, and slid off the bunched up rings that used to be her arm sleeves, leaving herself in her chest bindings and hakama waistband. "Very carefully."

Moving to detach the hakama waistband- it fell right off, the string snapping, leaving her partially exposed panties fully exposed.

' _Oh._ ' ...After staring at it for a moment, Hikari nudged it, along with the other trashed clothes, into a pile.

Marigold plopped into the warm tub. "Aa~h… well, we'll figure it out, I'm sure."

Undoing her chest bindings, Hikari's upper torso felt air naturally for the first time in awhile. ' _Woa~h. I forgot how much those constrict…_ '

Marigold watched her remove her white panties idly.

Once she was fully exposed, Hikari stood over the bath tub. "...Now that I look at it, this really is pretty small."

"It's not like we're big people." Marigold shifted her legs about. "Try getting in."

Hikari stepped into the tub, and sat down. At first, she kept her legs curled up, doing her best to try to avoid clipping her friend's, but still found them pressing against the sides of her hips.

"Okay, maybe… hmm…" Marigold retracted her legs slightly, her knees poking above the water. "There. Now you can exist."

Hikari tried extending her legs, only to find she had to take a similar, rigid position, her knees poking Marigold's.

"I have no idea how we're going to get washed." Hikari declared.

Freezing up, Marigold looked across the bathroom. "...We forgot to grab a brush, didn't we?"

It was at that moment that another swimsuit clad doll floated down from above, grabbing various bath time supplies, and bringing them over to the tub.

' _...How did it know?_ '

Marigold accepted the supplies with a reluctant arm. "Well, I can't complain about convenience, I guess."

Putting them aside the bath tub, which was no small effort with how difficult it was to bend her legs. After a moment, however, she managed. "The~re we go…"

Lifting up a brush, she threw it into the middle of the tub. "There."

...Hikari lifted the big scrubby brush. "It's fluffy."

Marigold snorted.

' _Now… how to actually use this, as we are..._ ' Hikari began scrubbing the easier places along the length of her legs.

Marigold tried to bend to grab the shampoo, but couldn't. "You know what? Why don't we just…"

Getting up, Marigold grabbed the shampoo as she repositioned herself. Quickly sitting down again, she now had her back to Hikari, but was able to fit between her legs. "There we go!"

...Hikari idly gave Marigold's back two individual scrubs of the brush, brushing over some of the mage's long blonde hair as she did so.

' _Her hair tickles._ ' Some of it was brushing against Hikari's inner thighs.

Grinning and lifting her shampoo, Marigold showed it off. "Watermelon."

' _Does watermelon even have much of a scent?_ ' Hikari remembered the candy variant, which tasted nothing like actual watermelon. ' _Watermelon tastes and smells more like water, than anything…_ '

From there, Hikari proceeded to scrub Marigold's back, applying soap to the brush every now and then.

' _Brushing some places is still difficult, but this is better than the other position…_ ' Hikari also worked on her own legs a bit, too.

"...How're we gonna wash our hair?" Marigold proposed a new challenge.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIYORI'S VIEW ====

"Yeahjus'takehallninety-fivedowntheonesectionwith- y'know- fiveyellowedtiles, whenyouseethehallwiththeweirdblue- weirderthantheotherbluey'knowwhatI'msayin'- it'sthefifth- ormaybetenth- dooronthe-..." The earthen rabbit girl stopped, taking a breath. "Dooronthenorth, y'knowwhatImean?"

…

"No~...?" Hiyori shook her head at the red-haired rabbit girl.

"...Just follow me." The other, blonde-haired lunar rabbit girl turned around, moving down the hall.

"Hey, Arai-chan, man, shecame'tamealllookin'forthe big K- y'knowwhatI'msayin'- andshealllikeexpectedmeandIguessIwantedtoleadhermanbutArai-chanc'monman."

' _I only caught a few things._ ' Hiyori was amazed and confused. ' _She talks at a million kilometers per hour…_ '

"Yeah, yeah." The blonde rabbit girl, Arai, waved her off. "Look, you can make sure we don't get mauled by enemies or something. Not that there are any."

The stout, red-haired rabbit held up her hands. "Heyman- y'know- that'snotcoolman- y'know…"

After following the blonde rabbit for a few minutes, they came to Kaguya's door.

' _...For a princess, I'd expect her to have something more lavish._ '

The blonde-haired rabbit knocked. "Kaguya-sama! You have a guest!"

…

The red-haired hare tried knocking herself. "Hey, bigKman, yougotaliveonehere, y'know!"

"Just open the door!" A woman yelled from inside.

Hiyori curiously watched the stout rabbit open the door herself, letting the three in. Moving inside, Hiyori's eyes quickly adjusted to the room's darkness…

Though, she had to squint when she saw the bright light of a computer monitor, which stood out in the darkness. ' _Woah…_ '

"Who the hell came to visit me at four in the morning!?" The barely-clad, black-haired woman yelled. "I'm _busy!_ "

' _...Why are you busy at four in the morning?_ '

Arai was more docile than earlier. "Well, Kaguya-sama, you were formally requested on the behalf of the-"

"Tell 'em to suck it!" Kaguya waved her off. "Let me just- oh, shit!" She leaned to the side in her chair, rapidly pressing keys on her keyboard. "You nearly got me killed!"

Arai sighed.

"HeyKmanman…" Stepping towards Kaguya, she put her hand on the bottom of her office chair. "Yourguestsneedyou- y'knowwhatI'msayin'- man- likeifyoudon'tgetouttheremanIdunnoman."

"What the _fuck_ …" Kaguya almost turned away from the monitor, for a moment. "Did Eirin order _cocaine!?_ "

Then, her screen went red. " _Fuck!_ "

...Hiyori watched as the chair spun around. The half-naked girl glared at the three, brooding.

'This _is the princess?_ ' Hiyori felt like she had been had…

"This is _your_ fault, you know." She gestures to the monitor. "You three? Yeah, your fault."

Arai bowed. "Please forgive me, Kaguya-sama…"

"HeyguessI'msorrybutnotreallymanIdunnowhat'syourproblem, Kman…" Her speech made Kaguya furrow her brows in semi-awestruck confusion.

Hiyori wasn't sure what happened, exactly, so she stayed quiet.

"...So, who's the guest? Her?" Kaguya gestures to Hiyori, looking up at her horns. "Good. Great. Did you come to apply for 'walking lobster opener'? ...I mean, we actually _could_ use one of those."

"...Are you sure you're a princess?" Hiyori narrowed her eyes, somewhat suspect.

"Are _you_ sure you're not like, a moose?" Kaguya jabbed back. "Okay, who the fuck is she, and why is she here?"

"She was sent by Eirin to fetch you." Arai spoke. "Eirin needs your assistance in project lab C."

" _What?_ " Kaguya's jaw dropped. "Gaa~h… fine. Let me get my crap on…" With a heavy sigh, Kaguya stood up, walking slightly awkwardly as her legs readjusted to being used.

...As she moved for a different room, she turned and pointed at Hiyori. "Seriously, we could use a walking crap opener person. If you're in need of a job, think about it."

' _I'd rather not._ ' Hiyori didn't particularly need money, anyway.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIKARI'S VIEW ====

"That wasn't as difficult as I expected." Hikari finished combing through her hair, dropping the last of the knots the brush had liberated from her hair into the nearby bin.

"Getting up whenever we needed to do something sucked, though." Marigold shivered in her towel. "It's mid-winter, after all…"

Hikari could agree with that. "Yeah."

Knock, knock, knock.

Someone knocked at the door. "It's okay to come out." It was Reimu's voice.

"Oka~y." Hikari called out, placing the comb down on the sink's side.

Marigold squeezed a rubber ducky.

 _Sqee~eek…!_

"No." Hikari removed it from her hand, placing it at the tub's side. "Not again."

"Hehehe!" Marigold grinned. "But, it's King Ducky. He squeaks really well. That's what makes him king!"

"King Ducky's about to be dethroned." Hikari got up and moved towards the door.

Swinging it open, she stepped out and into the guest room.

Reimu was there, next to the two pairs of new clothes. "Hey, you two. Alice finished them pretty quickly."

Osamu was blindfolded, stepping towards the bed. "Hey, you guys!"

Reimu stood aside as he walked towards the bed. Before he could walk into it and flop on the clothes, she turned him around with a simple swipe of her gohei. He stumbled about for a few moments, before continuing in his new direction.

' _His robe seems to have been replaced… sort of?_ ' On examination, Hikari wasn't sure if it was fixed up or replaced, considering the new yellow embroideries that ran along it. His hat seems to have gotten an aesthetic upgrade, as well.

Hikari looked over the red clothes. ' _These are probably mine…_ '

Alice floated into the room, holding a large, red, black, and yellow ribbon. "Ah, you two are out already?"

Marigold shrugged. "It doesn't take more than thirty minutes to wash up."

Alice handed the ribbon to Hikari.

Hikari obtained Chaos Ribbon!

' _That's… a rather chaotic looking design._ ' The black stitching ran across the surface of the ribbon like brambles.

"Forgive how ugly it looks." Alice didn't seem ashamed of it. "Its purpose is largely in functionality. It reduces dark damage."

' _Huh._ ' Hikari blinked. "How?"

Alice smiled at her. "Good question. Often, many more amateurish enchanted goods simply use resistant materials, which would work fine for things like the cold, but not for magic spells, and not for more complex elements. All I could manage on such short notice was that." She gestures to the ribbon. "It doesn't even halve dark damage, but it's better than none. It works by applying a warding spell to your entire body. While the ribbon itself is probably completely immune to dark magic, it projects a fraction of that immunity onto you."

...Hikari nods, satisfied with that explanation. ' _The more you know._ '

Marigold obtained Elementalist Adventure Dress!

Marigold was midway through putting on her new dress, having gotten her pants and her boots on. "I noticed you decided to add a few more colors…"

Turning to her daughter, Alice nodded. "Mmm. I gave you some general resistance to the elements, both because I had scraps on hand, and because I figured magic damage was what had to have done them in. As long as you don't go fighting any fire enemies again."

"I'm… pretty sure we won't." Marigold awkwardly scratched her cheek. "I hope we won't, at least."

Hikari obtained Midnight Miko Outfit!

...Before Alice could comment on that, Hikari questioned her outfit as she put it on. "What does mine do?"

Alice looked over at the black, red, and white outfit. "I kept some of the elements of that one design you brought me, but I combined them with Reimu's. Partially because I don't have the rubber to spare for a leotard, but also because the leotard wasn't really doing you any favors defensively."

' _...Pretty much._ ' Hikari was glad to have the traditional shrine maiden top back. ' _Although… I still have that cloth vest thing that came with the leotard._ '

"Even more dark resistance, and some other things." Alice noted. "I focused more on the physical properties than the magical resistances. It might be a little slower to move in, but it… basically, if you fall in a volcano again, it should be a little harder to die. Not that I know how you got out in the first place."

Hikari grinned.

She slid on her arm sleeves, which now had black bands going through white fabric.

Hikari obtained Shade Sleeves!

She turned to Alice questioningly.

"...Basically just a little dark resistance." Alice shrugged. "I didn't really get too creative there. You should be able to attack a little faster, since I used lighter material for those."

Marigold up the new pair of glasses at the bed, and compared it with her current glasses. After doing so, she put them on- "Woaa~h. This is a _lot_ less smudged…"

Marigold obtained Sun Swirly Glasses!

...The dark tinted glasses slowly became brighter as Marigold wore them. "Where did you get these…?"

"I just enchanted one of your spares to resist light a bit better." Alice noted. "Your hobo over there told us about how you've been getting bombarded by light attacks in the past."

Osamu looked over from a corner he was walking into. "Hey! I'm _not_ a hobo… I'm a _professional_."

"A professional hobo." Alice corrected herself. "My mistake."

Osamu had to remind himself that Alice's wit was like Marigold's on steroids.

"His robe's already pretty good, so I just made it fire resistant." Alice waved off Osamu's latest upgrades. "Even that hat of his."

"Can I take this thing off now…!?" Osamu began tugging at the blindfold pre-emptively.

"No." Alice shook her head.

"Yes." Hikari contradicted her, giving him mercy.

Trusting the shrine maiden more than the mage, Osamu tore off his blindfold to find everyone decent.

...He gave Alice a dry look, causing her to smirk.

"I think we should be heading back…" Reimu figured, stretching idly. "Hnn~... Thanks for letting us pop by, Alice."

"Oh, anytime." Alice smiled. "I mean, one of you _is_ my daughter, after all, so it's not like I'd have said no."

With that, Reimu began moving for the door. Hikari and Marigold followed behind her.

However, Osamu, was less complacent. "Dude! Aren't we gonna stay for pancakes!?"

Hikari turned towards him. "I don't think there's time."

"We _just_ had pancakes." Marigold countered. " _How_ are you still hungry for pancakes?"

"So?" He grinned widely. "Dude, they're good. How are you _not_ hungry for more pancakes?"

' _I disagree with them being good. At least, for that last batch._ '

"C'mon!" Reimu called for them from the front door, which pushed them along.

Making their way outside, the four were clad in their new and improved clothing. Outside, they heard the light sound of crickets…

"Are you sure you four will be fine?" Alice wondered. "I have a feeling it's going to be awfully crazy out there."

"No problem." Hikari gave a thumbs up.

Reimu was less certain. "Do we have to do that… teleporting thing, again?"

Hikari nodded. "We can use a better one, because we have more room."

"Good…" Reimu relaxed. "That other one was too counterproductive. I hope you guys didn't use that often."

...Hikari grinned. "N-"

"All the time." Osamu assured her. "You couldn't _stop_ us from usin' it! It was like, krakoom here! Krakoom there!" He grinned widely as well. "That was the shit, dude."

...Hikari slouched.

Reimu smiled dryly. "...Well, as long as you don't use it anymore."

After a quick lineup in the cluttered front yard, which Alice observed curiously, Hikari was ready.

"Again, on three…" She called out to the party.

"Oh, boy…" Reimu dreaded what was about to befall them.

Marigold snorted at her disdain. "Come, now. It won't be bad."

"One…" Hikari began calling wind onto herself.

Osamu began readying his body. " _So_ glad we got enough room this time…"

Tensing her muscles again, Hikari definitely felt like she'd committed these motions to muscle memory by this point. "Two…"

"Try giving us a lot of stopping room…" Reimu suggested in vain.

"Three!" Hikari began running.

Hikari tried Teleport ß!

This time, they were less janky in their startup, although all the movement pretty much was on Hikari's part. Reimu was thrown off a little as they chose a circular pattern instead of bolting straight ahead, but quickly figured out what was going on.

Their speed increased as they circled around and around, until-

KraKoo~m!

Alice jumped at the flash of light. A ring of quaint flames was left in their wake, which quickly died down…

"Huh." She didn't know what to think of that. "So that's how they get around…"

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIYORI'S VIEW ====

"Alright…" Kaguya daintily stepped from her room, clad in a long, pink gown with many white ribbons on the front. "I am ready."

Hiyori was the last person remaining in the room, standing idly as she waited for the princess. "Hey."

Losing her regal posture, Kaguya relaxed. "Oh, it's just you."

Hiyori fought back a sigh. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I expected someone more important to have tagged along with you, or something." Kaguya explained. "Whatever. What the fuck does Eirin even need me for, anyway? She knows I don't do physical. It's something physical, isn't it?"

Hiyori shook her head. "I don't think so, no."

"...Oh." Kaguya blinked. "What is it, then?"

"We need your time magic." Hiyori explained.

...Kaguya facepalmed. "Fu~ck. I… I don't even. Fucking… _why!?_ "

Hiyori shrugged. "Don't shoot the messenger."

"...Fine." Pouting, Kaguya begrudgingly moved towards Hiyori. "Let's just get this over with. Find me some scrap paper, too, 'cause if she asks for some homebrew shit, I'm gonna have to be doing a _fuckton_ of math."

' _Scrap paper?_ ' Hiyori wasn't sure what she meant, having not worked with paper and pencil often before, especially underground. Even so, she agreed with Kaguya for the sake of not slowing things down. "Sure."

"Cool." Kaguya slid a hand into her long dress, and took out a rectangular device. Flipping it open, she began pressing buttons inside. "Alright, let's get this moving. I'm right behind you."

...With that, Hiyori began progressing. As she left the room and moved down the hall, she occasionally stopped to check if Kaguya was following her. She was each time. ' _...I don't feel like I can be certain with this girl._ '

Retracing her steps, Hiyori eventually found herself back at the project room where the others were.

She swung open the door…

" _Don't_ damage the lead plate, this time." Eirin spoke down to the lime-haired kappa, her expression sour. "We only have so much."

Torazu pouted. "I~'m sorry, Eirin-san-sama-chan…"

...Eirin's brow twitched.

"I brought the princess!" Hiyori called into the room.

"Aye!" The three kappa cheered at the exclamation, despite it meaning little in particular for them.

Kaguya folded her rectangular device shut. "Oo~h, god… Alright, what's this time shit I need to do?"

...Eirin stared at her, for a moment, before replying. "We're making this time gate, here." She gestures to the large ring behind herself. "We very much require your assistance in supplying time magic to each compartment of the device. With a-"

"Fuck this. Fu~ck _this!_ " Kaguya turned to the door. "Nope! No~ way! No-"

Bam! The door slammed shut in front of her.

"Oh, you piece of-"

"Princess, please." Eirin insisted. "It is to be done with an easy control rod."

"A-..." Kaguya's rage became confusion. "A what?"

"An easy control rod." Eirin repeated, before elaborating. "It allows you to simply channel chronic-elemental mana through it, and each compartment of the device will perform the calculations, functions, and coroutines automatically. You only need to fuel it."

...At that, Kaguya nodded in satisfaction. "Huh. Fuck me, you're a genius."

"I'd rather not." Eirin jeered clinically.

Kaguya began walking towards her, grinning. "Yeah, yeah. Where's this rod you keep going on about?"

...Hiyori turned towards the door, hearing it swing open again.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIKARI'S VIEW ====

"Here's where she should be." Reisen gestured to the door.

"...Same place as last time." Reimu noted. "Thanks, Reisen."

Reisen began returning to the front stand, breaking from the party. "Mmm."

From there, Hikari moved to the door, and swung it open. Inside, Hiyori was immediately before the door.

"Oh, hey." Reimu moved in behind Hikari. "Did you find-"

"Hey, hey!" Across the room, Kaguya yelled at Torazu and Katai, who had managed to smash their wrenches together somehow, to make a cross-wrench. "Stop being motherfuckers. You are being motherfuckers."

"...So you found her." Reimu bluntly accepted this.

"Yeah." Hiyori wasn't sure what to say. "...She's really a princess?"

"I think so, anyway." Reimu stared at the princess from afar warily.

' _Oh, yeah. Her._ ' Hikari cited her as one of the reasons she decided to cut back on swearing.

"...I see your clothes have been more than fixed." Hiyori observed the party's new attire.

"Ah, yeah." Hikari looked down at her black accented shrine maiden attire. "It's made of stronger stuff."

...Eirin stepped towards the group, facepalming.

The yelling across the room had gotten louder. Kaguya loomed over the lime-green kappa. "What did you just call me!?"

"A-a very nice lady!" He cowered. "With a _very_ nice, not-bitchy-at-all attitude!"

Eirin turned towards the party again, speaking quietly. "At this rate, she'll spend more time fighting with the kappa than channeling her mana…"

…

' _Well, that's a problem._ ' Hikari observes as a bystander.

...Eirin turns to the party. "I may know her well, but her tempers can be quite the enigmas once they get started. That, and the kappa aren't helping."

"Didja try makin' her pancakes?" Osamu grins.

"Food doesn't help." Eirin dismisses his idea.

"She ain't human, dude." Osamu is at a loss. "Who the hell doesn't like pancakes…?"

Eirin snorts. "Indeed."

' _Oh, right!_ ' Hikari eventually realized that she had something to deal with this situation. "I think I can do something."

Eirin perked up. "Oh! Great. I was afraid I was going to have to toss one of you into the mess and hope for the best. Glad to see you're volunteering."

Reimu put a hand on her daughter's shoulder, and gave her some solid advice. "If they don't listen, or if they get aggressive, feel free to blow them up."

' _...I think I'm gonna try to avoid that._ ' Smiling ironically, Hikari set towards the bickering people.

"Please don't." Eirin pleaded as she went.

...Approaching the two, Hikari reached into her pocket, pulling out the Heart Gem that she received from Koishi awhile ago…

' _Hopefully she doesn't make the situation worse._ ' Hikari knew Koishi had a knack for throwing those targeted into emotional turmoil.

Channeling mana into the gem, Hikari prepared to wait-

To her surprise, all it took was seemingly little of her mana to make the gem shine. She kept a steady grip on it, as green tufts of smoky magic began being shot from the gem, swirling into the air around her…

Poof! A large tuft spiralled into the air above her, and from it…

" _Heeyyaa~h!_ "

Koishi twirled down in the air, before facing Hikari.

"Boop!" She poked Hikari on the nose.

Smiling, Hikari greeted her. "Hey. Say, uhm…" She pointed at the two yelling people.

"I'm gonna turn you into fossil fuel…!" With faux glee, Kaguya stomped towards the kappa lecherously.

"N-no! Make it stop! Make it _sto~p!_ " He swung the combo wrench uselessly in the air, backing away from Kaguya as slow as she was stomping towards him.

"Make them happy." Hikari requested.

Koishi cracked her fingers. "Alright, Hikari! One happy couple, coming ri~ght up! And by that…" Suddenly, she was very sullen. "I-I can't control what emotion it lands on." Staring at the floor, she waved her hand anyway. "Hope this wo~rks."

Then, she was jerked about, her hands going with the motions. "Hey! Hah! Wahoo~!"

Koishi tried HK Happy α!

Koishi tried HK Fear α!

Koishi tried HK Bad α!

Three bursts of foggy, green magic soared towards the two.

The first one collided with Torazu, making him flinch. "...You know, I actually feel a lot better now!"

Kaguya was launched forward a bit, after the second bolt struck her. "...Oh-oh, fuck! Oh, _fuck!_ " Scrambling backwards, she tried to get away from the kappa. "No, no, no! Do-don't…!"

Torazu's head was thrown aside, as he was smacked by the next incoming magic bolt. "Aah! Oo~h… this sucks. Everything… sucks…" He kneeled, dropping his wrench.

' _Uhm…_ ' Hikari stared at them with vague disappointment. ' _I don't think that's happy._ '

"O-oh, no…" Koishi quivered. "I-I let everyone down…" Floating to the ground beside Hikari, she began shaking. "I- didn't-... I didn't mean…"

Koishi tried Guilt ß!

Poof! A final magical bolt shot out from her chest, and split into two, homing onto the two she targeted.

Hikari put her hand on her shoulder. "Relax."

"Ah!?" Koishi flinched violently, freezing up.

The two individuals were struck by the bolts, pausing.

…

They slowly turned to each other, and began convening…

"Hey, dude…" Kaguya fidgeted awkwardly. "Sorry for, uhm… calling you a motherfucker."

"I'm sorry for calling you a bitchy lady." The kappa held out his hand. "Agree to never be motherfuckers again?"

"Su-sure…" Kaguya reluctantly shook his hand, unsure how to feel about herself.

...Hikari smiled. "See? You didn't screw things up _that_ badly."

...Koishi beamed again. "Wow! I fixed it! I really fixed it!"

Turning and grabbing Hikari's hands, she began hopping in place. "Yea~y!"

"Wo-woah!" Hikari began jumping along with her on impulse, leading to the two hopping in circles.

"...If anything, those two are being motherfuckers." Kaguya disdainfully addressed Hikari and Koishi. "Which is whatever, 'cause I don't even know why they're here."

Nodding, Torazu agreed. "Yeah. I can see that."

...After a few moments, Koishi stopped. "So~, this place is a little different!"

"Yeah…" Hikari stepped back from her a bit, still holding a smile. "C'mon." She began walking back towards her party and Eirin.

As she returned, Reimu commented on the events. "I have no idea how you know Koishi, but that works, I guess."

"Quite." Eirin was smug. "Seldom do I see the princess so humble as of late."

Nitori meandered over from the temporal gate, wiping her forehead.

Eirin perked up. "I hope this is good news."

"It is!" Nitori smiles. "I've gotten all of the T-ninety-nine transistors installed! I'm ready to start on the pipe bits."

Eirin blinked. "...Ah. I'd expect no less of you, Kawashiro."

Turning to the party, Nitori waved. "Hey, guys!"

"Hey, Nitori." Marigold waved back.

"Hi." Reimu casually greeted her.

"I used the metals to make you guys some things, because I saw you here before." She reached into her back pocket, and pulled out two bracelets. "Gifts."

Osamu rubbed his hands together. "I _like_ gifts!"

She tossed one of the bracelets to him.

Osamu obtained Imperial Bracelet!

"I want Marigold to have this one…" Nitori held up one with a barcode-esque black and white texture all around the edges.

Eirin eyed it carefully. "...Isn't that one of the transistors?"

"It died." Nitori may or may not have told her the truth.

Eirin could tell she wasn't. "But it-"

"Blown up." Nitori was adamant about gift giving.

"...Well, you do good work, so I suppose it's fine." Eirin conceded the loss of the transistor, folding her arms.

Nitori handed it to Marigold.

Marigold obtained Eternal Band!

"...Cool." Marigold smiled at it. "Thanks, Nitori."

Katai backed away from the temporal gate, wiping his hands. "It's done!"

...Eirin turned to Nitori. "Don't you have those pipes to install?"

Nitori grinned. "He already started on them."

"...Hmm." Eirin shrugged. "I'll inspect it and clear it, then."

With that, she went along with Nitori to check on the machine's stability.

…

Hikari turned towards her party, who were examining their new stuff.

"I wonder what it does…" Osamu stared intently at his new bracelet.

"Probably nothing." Marigold figured. "Not everything has to _do_ something, you know."

Koishi hopped in place. "Do I get one too!? Do I!?"

Her attention snapping from the examination for a moment, Nitori stared at her for a moment. "...Oh. _Oh!_ You're… you're that one girl!"

"Yeah." Koishi winked. "I'm one girl!" Slouching over, she looked tired. "A~nd only… one girl…"

' _I think that's enough._ ' Hikari wills her to desummon.

The Heart Gem glows brightly, and flashes.

"Oh- oh! See ya, Hikari~!" Koishi starts getting pulled back into the gem, her form slowly being pulled towards it. "Tootaloo~!"

Poof! She became green mist, which gravitated into the Heart Gem.

…

From there, they watched the kappa and the doctor examine the ring's integrity in the bleak hospital light. Nitori had proceeded to neglect that Koishi was ever there to begin with.

Reimu's intuition picked this moment to exist. "Hey, wait…"

She moved up to the gate, and asked Eirin a question. "If it's a temporal gate, will it display what's on the other side?"

"Naturally." Eirin idly provided, not paying full attention to her.

"...Why is it not outside, then?" Reimu folded her arms.

...Eirin slowly stood from the machine, turning to her. "In retrospect, that would have likely been a good idea. Considering the materials, it should be weather resistant."

At that, Reimu began looking around. "It… can it be moved?"

"No. Well, yes, but I highly doubt anyone here can lift it. That, and there are no doors with which to fit it through." Eirin looked towards Hiyori for a moment, but dismissed the idea she had.

"Where's that gap hag?" Reimu wondered.

"You ra~ng?" A gap opened before Reimu, Yukari leaning out of it. "I'm soft, Reimu."

...With a dry expression, Reimu jumped and tugged on Yukari's arm, pulling her from the gap. "We need you to move this gate thing outside."

Thud. Yukari landed on the floor. Rising, she dusted herself off. "Alri~ght, Reimu. You didn't need to get _grabby_ about it…"

Floating up before the gate, Yukari wiggled her gloved fingers. "Where do you want it?"

"...Just outside, I suppose." Eirin decides. "To the right of our front entrance."

"Very well." A gap slowly stretches out underneath the gate…

"Make sure _not_ to break it." Eirin sternly warns the gap youkai.

"Fufufu~. Worry not, Yagokoro. Our interests coincide, this time."

...The gate slowly drifts down into the gap once it's fully stretched, falling as if it were submerged in water, or as light as a feather. As it drifted, the edges harmlessly clipped the gap's edges a bit, not falling perfectly center, producing soft clings as it went in.

...The kappa stared into the gap with wide eyes.

Then, it closed.

...Yukari floated over where it was, and turned to pretty much everyone present. "Let us go outside."

Reimu looked up at her, expression still dry. "Couldn't we have just used that gap?"

…

"Wha- hey!" Reimu promptly fell into a single gap, which closed shortly later.

" _Now_ let us go outside." Yukari was smug.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Outside, Reimu stood with her arms folded next to the temporal gate.

"Why'd you only teleport _me?_ " She approached the group of people impatiently.

"Well, you asked for it." Yukari shrugged tactfully. "I just gave you what you wanted."

"I didn't ask to-…" Reimu rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

' _I can agree with that statement._ ' Hikari wasn't a big fan of Yukari anymore, either.

Kaguya broke from the crowd. "You bring that rod thing, Eirin?"

"Mmm." Stepping up to the temporal gate, Eirin took a ball from her pocket. Pressing on it, the actual rod portion expanded out from inside.

"Cool…" Marigold liked that.

"Let me just wire it up…" Eirin began taking tubes, pressing them onto the round exterior of the ball part as Kaguya took hold of the shaft.

...Hikari looked to the sky, noticing the darkness of the night give way to a blue glow… ' _I think the sun's rising._ '

...Katai rose his hand. After a few moments of looking about with mild smugness, Yukari noticed him. "...Yes, kappa?"

"Can we get the hell out of here, now?" Katai huffed. "For all I know, my place's been blown away by those robots."

"Oh, yes." Nodding, Yukari waved her hand. "Here is your compensation."

Gaps opened above the three kappa, and oversized cucumber jars softly dropped from above.

Katai goggled at his. "Holy _shit…!_ "

"Tata~." Yukari waved them goodbye. The kappa and their jars dropped into three more gaps that appeared below them, sending them away. All the gaps then closed.

Holding the fully assembled rod, Kaguya focused, closing her eyes. "...Oka~y…"

She glowed a solid grey, as did the easy control rod. The tubes glowed a much more subtle color, as Kaguya poured her mana through them.

Once the magic reached the device, the pulsing blue wireframe pattern along the round rim of the machine began to light up a full, solid blue. This glow also pulsated, though all at once, rather than the more sheen-like appearance the depowered form held.

Clang! Cla-cla-cla~ng!

The props that held it up snapped off, and the gate floated into the air, propelled by its own magical force, now.

"You can cease." Eirin instructed the princess. "Now, it should be able to self-sufficiently maintain its temporal element, and sustain a safe mana balance."

"Did you make it indestructible by normal means?" Yukari inquired, brow raised.

"Not quite." Eirin seemed disappointed. "On such short notice, I had to use more common metals. It would've taken a week to shape the adamantite and mithril necessary."

Yukari tapped her chin. "...Maybe I can work on that. Though, that will come in time, when I accrue the resources myself."

Eirin grinned. "You mean your shikigami?"

"Hush." Yukari snorted.

The gate flickered to life, a white portal forming in the midst of it.

"Now…" Eirin stepped towards the side of it. "I'll set the time to~..."

Yukari paused, thinking. "...Giygas is most likely to return, at minimum, thirty years from now."

"First, we'll set it to the present, so we have somewhere to begin with." Looking away from the machine, she looked over at Kaguya. "Changing the time should be easy enough. Just trickle some mana into it, princess. I'll handle the controls myself."

"Alright." Kaguya agreed, her hands glowing white as she held them on the shaft.

Marigold was curious. "What time is it set to, right now?"

"None." Eirin informed her. "As in, if you jumped in when it's not set to a time, you just take immense time elemental damage, and are likely erased from time."

...Marigold blinked. "How does _that_ work?"

Eirin didn't reply, deciding to instead keep tinkering with the modifications.

Hikari felt something brush against her leg. ' _A-ah…?_ '

"Take it ea~sy…" A yukkuri Reimu was there, when she looked.

Osamu looked down at it. "Oh, hey. It's one of those things."

...He looked between the time gate, and the yukkuri.

"No." Marigold got between it and him. "You're not tossing the poor thing into nonexistence."

He folded his arms. "S'not like it would've _hurt_ it. I don't think."

After a few moments, the temporal gate rapidly flickered, time periods being displayed as they passed by rapidly. Most of them included pitch-back darkness, pitch-white brightness, or solid colors. A few were of stars, and others were of rocks. Eventually, Eirin stopped it somewhere that resembled the Eientei yard. It looked almost as if the gate were still off, but the shimmering of the image hinted otherwise.

"Alright…" Eirin walked behind it. Once she was behind it, her form was obscured, only her legs visible under the portal's bottom rim. Noticing this herself, she floated up and behind the portal's image, seemingly invisible behind it. "Can everyone see me?"

There was a general murmur of disagreement.

"Good…" Landing, she walked around to the controls again, and slowly twisted a dial. As she did, her form appeared on the temporal gate's image. "Okay, it seems to be stable."

"Thirty years…" Reimu folded her arms. "They'll have a way to get back, right?"

Eirin nodded. "As soon as they go, I'll set the portal back to this time, again, give or take a few minutes, and I'll leave it as such. Since I'm the only one who knows how to operate it, and Yukari will see to it that it becomes practically indestructible, it will continue to rest here."

"Why can't we just go back in time and stop this stupid Giygas guy from ever coming?" Osamu proposed. "Like, kick his mom's ass, or something."

...Eirin gave him a blank stare. "Well, for one thing, there is no time portal in the past, so you'd likely be stranded. For another thing, if you were to make it so that Giygas never existed now, you'd likely either become part of some sort of alternate timeline, or be wiped from existence."

...Turning to him, Marigold simplified it. "If we kill him in the past, we'd've never started this adventure."

Osamu nodded. "Oh. Shit."

"In addition…" Eirin took out a keyring, which was adorned with a plethora of keys. "After today, I'm going to manually put the portal in a sort of stasis mode, to keep hooligans from jumping back to the time I set it too. I'll give one of you the key to re-activate it. It doesn't need to be active for you to arrive at a time period."

Taking a blue key from her key ring, Eirin tossed to to Hikari. Hikari managed to smoothly grab it with one motion. ' _Awesome…_ '

"So… Thirty years?" Eirin looked at Yukari, again.

"Indeed." Yukari was reclining in the air, on a gap's rim.

"Can you two hurry the fuck up…?" Kaguya sighed. "Ti-time magic's so fuckin'... wasteful…"

Yukari drifted towards her, and pulled an elixir from somewhere in the gap. "Open up."

Kaguya glared at her. "What the fuck are you- mmph! Mmm!" Yukari shoved the elixir into her mouth, tilting her head back. "Mmm~!"

…

After a moment, she tore it from Kaguya's mouth. "Ha~h! You… _fucking…!_ "

...She was then less angry. "I mean, that helped, but don't fucking _do_ that!"

Reimu stared at Yukari dryly. "You could've just channeled mana into her…"

Looking down at the shrine maiden, she put a finger over her lips, winking.

The dial on the temporal gate was slid ahead, slowly scrolling through thirty years. Brief flickers of color whirled by, some more close than others, as the gate flickered between day and night. Eventually, Eirin's dial turning slowed, and the image rested on a familiar one of Eientei's side and some associated forestry.

"This should be the time…" Eirin nodded, turning from the device. Looking at Yukari, she sought confirmation. "You're sure about this?"

"Positive." Yukari floated down from the air, dismissing her gap. "I've confirmed it myself. Giygas plans to rest in silence for thirty years, and strike when the time is right. We need these four, who know how to deal with its strategies, to strike at the heart of the next invasion: Giygas himself."

…

"Alright." Eirin nodded. Then, she looked over at Reimu.

"...So how would they return?" Reimu asked after a moment.

...Eirin took a breath. "Were you listening, I had explained that they would re-activate the pre-programmed gate. Though…" Eirin furrowed her brows. "I'm not too certain how alternate timelines may play into this. If we're on the right side of history, they should return mere moments after they depart, having defeated Giygas."

Reimu nods, understanding now. "So if they don't return…"

"...We'll just have to deal with things from there." Eirin sighed. "It really is all down to them."

At that, Reimu rose her gohei. "I want to go with them."

...Yukari slowly turned towards her. "You cannot."

"Why not?" Reimu glared at her.

"We need at least one Hakurei miko present at all times." Yukari restated. "For the sake of the barrier."

...Reimu huffed. "I… I see."

"We'll be fine." Hiyori spoke up for the first time in awhile. "We know what we're doing."

...Reimu turned to Hikari.

Hikari gave her a thumbs up, and a smile. "I'll be alright, Mom."

Reimu pulled her into a hug. Surprised for a moment, Hikari returned it.

…

"Give whatever this Giygas thing is hell." Reimu smiles at her, patting her on the shoulders. "Okay?"

"Yeah." Hikari nodded at her.

"I love you, HIkari."

Hikari always found herself thrown off by these sorts of things. "I-I love you too, Mom."

…

Osamu fidgeted awkwardly.

Reimu broke from her daughter, backing off to the side. Yukari held a static smile, while Kaguya and Eirin moved out of the way.

"Alright…" Hiyori cracked her knuckles, before slinging her mace over her shoulder

Marigold put her new Eternal Band in her pocket, unable to fit it around her wrist at the moment. Sliding out her Heavy Bazooka, she appeared ready. "Let's go, guys."

"Hell yeah." Osamu grinned at the bazooka. "We're gonna beat them the _fuck_ up."

Hikari had her gohei ready. She checked her pocket, finding the ofuda there. "Alright. Let's stay close."

Osamu snorted. "When _don't_ we?"

The four march towards the temporal gate. With their weapons of choice ready, they leapt into it together.

Fwoao~m!

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

END OF CHAPTER 30

Protagonist: Hikari Hakurei, Disciple of Paradise

-Inventory-

Weapon: Jet Black Gohei - The gohei once wielded by Sendai Hakurei no Miko. Theoretically, anyway. Boosts attack power, and critical hit rate. The dark impulse of the gohei frequently allows Hikari to strike twice instead of simply once, even when unprepared.

Arms: Shade Sleeves - Dark-elemental arm sleeves. Allows Hikari to add an additional strike to her combo when prepared. Ten percent darkness resistance.

Body: Midnight Miko Outfit - Dark-elemental miko outfit which combines the positive aspects of Reimu and Sendai Hakurei No Miko's outfits. Designed to provide more magical and physical defense all around, and as such might weigh Hikari down a little. Twenty percent darkness resistance.

Misc: Chaos Ribbon - Dark-elemental ribbon. Has a rather crazy slapdash design. Twenty percent darkness resistance.

-Skills-

Attack: Quickly! Swing your gohei at them for massive damage! Sometimes happens twice from the Jet Black Gohei's dark impulse. Has an additional strike due to Hikari's Shade Sleeves.

PK Fantasy α, β, γ, Ω - Bombards the enemy with pain in the form of flashing colors. Deals magical damage. Heavy mental strain that increases with each tier. Third tier forms a barrier, which breaks upon moderate damage. Final tier is a non-elemental nuke of immense magical power.

PK Flash α, ß, γ, Ω - A bright flash that distributes very random status effects to enemies. Usually makes people cry. Higher tiers increase chances, and introduce possibilities of fainting or dispel. Higher tiers can instantly destroy more varieties of foes, and make people feel weird.

Hypnosis α, Ω - Puts weak enemies to sleep for a short time. Works better on tired or exhausted foes. Can also be used in a far more costly form that works on multiple opponents.

Shield α, ß - Halves damage the target takes. Only works against physical attacks, and enough strikes, or powerful strikes, will dispel it. Higher tier turns it into a power-shield that protects even better and even reflects a fraction of protected damage.

Lifeup α, ß, γ, Ω - Heals target a little. Higher tiers heal more grievous wounds, like bone fractures. Highest tier heals everybody in the party.

Healing α, ß, γ - Heals basic status ailments. Higher tiers can cure more dire effects, like burning alive.

Teleport α, ß - Allows instant transport to the general location of an area remembered by oneself or one's party members. Requires a long, fast run-up to execute, however. Higher tier allows a circular motion to control the run-up instead, giving Hikari more control over the teleport.

Ofuda Toss - Throw a holy ofuda that does massive holy elemental damage to youkai and dark elemental foes. Effect lessens the more holy the thing you're attacking is, to the point of healing holy things. Only works if you actually have ofuda, though.

Cautionary Barrier - Summon a barrier that deflects attacks and magical attacks of all elements. Can be broken by stronger attacks, and is holy elemental.

Lightshine Ofuda - Two ofuda which explode into orbs of light. Area denying holy attack.

Summon Koishi - Using the Heart Gem's power, Hikari summons Koishi Komeiji. Casts three random HK spells on enemies, before using a higher tier one that depends on her current mood. Typically can manage two uses before she's out of mana. Costs sizable mana.

Ω-Ω-Ω-Ω

Mage: Osamu Katsumi, the Wannabe Mage

-Inventory-

Weapon: Miracle Gohei - Not nearly as effective in Osamu's hands. Does a tenth of its usual damage, and is unable to inflict critical hits. Might break if swung too hard.

Arms: Imperial Bracelet - Gives slight knockback resistance. Doubles the strength of the last cast of magic used before running out of mana.

Body: Super Rugged Robe - A sturdy robe enchanted to resist damage. Made partially with sturdy cloth from deep underground. Grants fifty percent resistance to fire elemental damage.

Misc: Rugged Red Mage Hat - A red colored mage's hat made from cloth in the Human Village. Minor resistance to thunder, ice, and fire magic from its well worn usage in the past. Didn't see much action… until Osamu bought it! Grants ten percent resistance to fire elemental damage.

-Skills-

PK Thunder α, ß, γ - Very random thunder attack that deals limited damage. Higher tiers increase number of bolts, and sometimes power.

PK Hydro α, β, γ - Gets everyone wet. Usefulness with PK Thunder and PK Freeze depends on whether you hit yourself or not! Creates whirling water spirals at higher tiers.

PK Freeze α, β, γ, Ω - Generates ice crystals at the target's location. Medium damage and effect; may freeze some targets, especially wet ones. Highest tier has a near-guaranteed freeze chance and immense ice damage, at the cost of being very taxing.

Fireball - Manipulate mana to make a shoddy fireball. Low damage and effect.

Static Hands - Not a real spell. Result of a very undercharged PK Thunder that can accidentally go off.

PSI Telepathy α - Speak to friends you haven't met yet! Unstable connection and only works if they have the skill or are asleep.

PSI Shield α, Σ - Halves damage from magical and psychic attacks. Thunder spells fry it instantly, and harder blows dispel it. Second tier applies basic shield to entire party at higher mana expense.

PSI Magnet α, Ω - Costs no mana to use, and steals a very tiny amount of mana from the enemy. Enemy has to have mana in the first place for it to work, though.

Offense Up α - Get pissed! Boosts strength and confidence depending on caster's power and receiver's power.

Defense Down α, Ω - Throw the enemy off their game. Makes them slightly more vulnerable to physical attacks.

Ω-Ω-Ω-Ω

Inventor: Marigold Knowledge, the Tri-Magi Love Child

-Inventory-

Weapon: Spectrum Shotgun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Filled with foil chip bags to conduct the mana, and it is transmitted into a wind stone. Upgraded to draw mana from a simple wooden block filled with immense magic reserves, giving it virtually unlimited ammo. The addition of a battery and a prism allow it to fire seven rainbow colored beams at a wide spread, which deal non-elemental damage. Firing long enough allows them to focus and deal incredible damage, at the cost of insane recoil and instability.

Arms: Eternal Band - Band made from a time transistor. Allows melee attacks to deal time-elemental damage and statuses.

Body: Elementalist Adventure Dress - A custom dress made by Alice. Provides some defense against magical and psychic attacks. Allows very free movement. Grants twenty percent resistance to fire, thunder, and ice elemental attacks.

Misc: Sun Swirly Glasses - Lets Marigold not be blind. Grants immunity to the effects of PK Flash, and to blinding light attacks. Allows Marigold to stare straight into the sun.

Backpack - Allows extended inventory. Aged relic from the Kourindou.

Unnamed Lock Opening Device - Opens locks very precariously. Made with steel, burnt cloth, packaging peanuts, thumbtacks, string, and wooden wheels. Don't even ask…

Ruler - Lets you measure the world around you!

Protractor - Lets you find the angles of anything ever. Totally overpowered.

Scotch Tape - Transparent adhesive from the outside world. Weak, but handy!

Deck of Cards - Allows Marigold to play Strip Poker with the party. Just kidding… or am I?

Shield Killer - Electrical device used to subdue harassers. Has settings ranging from Tickle Torture to Arse Blaster. Fires electrical projectiles, of unknown power.

NF Burst Gun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Uses a Pop Gun as the base, but amplifies its power with an array of random batteries jammed into the base with the Pop Gun. The more batteries, the better, but the typical yield is about five bullets per trigger. Spamming the trigger doesn't make it go any faster, unfortunately. Has no foreseeable ammo limit, and the batteries are only there for mana circulation, meaning their power is really inconsequential.

Holmes Brand Designer Hat - Village swag! A retro village hat that ceased production ten years ago. Sells for a pretty penny nowadays, but it's pretty useless otherwise.

Slime Generator - A bulky box that shoots a small splat of slime. Doesn't seem good for much.

Counter-PSI Device - A weird device Marigold found from a flying saucer. Works in strange ways, and seems to disrupt everyone's concentration. Marigold is immune to its effects.

Charm of Sleep - Grants immunity to sleep while equipped, or held. Can be equipped to Arms or Misc.

Microwave Gun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Constructed with a controlled flame crystal and metal parts, it fires a beam of sustained microwave energy that cooks biological foes alive. Fire-elemental at its core, it's also very inefficient against machines. The lens used in it was switched with a Moon Lens, allowing it to instead deal moon-elemental damage and silence foes. Silenced foes are unable to use spells.

Defense Shower - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Made of a broom, a showerhead, some magnets, and uses jars of water as ammo. Slapped together with ofuda, giving it a holy defensive effect. The jars are usually filled with Talcum Powder, for alchemical purposes. The liquid that is dispensed becomes auto-applying lotion.

Heavy Bazooka - An invention developed in part by Kappa Tech and Marigold Knowledge. It shoots heavy fire-based blasts of fire magic, and deals high knockback. It was constructed by stuffing some fire and gravity stones into a tube, adding a cap on one side to direct the fire, and hooking a magical wire to the handle. Nitori did most of the work, though...

-Skills-

Time Gal - Now with friends!

Is Duck Dodgers - Of the twenty-fourth-and-one-half century!

Finally Got Actual Mage Gear - How much do you want to bet that most enemies _won't_ use darkness, ice, or fire most of the time?

Timely Slugger - Raa~h!

Is Just In Time - For the free pancake deal at Eientei this… day!

Ω-Ω-Ω-Ω

Fighter: Hiyori Hashimoto, the Buddhist Oni

-Inventory-

Weapon: Mace of Devas - The last of the four treasures held by the Devas of the Mountain. Ability to whack stuff really hard. Increases critical hit rate by lieu of being a really big, blunt, spiky weapon. Allows partial blocking of magic attacks.

Arms: Shackle of Devas - The first of the four treasures held by the Devas of the Mountain. Grants immunity to sleep-inducing magic. Grants fifty percent resistance to wind and thunder magic.

Body: Kimono of Devas - The second of the four treasures held by the Devas of the Mountain. Grants immunity to paralyzing magic. Grants fifty percent resistance to fire magic. Insanely durable. Has a floral design to it…!

Misc: Bows of Devas - The third of the four treasures held by the Devas of the Mountain. Grants immunity to confusion-inducing magic. Grants fifty percent resistance to ice magic.

-Skills-

PK Starstorm α, Ω - Summons forth the stars from the night's sky to rain down upon enemies. Hits all enemies, and deals high magical damage, at the cost of being highly mentally taxing. Can hit allies if they're in the effective area, as the white stars don't have homing properties. Power proportional to amount of enemies, as well.

PK Fire α, ß, γ - Creates an igniting blast of flames at the target's location. More impact comes with higher tiers.

PK Freeze α, β, γ - Generates ice crystals at the target's location. Medium damage and effect; may freeze some targets, especially wet ones.

Shield α, ß, Σ - Halves damage the target takes. Only works against physical attacks, and enough strikes, or powerful strikes, will dispel it. Higher tier turns it into a power-shield that protects even better and even reflects a fraction of protected damage. Highest tier applies a basic shield to the entire party.

Lifeup α, ß, γ - Heals target a little. Higher tiers heal more grievous wounds, like bone fractures.

Healing α, ß, γ, Ω - Heals basic status ailments. Higher tiers can cure more dire effects, like burning alive.

Teleport α, ß - Allows instant transport to the general location of an area remembered by oneself or one's party members. Requires a long, fast run-up to execute, however. Higher tier is largely automatic and requires little room to execute.

Martial Arts - Skilled in hand-to-hand combat.

Ω-Ω-Ω-Ω

Author's Note:

HOO BOY here we are folks, the END ENDGAME.

there might be a couple things to find in the future but otherwise it's straight up brutalization from here, yo

next chapter or the chapter after could easily host the FINAL BOSS, but there'll probably be an epilogue chapter

if i do omakes for fun they'll be after the story is marked as complete and wouldn't be done on any sort of schedule; also the epilogue would have to be done first for obvious reasons

...the omakes would basically either be fun scenarios are post-game UBERBOSSES that i felt like writing for fun if i do at all

anyhow yeah this chapter was full of stuff and things that weren't exactly exciting aside from SWEET EQUIPS BRO, like bath time and pancake eating, but y'know, rome wasn't BUILT IN A DAY

that and the party hasn't slept in awhile and is basically going on whatever energy boosts they've been fed here or there

no combat this time but you can be GUARANTEED DAZ GONNA CHANGE…

also lots of explanation that i hope didn't kill you; don't worry the party probably understands them as well as everyone else does

also did a bit more fixing of the status report, and added the MANY NEW EQUIPS

as always, see you all next time!


	31. Hakurei Utopia

Fwash!

' _Wo-woah…_ ' Now on the other side of the teleporter, Hikari scrambled to maintain her balance after landing.

Hiyori maintained her stability by simply putting more power into her landing. Marigold's backpack weighed her down slightly, and Osamu-

Thud. "Fucking…"

-did not manage to maintain his balance.

Looking around the wall they were adjacent to, Hikari furrowed her brows. ' _This… doesn't look all that different._ '

At the moment, the sun had still yet to come up, the night time sky still a deep blue.

"So, we in the future, 're somethin'?" Patting himself off, Osamu got up, looking around. "'Cause, y'know… it don't _look_ like the future."

"It's only been thirty years." Marigold reminded him. "It's not like Gensokyo would have completely changed in a couple decades."

' _...It's a little warmer, though. Unless the seasons got weirder while we were away…_ '

Looking back at the gate, Hikari saw that it was off, now. It was now encased in a large rectangular frame of red and yellow metal, much of which was dented. Some spots were charred, as well. ' _I can always turn it back on, once we're done here. It looks like something chewed on it, though..._ '

Noticing Hikari's observancy, Marigold began thinking..."Should we go back into Eientei, or something?" Then, she changed her mind. "...Wait, no. We should spend as little time here as possible. If we do travel back, that means we'd be alive and running around right now."

"Aa~h…" Hiyori nodded in agreement. "Yeah. If we were alive."

Marigold gave her a dry stare. "Don't jinx us."

Walking towards Eientei, Hikari spoke up, "I think we can stop in, briefly…" before she yawned. "Haa~u…"

' _I'm getting tired…_ ' Her hype was beginning to run low.

"...Yeah. We've been going awhile, haven't we?" Marigold yawned, too. "Haa~h…"

Osamu wasn't having it. "Oh, c'mo~n! We're like, _here!_ How the hell do you need to sleep!?"

...Hiyori was indifferent, not needing much sleep herself. "I think it would be a good idea to rest up. If this is really it, we need to be ready."

...Unable to argue with that, Osamu relented. "...Alright. I guess it'd be okay to take a power nap. Oh- _dude!_ The pancakes!" He nodded enthusiastically. "Fuck what I said, we're relaxin'!"

' _Good priorities._ ' Hikari moved past the machine, and pressed towards Eientei's front door…

The glass doors in the front were broken. From here, large parts of the roof could be seen missing. Unfamiliar, rusty cranes held in the air over various shattered parts of Eientei's roof.

"That doesn't look promising." Hikari noted immediately.

"Oh, boy…" Taking a breath, Marigold reached for her backpack. "Who wants to bet we find more zombie fairies inside?"

...Pressing ahead, Hiyori moved in through the front glass door, into the dark clinic.

"Oh, crap." Snorting, Osamu followed behind her. "Looks like Eientei blew the fuck up while we were gone."

Stepping inside, Hiyori furrowed her brows. Marigold took out her Microwave Gun…

"I think I should rename this." Tapping the side of her gun, she turned to Hikari. "It doesn't really microwave stuff anymore."

Hikari nodded, before thinking… ' _Laser gun._ ' She didn't have any good ideas, though.

"Fucking _super_ laser." Neither did Osamu.

Firing her moon-elemental laser into the darkness, Marigold illuminated the trashed lobby. On either side, the halls were blocked by large panels that had pheonix insignias etched onto them.

The middle of the lobby had no more desk, instead bearing a large stairway stretching upward into shade placed there. It stretched the whole length of the room in width.

"Woah…" Osamu stared up at it, awed. "...That's badass."

"That's inconvenient." Marigold was less awed. "We're not climbing twenty flights of stairs."

The beam of her gun passed a torch holster, and ignited it. Pale-colored, moon-elemental flames brightened the room up.

"Oh, thank goodness." She shifted the beam towards the room's other torch holsters, lighting them up too. "Whoever put those there was smart."

Once the party was fully inside the room, the cracking of glass they stepped upon to get inside halted.

' _...I still want to know what happened here._ ' Hikari looked around idly.

Then, the glass behind them started cracking again.

All four party members whirled around, the distinct noise alerting them.

Two Earthen rabbits held up oddly slapdash guns. The one with bobby red hair and pigtails shouted at them. "Freeze! Drop your shit!"

"No." Osamu grinned. "How about _you_ freeze, and drop _your_ shit?"

Osamu tried PK Freeze γ!

KaKaKa~...

A snowflake shaped pattern of icicles began forming around the rabbit girl. She flinched repeatedly as it froze and thawed rapidly. "Oh- A-ahn- ohn- eeh!"

Boom!

The rabbit was frozen solid. The green-haired hare to her side clammed up, eyes wide. "Mi-Midori~!"

Even so, she aimed her gun at the party, firing on impulse.

ChuChuChuChu! Delayed streaks of purple light flew out of the odd shaft-shaped gun.

Osamu barely grazed each one. "Wo-wo-woah! Holy _shit!_ "

Hiyori ran towards the remaining rabbit. Nearing, she lifted up her mace overhead…

The rabbit dropped her gun. "Pl-please! No! _No~!_ " Crouching to the ground with her ears low, she waited for the pain train.

...Hiyori relented, bringing her mace back down to her side.

"...Good." Hiyori sighed. "Please, let us explain-"

Scrambling with all limbs, the rabbit threw itself in the opposite direction from the oni. Climbing back into a walking stance, she put a hand to her ear. "Pheoni~x! I-I… Midori- the base! Base under attack!"

With that, the rabbit sprinted outside, back into the gloom, which had now become a thin grey color.

…

"That went well." Marigold snarked. "You think she'll be back with cookies?"

"If only. " Hikari turned towards the stairs, debating whether or not to climb them.

Folding his arms, Osamu huffed. "The future sucks."

…As things became idle again, Hikari turned to the stairs.

' _These stairs look intimidating._ ' Hikari looked at how some had grated floors instead of regular metal, like the others. She made a movement to step onto the first step-

 _Fwoo~m!_

Every grated step had a column of fire shoot up from it.

"Wooaa~h, kay!" Marigold quickly backtracked away from the stairs, eyes wide.

"The future _really_ sucks!" Osamu grinned at the stairs. "Stairs try to _kill you_ now!"

Glass cracked behind the party, again. ' _Already…?_ '

"Yeah, I hear ya."

Everyone who wasn't already facing the door turned to face it, again. From the darkness, Mokou stepped out. Her arms ignited moments later. "No thanks to you four _fuckups_."

Hiyori readied her mace. "We don't want trouble."

' _...She doesn't seem happy._ ' Hikari frowned.

"Dude! It's us!" Osamu stuck his arms out. "You escorted us like… awhile ago!"

"O~h…" Mokou nodded, despite knowing this already. "...We~ll, aren't I _flattered!?_ " Mokou's entire form lit up.

"Why are you angry?" Hiyori was straight to the point.

Mokou responded by reeling her arm back, and lobbing a fireball at her.

Fwoom!

...Hiyori's eyes were slightly squinted, but she was otherwise unharmed. "...Why are you angry?"

"I don't have to tell _anything_ to you!" Mokou gave her a wide grin. "Burn, baby!"

Fwoom! Hiyori was engulfed by a fire pillar.

...Once it faded, she was still standing, her kimono glowing as it absorbed some of the fire damage. She sighed.

Baffled, but undeterred, Mokou glared at her. "...You're fucking fire immune!? What the hell!?"

Marigold aimed her moon beam at her, and fired. The low hum of the device was all that clued Mokou to look at it before it struck her.

"Agh…" Mokou exhaled. "The hell…?"

Her flames were quickly overtaken by the pale blue ones of the moon beam. Though Mokou tried to fight it, she quickly found her control over fire fading. "...He-hey! Ugh… silencing is the fucking _worst_ …"

Once Mokou was under it for a full ten seconds, Marigold let up.

Mokou glared at the floor.

...

"Better?" The young magi stared at her inquisitively.

"Fuck no." Mokou swore. "You're all a bunch of assholes who deserve to burn."

Looking like he wanted to counter that, Osamu opened his mouth. "Hey-"

"Descriptive words." Marigold pressed her disdainful stance. "We really don't know why you're upset."

…

"Years ago you all went to find… some asshole or something, and fight him." Mokou relented, unable to attack her way out of the situation. "You didn't come back. Things went to shit, Reimu didn't do her job, and then everything went to _shit_."

' _What…? I mean, she said the same thing twice, but..._ ' Hikari listened carefully, interest piqued.

...Hiyori's brows were furrowed. "What do you mean?"

Mokou rolled her eyes. Turning, she began to walk out into the woods. "C'mon. Let me show you. Don't worry, there's no more assholes outside. For now."

Walking into the darkness, her form retained visibility from the pale blue flames that stuck to her form.

...Hikari looked at the party. Osamu and Marigold turned to look at her, while Hiyori moved to follow Mokou.

"Guess we'll follow." Hikari decided bluntly, casually tailing Hiyori after a short delay.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

They didn't have far to follow, though.

The bamboo forest was more meek and tame the closer to the edge of it the party got. At the very edge, wilted stalks were all that stood in the party's way, as they approached the forest's edge…

' _Edge in more ways than one…_ ' Hikari stared off the edge of the land the forest was upon.

The forest and clinic rested on a chunk of land, suspended in the air by curious, shimmering lines that stretched out to pillars of rock and other hovering masses. Some lines stretched down, but none stretched further up than the island the party was currently on. Below them was an expanse too deep to see the bottom of.

"...Well." Osamu nodded acceptingly. "We're boned."

' _Oh, no…_ ' Hikari wasn't very happy with this situation.

"...Wow." Scanning the distance, Marigold couldn't say much more.

Mokou had her hands on her hips. "Ye~p. All gone. O~h, the sun's rising too…"

The sun rose over some sort of horizon that no one could see from this distance. As it did, the grey and blue glow that the land had earlier gave away to a yellow one. Although, the healthy glow didn't last long, as it eventually gave way to an orange, eventually red tint.

"...Did the world end?" Hikari guessed.

"You betcha." Mokou pulled a jar from her pocket, and began twisting it open...

...Looking over at her, Marigold, eyed the blue jar. "Is that a mana potion?"

"Mmhm." Popping it open, Mokou downed it. "...Ha~h. No more mana from the air and shit."

Hikari examined the sky…

As the sun rose, she could make out large, shimmering shapes in the sky. Jagged, glass-like shapes dotted the horizon, forming a circle along it. After a few moments, she realized what they were. "Is that… the barrier?"

"Probably." Mokou turned around. "C'mon. No real point in killin' ya now. Not like we can get off this shitty island."

...Marigold noted something her mother told her. "Can't you fly with pheonix wings?"

Mokou snorted. "Yeah, and go where? They eat up a fuckton of mana, too."

"...Point." Marigold conceded.

As Mokou began walking back to the main building, the party followed her. With the new lighting upon the land, they were easily able to make out the location of the clinic.

Within moments, they made it back to the lobby. "Hold on…" Strutting up to one of the side panels, Mokou put her hand on it. It lit up, and the stairs clicked. "There."

"Turned them off?" Marigold assumed.

Not replying, Mokou moved to the stairs, and began stepping up them, the fire not lashing out at her.

' _She probably did…_ ' Willing to risk being roasted, Hikari moved to the stairs, and began walking up them…

' _It's good._ ' Hikari turned to the party, giving them a thumbs up.

From there the party moved up the long and grueling stairway. Osamu held up the bottom of his robe to avoid falling on his face. "Say, flamey-"

"It's Mokou." She asserted.

"-what's with all this new stuff?" He gestured to the purple metal lining the walls and floor. "Like, these stairs weren't here before. I'm pretty sure, at least…"

"They weren't." Marigold stared at him dryly.

"Let's just say I've had a while to do shit." Mokou provided as they continued up the stairs. "Eirin and Kaguya took their sissy asses back to the moon, and took a few rabbits with them. They were the ones who helped set up this whole support beam system that keeps these islands intact."

The stair's length was illuminated through various holes in the new paneling and in the natural roof of the clinic. After many minutes of vigorous climbing, the party reached the top.

"Hn~h…" Marigold grunted, resisting the urge to flop over. "Do you _really_ need these big stairs?"

Grinning, Mokou turned to her. "That's what all the robot bastards and shit probably say, too. Suck it up."

Before them was what vaguely appeared to be Kaguya's room, with many new purple panels blockading the walls and ceiling. In the middle of the room, rabbit girls huddled around a large, rectangular device.

The device was white, with a faint blue glow coming from the interior. Round, blue particles of energy fluttered out, before fading.

Hikari knew exactly what it was. "It's an industrial grade night light."

Mokou chuckled. "Yer close. It'sa 'fear irrigation device'. It was supposed to keep youkai alive, even after the barrier blew, but there's not too many around anymore. I think."

' _Huh._ ' Hikari nodded…

Curious, Marigold wondered aloud. "Is the human village even still there? Actually, if the barrier's gone…" She turned to Hikari. "We really _should_ be brief about this visit."

Mokou rolled her eyes. "Seriously, take your time. You're all fucking dead, anyway. 'Sides, even the weakest youkai take a few weeks to fade. Y'don't need constant life support."

Furrowing her brows, Hikari chose against replying. ' _Back to people writing us off as dead…_ '

Osamu folded his arms. "Yeah, whatever. Look, you got any pancakes?"

Snorting, Marigold facepalmed.

...Noticing Mokou's face growing increasingly sour, Hiyori spoke up. "We'd like to rest a bit before we get moving. Do you have any places for that?"

This made Mokou grin. "Oh. Yeah."

Turning around, she pointed at a corner. "Over there."

...Osamu didn't put two and two together. "That's a fuckin' wall, dude."

"Yeah." Mokou nodded. "And?"

Marigold was skeptical. "I'm _sure_ you have a bed somewhere."

"And _I'm_ sure you brought a tent and toothpaste and the fucking works with you." With that, Mokou went to the opposite corner of the room, and sat down. "Night." She leaned against the wall.

…

"But it's day." Hikari sassed her.

"Just die, already." Mokou was friendly.

' _You're a good person._ '

…

Looking frustrated, Osamu marched up to the party's designated corner, and sat down. "Well, damn."

The rabbits around the fear device observed them silently, before looking back at the glowing rectangle.

Hiyori moved towards the corner. "I guess we'll have to make due."

"I'm sleeping on my backpack." Marigold declared, following her.

...Following behind them, Hikari sighed. ' _Getting to sleep after hearing all of that is going to be a project…_ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

...Hikari gave up trying to get any extra sleep. ' _A few hours are good enough. At least, I think they were hours…_ '

Osamu impatiently walked laps around the fear device, despite not needing fear as a human.

Marigold was looking over her Microwave Gun… "Moon Beam. I think that's an apt name for it, now. Not creative, but… yeah."

Pausing, Osamu turned from his walking stance. "Sounds badass, though."

Hikari got up. "Is there anything fun around here?" ' _Not that we have time, but…_ '

...She looked over at Mokou, who was asleep in the corner.

' _How._ '

Hiyori answered for her. "Probably not."

...Marigold stared at the pile of gun pieces next to the rabbit girls.

"He-here…"

The party looked at the stairs, and saw some rabbits bring up the frozen form of the rabbit Osamu attacked earlier. They proceeded to push her towards the fear device.

"Some-someone wake her up…" The cream-haired rabbit gestured to Mokou. The other rabbits winced, looking back and forth between one another and the fire immortal.

Noticing their conflict, Osamu decided to spare them the trouble. Picking up one of the fragments of shattered walling littered around the room, he chucked it at the sleeping girl.

Crack! It shattered into pieces as it broke on Mokou's body.

She squirmed. "U-ugh, what…!?"

Sitting up, she looked around the room…

Marigold was now suddenly near the pile of guns. Osamu whistled innocently while walking slower laps around the device. Hiyori and Hikari were still standing idly.

The cream-haired rabbit spoke up. "We-we… we need you to thaw out Midori-chan…"

...Mokou sighed. "Fine. Don't throw shit at me next time, though. You know better than that."

"Ye-yes, ma'am!" The cream-haired rabbit saluted her.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: MARIGOLD'S VIEW ====

Marigold idly watched the exchange, before kneeling before the guns. ' _So many different parts…_ '

She could tell they were all designed in a slapdash nature she was accustomed to. Though they had markings of people who knew what they were doing, they were welded together rather obviously. Many guns sported big, unsightly seams along their length, where the parts and colors varied.

' _Some of these welds look a little…_ ' She lightly tugged on a gun with a broad, barely charred weld…

Snap!

She couldn't contain her reaction. "O-oops…"

Mokou glanced at her while moving to the rabbit. "What the fuck are you doing?"

She grinned sheepishly, holding the gun like it was still together. "...Polishing the weapons?"

…

"Su~re." Mokou turned back towards the rabbit.

...Once she was fully turned away, Marigold let the gun split apart. "Phew…" Looking over the pile, and at the gun she just accidentally dismantled, she began thinking…

"How did this even happen?" Mokou held her hands over the rabbit, heat energy flowing out and slowly thawing her.

A different rabbit spoke up. "We-we saw these four, and tried to shoot them…"

Mokou snorted. "What, did they toss a bucket of liquid nitrogen at you?"

' _These parts…_ ' Marigold their banter out, as she held up a large, grey piece. The left of it was round, but the right side was square, and had a jigsaw-esque indent in it.

Setting it aside, she pulled up a sniper rifle of some kind that had an obscenely long shaft, and two similar pieces on either side of the base. They were vaguely rose-tinted, and thinner, but very similar to the thicker half-circle. These ones had no indent, however, their flat sides simply broad.

' _I wonder…_ ' Marigold pulled and tugged on one-

Click. It popped off, apparently attached by some kind of peg.

' _...That's weird._ ' Marigold dismissed the curious design of the sniper rifle, before setting the piece she took aside the other piece.

She reached into the pile… ' _What is this?_ '

The thawed rabbit stumbled about. "A-aah…"

"There." Mokou began strutting back to her corner, before pausing and staring at Marigold's operations.

Hikari moved to distract her. "Where'd, uh, you get all this purple metal from?"

...Turning to her, Mokou spoke. "This place has a lot of spare shit lying around. I picked dark purple because it keeps stuff dark. I don't know if it hides us any better, though."

Marigold stared at the large, faintly glowing green core she pulled out. She was holding onto a black ring that was attached to various other black rings, that all formed a box around the faintly glowing center. The central core looked like it was made up of various smaller, neon-green rings. ' _...That looks menacing._ '

There was a crossbow in the pile, which was missing arrows. There also seemed to be half of some kind of large bazooka, the part that would have connected to a base instead fragmented and broken.

Once she gathered enough parts together, Marigold got to tinkering…

"Okay," Mokou turned away from Hikari, "seriously, what the hell is she doing?"

Hikari casually glanced at Marigold, before looking back at Mokou. "Having fun."

"Yeah, by taking apart our guns." Mokou frowned.

Marigold spoke up, listening to them. "I'm sure you were using the seven foot long sniper rifle, as well as that half of a bazooka."

...Mokou folded her arms. "Well, they're still our resources…"

"It-it's okay, Mokou…" The cream-haired rabbit spoke again. "All we have left… it's all the stuff we couldn't make use of. Our guns are almost out of battery, too. Pretty soon, we'll have nothing…"

Staying strong, Mokou rolled her eyes. "Surely we couldn't have gone through a fuckton of guns in, what, fifteen something years? We'll just go scavenging again."

Midori spoke up, shivering from the cold she was thawed from. "Mo-most of the batteries expire naturally… a lot of the guns don't work anymore."

"...Don't we have like, ballistics?" Mokou furrowed her brows. "Grenades?"

"...Maybe grenades." Midori tilted her head, unsure.

Placing down the crossbow, Marigold put the odd core on top of it. She held the two lightly tinted gun pieces to either side, and put the barrel near the front of the core. "...This… could work." She furrowed her brows.

Mokou kneeled next to her, staring at it. "...How?"

"Something that would activate the core would be good." Marigold supposed. "...That, and I need some kind of blast shielding, since if it flared it'd probably do more than just expel energy forward."

...The rabbits scooted away from the weapons pile.

Marigold perked up. "Oh!"

She got up, and moved over to her backpack. Reaching inside, she took out the NF Burst Gun, and brought it over…

"This should help activate things…" She placed it loosely around the back, so that it'd attach to the handle of the crossbow and have the barrel point at the core.

...Mokou nodded. "A blast shield, huh…?"

...Standing up, she looked around. "I could probably bend some metal, for that."

Marigold smiled up at her. "You'd do that?"

"Sure. It'd only take a few moments." Mokou began walking for the stairs. "If you want me to weld that whole… thing together, though, that's going to take a little while. And probably a few favors."

Marigold sighed. "...I see."

Stopping before the stairs, Mokou turned to her. "...So, what'll it be?"

' _...I'm not sure if Hikari would want us to stick around for this._ ' Marigold turned to Hikari hopefully.

...Hikari shrugged. "Sure."

Mokou stared at her dryly. "Sure to what…?"

"We'll have it all welded." Hikari decided.

At that, Mokou nodded. "Alright. Might be an hour or two, then. Do whatever until then."

With that, she quickly began progressing down the stairs.

…

"In the meantime…" Hikari surveyed her party members. "We should visit a few places. I'm… curious."

Hiyori looked uncertain. "I don't think we'd find anything we want to see."

…

"Well, it's a way to kill time." Hikari argued. She stood adjacent to the fear device, at an angle that their spinning could avoid colliding with it were they to teleport. "We don't have to talk with anyone, or anything."

...At that, Hiyori gave a consenting sigh. "Alright."

' _Let me grab my backpack…_ '

The party lined up behind Hikari. Hiyori waited for Marigold to get before her, so that she could cap off the back and keep the line stable.

"On three…" Hikari half-glanced back at the party behind her. "We're stopping at the shrine first."

' _Oh, boy._ '

"One…"

Marigold tensed her muscles a bit. ' _I should have done some stretches, first…_ '

"Two…"

Osamu shifted semi-anxiously. "We better have enough room…"

"Three!"

Hikari tried PK Teleport ß!

The four began running, their speed rapidly building as Hikari led them in laps around the room's focal point, the fear device.

' _I-I think I'm getting used to this…_ ' Marigold's legs were yelling at her a little less for booking it so fast.

Before they knew it-

KraKoo~m!

...The rabbits stared at the smouldering ring around them in mystification.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIKARI'S VIEW ====

KraKoo~m!

Hiyori and Hikari both dug their legs into the floor to stop the line, the former having more success.

Instead of being at the base of the Hakurei hillside, they stopped directly before the shrine.

' _We're here…_ ' Hikari looked around.

The hillside below tapered off into the abyss, one or two wilted trees dotting the edges. A line of shimmering light dug straight into the stairway that lead downward, allowing the party a closer look at it.

The beam was a metal rail, light grey in color, similar to the fear devices. The surfaces shimmered brightly, but inside seemed to be a pale blue beam of some kind.

' _Woah…_ ' Hikari was taken aback by the visual.

"Dude…" Osamu pointed in the distance.

The party looked at where he pointed, able to make out Eientei's sky island in the distance.

...Hikari pressed forward towards the shrine's front door. As she approached it, it was open, the inside dark. The faint glow of a fear device was visible from outside, placed where the kotatsu would normally be placed.

"So…" Marigold looked around idly. "This is really all that's left, huh?"

…

Hikari stepped inside-

"Who's there!?"

She froze at the sound of her mother's voice.

' _Th-this feeling…_ ' Hikari's heart beat faster.

…

Osamu broke the silence. "It's us! The assholes!"

...Hikari slowly turned towards Osamu, giving him a strained grin.

He shrugged at her, grinning as well. "What?"

Woosh! From behind the fear device, a gohei spun outward-

Bam! "Guh…!?" Osamu was struck in the chin, soaring outside from the blow.

' _Woah!_ ' Hikari hardly had time to react. The gohei flew back into the air, before glowing and vanishing.

Hiyori stepped inside, holding her mace defensively. "...Reimu?"

 _Fwash!_ A pillar of light shot up from the floor from under Hiyori, sending her flying.

Bam! She flew through the roof.

' _Ah…!?_ ' Hikari cringed at seeing her fly through. She turned to look outside…

Bam.

Hiyori landed safely outside, upside down and half-embedded in the shrine's path.

Marigold was next, holding her Moon Beam ready. She didn't say anything, for fear of being mauled.

The shrine door behind them slammed shut, the cracked wood creaking from the violent movement.

' _Maybe we shouldn't have come here…!_ ' Hikari held her gohei ready. "...Mom?"

An orb of light spiralled out from an adjacent room. It darted in front of the fear device, before flashing.

After the bright flash, Reimu was revealed in its place, in a combat stance. Her attire's colors were faded, with rips in various places, and she held a gohei in each hand. "You things, again…"

Hikari furrowed her brows. "Mom? What's wrong?"

Marigold was ready to silence her, if she needed to.

Shutting her eyes, Reimu spoke. "Th-the last time I saw my daughter, was thirty years ago…"

Casting one of her arms behind herself, she made contact with the fear device. "...Initiate defense sequence..."

The fear device shifted and clicked as it changed shape, the glow on it becoming red as it opened up.

"Sh-should I fire…?" Marigold scooted closer to Hikari.

"Probably…!" Hikari didn't want to fight.

The Moon Beam hummed as Marigold fired it up, the beam stretching towards Reimu…

Ting! Reimu became an orb of light again, which arced around towards the two.

"Run!" Hikari bolted to the left.

"Eep!" Marigold released the trigger as she ran to the right.

A faint 'ting' sound rang out again as Reimu changed back to normal, unleashing a long, sweeping combo in Marigold's wake as she ran.

Unable to catch up with her, Reimu scooted backwards, and brought her two goheis to her sides…

Reimu tried Teleport α!

But it failed!

Using the speed from her cast, she dashed forward in one instant, swinging her two gohei outward just as fast. "Take that!" Flames of light flared violently in her wake, before going out a moment later.

 _Thwack!_ "Wua~h!?" Marigold was sent soaring through the air.

"Mom, it's me!" Hikari yelled out, watching Marigold slowly soar...

Three red beams flew out from the fear device, homing in on Hikari slowly. Hikari simply ran to avoid them, letting them fly into the shrine's walls and fizzled out.

Ting, ting! Reimu closed the distance between herself and Hikari, taking only a second to appear before her with her gohei at her sides again, as if ready to execute that dash attack again.

The elder miko's arms began glowing. "Th-that's what they've _all_ said…!"

' _Woah!_ ' Hikari leaped into the air more on impulse than out of strategic planning.

Reimu brought the two gohei outward with force. " _Ra~h!_ "

 _Woosh!_ A vortex of light and dark magic whirled around herself at ground level, striking the adjacent walls and the fear device, causing the latter to spin.

"Oof…" Marigold landed on her backpack.

Bam! Hiyori smashed the shrine door open. "What's going on, in here!?"

As Hikari landed, she rushed over to Marigold to smack her upright again. "We-we've got to go!"

The faint noises of Reimu teleporting again caused the hair on Hikari's neck to stand. ' _Go, go, go…!_ '

Marigold reversed, noticing where Reimu appeared. "Nope, nope, nope!"

Reimu tried Teleport α!

But it failed!

"C'mon!" Reimu executed another dash-slash attack, more holy flames flaring in her wake for a brief moment.

 _Whack!_ "Ga~uh!?" Abruptly sent flying, Hikari braced herself-

Bam!

-to fly through the roof. On the other side, she saw Osamu sheepishly looking up at her from below…

' _Catch me!_ ' Hikari glared down at him.

Osamu looked around feverishly, trying to avoid being the one to catch her-

Thud. Hikari landed on him, the two ending up on the floor.

"Oof…" Osamu was squished.

Marigold ran out from around the shrine's edge, having taken the long way outside.

Hiyori was in the door, being bombarded by gohei strikes, doing her best to guard them with her mace. "Hnh…"

"Teleport, mansion!" Hikari yelled out, taking a moment to brush her bruised arms with her hands.. ' _That should be a safe place…!_ '

"I'll hold her off!" Hiyori called back.

Ti~ng…!

Reimu teleported into the air over the shrine. She pointed at the floor, where thin pillars of light shot up defensively around her, protecting her position. From the base of those pillars, orbs of light floated out, drifting towards the rim of the Hakurei hillside.

A shimmering, cylindrical barrier stretched upward.

"No you don't…!" Reimu barked down at them. Yin-yang orbs began expanding around her, promptly glowing with rainbow energy…

"Grab me!" Hikari commanded. Quickly, Osamu and Marigold latched onto her, as did Hiyori once she dashed up to her.

' _Running teleport should work, we have room…_ ' Hikari resolved. ' _I have to stop that attack first, though…!_ '

Hikari tried PK Fantasy α!

Reimu was not at all prepared, despite what she may have believed within her grid of laser defenses.

Fizzle!

"Huah!?" Her yin-yang orbs were desummoned as she was staggered mid-air. As the second barrage of technicolor particles came, she became an orb of light again, dodging through them.

Fizzle!

The second barrage hit nothing productive, the shrine's stairs shimmering with colorful energy.

Hikari focused on the orb as her mother blinked back into existence…

Bwa~sh!

The psychic blast staggered her again, dispelling the defense lasers.. "Gueh…!?"

...The four watched as she slowly drifted to the floor with her staggered stance, before landing. They broke from their teleporting stance, cautiously eying her…

…

Reimu slowly stepped towards them.

Hikari smiled. ' _I think that did it._ '

"...Th-that attack…" Reimu smiled tiredly. "Either… you _things_ have gotten better at your jobs, or… yo-you're really…"

' _...She's really worked up._ ' Hikari couldn't recall seeing her like this, before. ' _...She looks tired._ '

As Reimu walked closer, the relics of age on her features were more distinct. Wrinkles that weren't there before were visible around the eyes and along her cheeks. Her hair was fainter than it used to be, now more ashen.

' _Wow. Thirty years, huh…_ ' Hikari couldn't wait until she was seventy.

Reimu glomped her. "Hi-Hikari~!"

' _Wo-woah!_ ' Hikari was unprepared. Even so, Reimu didn't manage to bowl her over. ' _Sh-she's crying…_ '

"I-I thought I'd never see you again!" Reimu hugged her tightly.

"...Didn't you know we'd show up in thirty years?" Hikari resisted the urge to cry with her.

"...I-I…" Reimu sniffled. "After you didn't come back, and everything went to _hell_ …" She trailed off. "Wo-wouldn't you go fight im-immediately, though…?"

Marigold shook her head. "We instead decided to irresponsibly screw around in the future."

...Reimu giggled. "A-ah…"

' _Not that there's much future to screw around in…_ '

"We'll fight Giygas eventually, though." Hikari smiled at her mother reassuringly.

Reimu froze. "...N-no… don't."

Hikari blinked. "Why not?"

"Don't!" Tears were streaming down Reimu's cheeks. "You don't come back! You're going to _die!_ "

…

"Pl-please…" Reimu sobbed. "St-stay wi-with… me?"

…

"Sorry." Hikari shook her head, "It's what we have to do."

' _I didn't jump thirty years ahead into a sad future for nothing._ '

Reimu stared at her for a moment, before shaking her head. "Bu-but why…?"

"We've been written off as dead since the start of our adventure." Hikari announced. "We've always pressed on and proved them wrong, though. I'm confident we'll survive."

…

"O-...okay…" Reimu sniffled. "...I-I love you, Hi-Hikari…"

Hikari sniffled, too. "I love you too, Mom…"

…

After a long moment, Reimu broke the hug. "...When… will you be going?"

"...Not right away." Hikari decided.

...Reimu nodded. "Follow me…"

The five moved towards the shrine door-

Three slow, red lasers flew from the fear device again.

Reimu acted quickly, a single toss of one of her gohei arcing around and deflecting the lasers. "This _stupid_ thing…!"

Ting, ting! She teleported up to it, and placed her hand on the side of it. "Deactivate!"

...The fear device closed up, returning to its blue glow.

Reimu sighed.

"...Let me get the kotatsu out, again."

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Osamu stood nearby with his arms crossed, as the four girls sat under the kotatsu.

"Almost forgot I had this thing…" Reimu poured herself a cup of water. "Water?"

Hikari nodded. "Sure…"

Blinking, Osamu was curious… "You got anything _'sides_ water?"

Reimu gave a slight grin. "Aa~h… not in a long time, I'm afraid. Sorry."

He pouted. "...Aww."

"What happened?" Straight to the questions, Hikari wanted to know.

Reimu took a deep breath. "O~h, boy… where to begin…" She sipped from her warm water, before pouring cups for the other girls at the table. "Some years ago, when I was still… in a rut, I guess, the land began to give way. At the time, it was some new incident, but…" Reimu had a small smile. "I didn't participate, so I don't know what happened. I learned eventually that Giygas was behind it, but I couldn't do anything by then…" She looked over the party. "Not that I felt like doing anything, by then."

Marigold sipped her warm water. "...What happened to the mansion? I was planning to ask Hikari to take us there, but-"

"Don't go there." Reimu spoke with finality. "You'll really die."

Marigold furrowed her brows. "Really? Why?"

Sipping from her tea, Reimu continued. "Flandre's the only one alive. After everyone else died… I don't think she'd be worth talking to, right now."

Marigold nodded with a bittersweet look on her face. "Ah. So… my mothers…"

Shaking her head, Reimu sighed. "I miss them."

...Marigold stared into her cup of water.

"How's the village lookin'?" Osamu tilted his head. "They're usually pretty tough over there."

Reimu shrugged. "Last I heard, it was okay."

…

"That, uh… that's it?" He tried to fish further.

"Yeah." Reimu didn't have much to say about it. "More survivors are probably huddled up there than anywhere else. Aside from the tengu camp, maybe…"

' _How did the mansion blow up, but that backwards village live?_ ' Hikari was oddly amused. ' _I guess it's strength in numbers, or something…_ '

"We came from Eientei." Hiyori provided. "Mokou says hi."

Surprised for a moment, Reimu looked over at her. "...Mokou's still kicking, huh? I thought she would've fallen below or something, by now. How is she?"

Hikari shrugged. "Okay, I guess. Angry."

Reimu snorted. "Yeah. I'd figure."

...Things became silent. Reimu eventually settled her gaze on Hikari, who stared back at her mother.

…

"I think we should get going." Sipping her warm water and putting it down, Hikari stood.

"Okay." Reimu nodded. "Be safe. Please."

"Can do." Hikari smiled at her.

Moving towards the shrine door, the party slowly moved.

' _I don't want to leave her…_ ' Hikari glanced back at her mother, who promptly gave her a smile.

...Smiling back, Hikari nodded. "Love you, Mom."

"I love you too, Hikari." Reimu beamed.

The party was gone.

…

Tears streamed down Reimu's face.

==== GENSOYKOBOUND ====

"Ready?" Hikari asked her party, outside the shrine, and in the hellscape's red gloom.

Confirmation came from them. "Yeah, dude."

"Mmm…" Marigold cracked her knuckles.

"We're ready." Hiyori was indeed ready.

Sighing, Hikari gathered wind. "Okay…"

After a few moments of silent preparation, mostly for herself, Hikari moved.

Hikari tried Teleport ß!

The party was slightly surprised as it began, but quickly stabilized, running in circles rapidly.

After a few uneventful moments of gaining momentum-

KraKoo~m!

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

KraKoo~m!

Skidding to a stop in front of Eientei, the party took a moment to readjust themselves…

' _Here we are again…_ ' Hikari felt bad.

"Ma~n…" Adjusting his pants, Osamu complained. "Does that shit get anyone else's clothes fucked up?"

Marigold snorted. "...Not really, no."

"Freaking…" Feverishly, he fought his pant's waistband, forsaking the more convenient option of hitching up his robe before he tried. "There."

' _Mom…_ '

Hikari looked in their direction, her vision blurry.

"...Aw, geez…" He rubs the back of his head awkwardly. "We'll fix all this shit, Hikari."

Marigold looks over at her, looking away from Hiyori. Walking up to her, she put a hand on her friend's shoulder. "We'll be back home in no time."

Hiyori walked into view, giving her a confident smile. "We'll make it through."

' _...I-it feels so awkward crying like this._ ' Hikari sniffled. "Th-thanks, guys…" ' _Revenge of the voice box._ '

Wiping her eyes, she began to calm down…

"He~y." Mokou's voice came from inside Eientei. "I finished up that big project you brats left me."

The party turned, and Marigold eagerly trotted towards her. "Cool!"

As she moved towards Mokou, the white-haired immortal retracted it. "Ah, ah, ah. We had a deal. I need a favor."

...Huffing, Marigold folded her arms. "Ri-right. What did you want?"

Taking a moment, Mokou considered her options… "This thing's pretty powerful, y'know. You could bring me something that's also pretty powerful."

...Marigold stared at her dryly. "Such as?"

"If I knew, I'd fucking tell you." Mokou snapped back. "That, or I could always use another hand around here…"

...Half tempted to start a war, Marigold reached for her backpack…

Fwa-fwa-fwash!

Overhead, a round, oblong object appeared in the bleak red sky, zipping in from the distance. As it lowered…

 _Fwoash_.

Eirin materialized before everyone, casually stepping into their midst.

...After staring at the scene for a moment, she came to a conclusion. "I'd like to know why you're bartering with the people trying to save this planet."

Mokou's jaw dropped. "Well, _fuck_ me!" Tossing the device aside, she sprinted towards Eirin. "I'll fucking kill you!"

Marigold beamed as the girl tossed the weapon aside, "Ooh…!" before promptly moving to recover it.

Marigold obtained Big Freakin' Gun!

Syringes promptly flew into Mokou's flaming form before she could get adequately fired up. "Egh…" Blue flames began to lick up her form. "Fu-fucking silencing _again…!?_ "

Eirin sighed. "I know you're displeased, but please see it within reason to-"

"Hra~h!" Mokou ran up to Eirin, and tried a grand right hook, missing as Eirin quickly ducked.

Shink! She pulled a small blade from her pocket with her free hand, the one not holding her syringe gun. It slid into Mokou's stomach.

"A-aagh…" Mokou stumbled back, her eyes becoming uneven. "Yo-you… bitch…"

After a few moments, Mokou fell backwards, her consciousness fading.

...Staring down at her, Eirin shook her head. "How unfortunate."

The party curiously moved towards her…

"I had a feeling I'd find you four here." Eirin smirked. "By which, I mean I knew."

"Let me guess…" Hikari paused before her. "You're here to give us a lecture about how we're going to die?"

She snorted. "Amusing, but no. In fact, if my theories are accurate, you're pretty much going to have to live. Unless all timelines involved are meant to be screwed over, which I seriously doubt. Though, be sure to put in effort, or some other timeline will inevitably be forsaken."

...Hikari blinked. ' _Timelines?_ '

The one to question her was Hiyori. "What do you mean by 'timelines'?"

...Eirin nodded. "Right. My theory of timelines thirty years ago was indeed accurate. What I mean by that is, you four are likely not from _this_ Gensokyo. Not precisely, at least."

"Whaddaya sayin'? We're from some weird other time thing?" Osamu ventured.

...After giving him a dry stare, Eirin continued. "Yes. You see, if you went into the future, you would not be around to protect us when Giygas would arrive sooner than predicted to counter attack."

Hikari tensed up. "...So, is this our fault…?"

Eirin shook her head. "Not at all. If you were successful here, you'd go back and this future would not be. However, given the laws of probability, there cannot be a time when you are doomed to fail no matter how many iterations of the scenario play out. In this scenario, you would go back in time and stop this future from occurring."

...She lost Hikari. "So~... we're… going to live?"

Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, Eirin continued. "Ideally. What I was trying to imply is that, if everything operated in one timeline, you would create a paradox. If you saved the world from a bleak future, you'd not have a bleak future to save it _from_. The time period you go back to will be safe, because you are there."

Then, she tilted her head back and forth. "Of course, Giygas will still be there, too."

...Osamu groaned. "Uu~gh… is this just like a sneak peek then, or something? Why'd we come out here!?"

"...You people are simple." Eirin jabbed.

Marigold elbowed Osamu. "Hey- fuckin'..."

"Slaying Giygas in this timeline will prevent it from further destruction." The doctor assured them. "You will do good, and allow it to heal. On the other hand, you'll need to repeat this action for your own timeline."

...Marigold noticed something. "Shouldn't four more of us appear at the same time in our original timeline?"

Smiling, EIrin answered. "Perceptive. Yes, four more of you appear, and those four will fail to return. Likely through death."

This got everyone's attention. "Wh-what?" Hikari jerked her head back. "Why would they die?"

"Because," Eirin held up two hands. "If you are here right now…" She waves her right hand, "and they return to here and keep it from being a disaster," She then points her left hand at her right hand. "we would then have a paradox. Again." She drops them both. "Since the universe hasn't torn itself inside-out, you're _probably_ from the timeline where you succeed. Unless the situation is more complicated than I expected…" She brought a hand to her chin…

"We should just continue as normal, then…" Marigold resolved.

"Exactly." Eirin nodded. "Do not let my words go to your head, or this situation will become endlessly complex and probably involve more bad endings than there will be good ones."

' _...So failing's_ _still a very real possibility, then._ '

"On that note…" Eirin began walking for Eientei. "Let me know if you need equipment. Since the atmosphere is no longer as kind as it once was, it would do well to arm yourselves with mana restoration items."

Hiyori agrees, nodding herself. "That sounds like a good idea."

After her agreeance, the party begins to tail Eirin as she proceeds back inside the clinic…

...She looked around at the new pheonix-embroidered walls. "...I see Mokou's gotten creative, while I was gone."

Moving forward, she places one foot on the stairs-

 _Fwoom!_

Flames shoot up from the many stairs ahead, all of the grated stairs flaring up once again.

"Really?" Eirin monotoned. "Let's see…" Backing up, she looked around the room.

...Hikari and Marigold looked at each other, before Marigold decided to give her a hint. "There's a switch-"

"There." Eirin pointed at the right wall. Moving up to it, she leaned at a few different angles and put her hand on various places, before figuring the pad would be beneath the pheonix symbol.

It lit up, before glowing red.

"Oh?" Eirin was pleasantly surprised. "So she put in the effort for a hand recognition system. More effort than I expected."

Walking outside, Eirin approached Mokou…

"Uu~gh… fucking…" Mokou began to sit back up. She looked at the silent ship overhead, which continued to rest there momentarily. "That bitch…"

Kneeling behind her, Eirin allowed herself a moment to take out a bonesaw. "...Ah, almost forgot…"

Mokou froze up. "What!?"

Shink! Eirin slid the small blade into the back of Mokou's neck.

" _Fucker!_ " Mokou lit up, in a column of flames. "I'll… kill…!"

Thud. The flames went out, Mokou rolling onto her side.

...Eirin wiped her slightly charred face. "Oh, well."

Taking the bonesaw, Eirin began quickly working off Mokou's right hand, sawing into the wrist with a repetitive and quick motion, audible from the lobby the party stood in.

' _What's she doing?_ ' Hikari couldn't see well from inside…

Ri~p. The last of the flesh was messily severed with a few pulls. Eirin had blood on her gloves. "Hmph. Messier than it should be." Dissatisfied with her operation, she parted from Mokou's unconscious form.

Stepping towards the switch, she activated it with Mokou's dripping, disembodied hand.

The panel lit up blue.

' _...Oh._ ' Hikari winced. ' _She's gonna feel that when she wakes up…_ '

Osamu widely grinned. "I guess she gave her a… 'helping hand'?"

…

"Thanks for volunteering for target practice." Marigold raised her big weapon slowly…

"Let's throw him off the world." Hikari feels like inflicting violence.

"Even I want to punch you for that." Hiyori confirmed.

Osamu got a kick out of that. "Pfft-hahaha~!"

Displeased, Hikari gave him a few warning whacks.

Thwack! Thwack!

"So-sorry!" He chuckled merrily. "Wo-won't do it again, dude…!"

' _He's not sorry._ ' Hikari was certain.

After sparing the party a amused glance, Eirin continued to move up the deactivated stairs. "Follow me, you four. Let us see how far this mess stretches."

A groan came from Marigold. "Do we have to climb that staircase _again…?_ " Then, a yelp of surprise. "Eep!"

Hiyori lifted her, backpack and all.

...Marigold grinned at her. "Thanks."

"No fair!" Osamu double-took. "Dude, I don't wanna climb 'em either!"

"Too bad." Denying him mercilessly, Hiyori moved for the stairs in pursuit of Eirin.

' _They're really not that big of stairs…_ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

At the top, rabbits turned to look at the five as they appeared over the stair's apex.

Eyes widening, Midori stammered. "Ei-...Eirin!?"

"It's her!"

"Wh-where's Mokou!?"

...Nodding with pleasant surprise, Eirin addressed the sight before her. "Mokou managed to relocate the fear device, _and_ keep it operational? She's come a long way, in thirty years."

Walking past the cowering Earth rabbits, and the fear device, she eyed the pile of weapons, as well as the other aspects of what was once Kaguya's room, such as the shattered flat-screen in the back.

Eirin came to a conclusion. "...I don't particularly agree with the redecorating."

Hiyori put Marigold down at the top of the stairs, who promptly took a few careful steps forward. "...She doesn't even have any beds, here."

Eirin snorted. "No beds…"

She moved to the door to Kaguya's inner bedroom, which now had a purple, pheonix-embroidered panel over it. Knocking on it, a hollow noise was produced. "...Hmm." Reeling her arm back, she punched it-

Clang!

The panel fell inward. Inside, there was a vast shaft that revealed smashed and crushed rooms, furniture, and a gaping hole.

"...Ah." She had a blank stare. "No beds."

' _Wow._ ' Hikari didn't know _that_ much of Eientei was actually destroyed…

...As Eirin approached what was once a shelf that held… ' _What are those…?_ '

Hikari approached it, too, and picked up one of the rectangles it held. It had a colorful depiction of some fish on it, reading in English, 'Shark Tales 2'.

' _This shelf made good use._ ' Hikari wanted to know why Kaguya had a shelf of picture boxes. ' _It seems to open…_ '

Opening it with her thumbs, Hikari looked inside. There was only a disc with similar colorful pictures.

' _Oh._ '

The middle of the shelf had no more boxes on it, however. Instead, one of the shelves was removed to make room for what looked like a chemistry set. Blue potions sat to the right side, while the left had leaves, mushrooms, and some dirt. In the middle there were glass cups propped over unignited twigs and leaves.

"...This is actually serviceable." Eirin considered. "Barely."

Taking some of the potions left there, she moved up to the party. "Take these. They're better than nothing, and it seems I'll have to take a few moments to scavenge this wreckage before I do anything else. You'd best make haste."

A potion was passed to all the party members. Hiyori moved up to Hikari, giving her the one she got.

' _Don't you need one…?_ ' Hikari looked at her questioningly.

Hiyori turned to Eirin. "Would you know if there's any water nearby?"

"There should be some springs around the side of the building." Eirin automatically replied while she turned to further examine the chemistry set. "...If there aren't new ones because of the fractured plumbing."

' _...That sounds likely._ ' Hikari saw no reason to disagree, not particularly considering it.

Marigold did, though. "I'm sure the plumbing would have water to spurt out for _thirty years_ … or whenever things went bad."

"I do not know, then." Eirin didn't really care to find out, apparently. "Apologies."

Hiyori blinked. "...Doesn't Mokou need water?"

"Yes." Eirin's reply was prompt. "Dehydration and hunger claims even the immortal. Although they may not die from it, it is instead endless pain."

' _Oh, good._ ' Hikari was pretty eager to get out of the future.

...Stumped, Marigold folds her arms. "Where could she _possibly_ get water from, then…?"

...She looks over at the rabbits, who are all staring at them and making more effort to be quiet than before. "You know, don't you?"

They shake their heads.

...Marigold slowly reaches for her big weapon, but Hiyori steps ahead of her, instead.

"We don't mean any harm…" Hiyori smiled at them. "I simply want some water. I'll even let you bring it to me, if that's how we have to do it."

...Osamu eventually speaks up, after a few moments of thinking. "Doesn't it fuckin' _rain_ anymore?"

"The sky's _red_." Marigold counters. "I wouldn't-... wait, if it didn't rain…" She looks in the direction of the exit. "I can't believe I didn't think of that. The bamboo is still _somewhat_ alive. It rains, sometimes."

"No it doesn't!" Midori pipes up.

…

"Okay…" Marigold slowly turns to her. "How do the trees _live_ , then?"

...The red-haired rabbit fidgets. "...Uhm...th-they… they find water."

"They just get up... and find water." Marigold confirms.

"Uh-uh-huh!" The rabbit smiles.

…

Hiyori dryly looks down at them. "Can you please just bring me some water?"

Midori frowns at her. "It'll run from you."

Turning to Marigold, Hiyori reluctantly backs away and gives her a go-ahead. Marigold raises her big gun. "Take me to the water."

"O-okay…" With her ears low, Midori got up, and began moving…

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

The party stood in a clearing near the edge of the bamboo woods, where the stalks were the most lush of the sky island. Pots and pans were scattered about atop boxes and wall chunks. Most were empty, or only held small sums of water…

The party had made their way outside, following the rabbit through the quiet forest to this point.

"This… is all of it?" Marigold rose a brow.

"Ye-yeah…" Midori held herself. "...It rained a week ago. Some of it's in jars…"

...Taking out her filled canteen, she looked around the rain collection site. "...Are there any extra jars around here?"

"...Yeah." After a moment of hesitation, Midori nodded. "Over here…"

' _I half feel like this rabbit's going to pull a fast one on us…_ '

Hiyori followed her around a clump of healthy bamboo stalks, where there was a red, slightly smashed metal cabinet. The outside was flaky and rusty. As the rabbit flipped it open, she took out one of the many jars.

"Here." She handed it to Hiyori.

Looking closely at it- checking for damage or dirt- Hiyori found a name written in marker on the outside.

"Isaki…?" Hiyori looked over at the rabbit questioningly, as they stepped back towards the party.

"She won't need it anymore." Midori looked away.

...Hiyori put her canteen and the new jar away, briefly raising her eyebrows as she did so.

' _...Well._ ' Hikari stretched her arms. "Hn~h… Should we teleport to that cave, now? Where Giygas should be?"

"I suppose…" Hiyori nodded. "We don't really have anyone to say goodbye to, here."

' _...I guess not._ ' Hikari looked down.

"We're gonna kick some _ass!_ " Osamu pumped an arm into the air.

Marigold tilted her head. "...I think we should pay Eirin one last visit. She _did_ say something about equipment…"

"Let's do that." Hikari decided.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Rather than march all the way up the stairs, they got Eirin to come down to the lobby of the structure.

"I wanna know how fit we are to go to war with whatever Giygas' got in our way." Standing before Eirin, Marigold made a request. "Like… how good is our current attire?"

...Eirin furrowed her brows, before marching around the party. "Good idea. I do have some items, but I'll only grant them where need be. Truth be told, your best defense will likely be healing magic."

Hikari stared at her dryly. ' _Really, now…?_ '

Looking over Hikari, Eirin had a contemplative look…

…

"That dark resistance won't do much." Eirin decided. "My ship doesn't carry body armor, though, so it's likely better than nothing. Fortunately…" She feels the fabric of Hikari's black vest-esque article. "This is made of good material."

Walking over to Marigold, she immediately began addressing flaws that stuck out to her. "You're a walking target with a backpack that big."

"Hey. I need my things." Marigold folded her arms. "Besides, I knew that, already…"

"Your general magic resistance is too low to be meaningful." Eirin declared. "It still helps, though." She pointed at her, "You're the smart one, right?"

...Marigold nodded. "I'd like to think so."

"Good." Eirin took out two things, though the party wasn't sure from where. "This here is a neutralizer. I meant to put it in the self-sufficient fear irrigation devices, but I hadn't the time. It should be able to wipe magical statuses and barriers from the field… and you can use it as much as you want." It was a flat device, with a grate on one side and rotatable knobs on the top. The back had some smaller grates, for ventilation. She tossed it over to Marigold, who barely caught it.

Marigold obtained Neutralizer!

"Also…" Eirin brought up a second item. It was a shiny red box, with two straps, big enough to fit on someone's back. "This would probably make a better backpack."

Jerking her head back, Marigold couldn't see how. "...It's a box."

"Yes." Eirin nodded. "Observant of you."

...Marigold squinted her eyes. "A~nd… it won't fit everything?"

"That's where you're wrong." Flipping it over, the back of the box began glowing. Eirin pressed a few buttons on the strap-

Bam! A pile of lunar rifles, grenades, and other assorted arms fell from the device. Eirin's eyes widened as she stared at the pile. "...This was supposed to be a _recreational_ storage unit."

Marigold stepped back as the pile dropped out in front of her. "Wo-woah! That's… a hammerspace bag?"

Eirin gave a half-agreeing nod. "You could call it that. Unlike hammerspace bags, it does not use its own pocket dimension. Rather, it uses allowed storage space from lunar facilities. You needn't worry about the limit, unless you're planning on wedging an automobile inside, or something equally large."

...Marigold leers at the new backpack. "How would I get a specific item out?"

"With your hands." Eirin began stepping over to the other two party members. "You can look inside of it. Oh- don't press the oversized red button on the strap, either. If you do, just don't press it again for a few seconds. If you press it twice- thrice, rather- it will expel everything inside. You can also set which sides are interactive, object sorting- you probably know- I'll let you figure it out. The buttons have labels."

With that, she tossed it over to Marigold, who caught it easily with both arms, as it was a respectable size.

Marigold obtained LunarStorage: Recreational Model!

"I see…" Setting it down, Marigold took a few guns from her larger backpack blindly, and began placing them on the glowing back panel. The panel lowered as the objects were set on it, seeming to allow them dynamic room to exist both without interfering with one another, and without being crushed by the walls. "Oo~h…"

Progressing towards Hiyori, Eirin's brows rose promptly. "...Surprisingly, you have many resistances." Reaching out, she felt the hem of the kimono. "Fire resistance. Thunder resistance. Frost resistance…" She tilted her head. "It may do you useful. I see you have status defenses, too. I'm quite curious as to why your equipment is margins better than that of your friends."

"I'm kind of the one that soaks up the damage." Hiyori paced in place a little. "I _am_ an oni, after all."

"Quite." Looking down at her mace, Eirin nods. "I almost couldn't tell, with that blunt instrument you were lugging around."

...After a moment, Hiyori shrugged. "It's not like I really have anywhere to put it."

"Still, such a loadout makes you surprisingly durable." Eirin has a small, approving smile. "...I just hope you're agile, like that."

"I think my casting more than makes up for it." Hiyori remarks, before casually smiling back.

Stopping before she moved on, Eirin gave the oni one last glance. "...You _are_ curious."

Moving up to her last stop, Eirin hovered around Osamu, giving him a clinical stare. "...I take it you really don't like being on fire."

Grinning, Osamu folded his arms. "Nah, I'm just so hot these robes gotta be _fire_ proof."

…

"Well, I have drugs for that." Eirin smirked, before quickly pacing out of Osamu's sight, circling around him.

"Aheh… yeah." Awkwardly, Osamu scratched the back of his head.

As Eirin circled back in front of him, Osamu had another brilliant idea. Giving her an examining stare of his own, he made a request. "Couldja lean a little closer? Like, just bend a little more…?"

"I don't charge for lobotomies." Eirin stated plainly.

...He blinked. "Wazzat mean?"

"It means she's going to poke your brain out if you don't shut up." Marigold annotated from the sidelines, not looking over from her new backpack.

He snickered. "I'll, uh, be quiet now…"

' _Her cleavage isn't even exposed…_ ' Hikari stared at the scene dryly.

Looking downward, Eirin's eyes ran over Osamu's gohei… "You know you can't use that, right?"

...Swinging it around, he grinned. "You were sayin'?"

"If you try to hit something with that, it'll break." Stepping up to him, she held out her arm. "Try damaging me."

...Stepping back, Osamu reeled back his arm. "You asked for it!"

With force, his arm snapped down.

thwick.

...

His expression was stubborn. "Dude, you're probably damage resistant, or something."

...She folded her arms. "Try it on her, then." She pointed at Marigold, who was still sorting things into her bag.

Sneaking up on her, Osamu brought the gohei up over his head, ready to bring it down on her shoulder…

Once again, he cracked down with force.

thwick.

...Marigold turned, sparing him a glance. "Wha~t?"

...He folded his arms. "Maybe this thing's just not turned on, or something…"

Hikari comes up to his side, and claims it from his hand. Then, she demonstrates its power with a half-hearted whack to his forearm.

SMAAAA~SH!

' _Woah!_ ' Hikari jumped back herself, as Osamu was bowled over onto his side.

"Ah- fuck…!" He rolled onto his back. "Fuckin'... you _clobbered_ me, dude…"

"...I think my case is made." Eirin is smug. After a moment, she continues her questioning. "You're the team's caster, correct? Dedicated caster, at least."

...Sitting up, Osamu groaned. "Uu~h, yeah… yeah, that's me."

Raising the Miracle Gohei, Hikari tossed it over at Osamu. He scooted out of the way of it, before it clacked to the floor beside him.

"I see." Eirin stepped over to the pile of deposited guns from earlier, before reaching in. "Let's see…"

She pulled out a rod with a thick end to it. "Stun prod. Probably won't help you, where you're going, but the lunar corps don't make common mage equipment."

After an underhand toss from her, Osamu fumbles to catch it.

Osamu obtained Lunar Riot Baton!

"The on button is on the side, it's a switch." Eirin spoke. "Don't hold the business end when you turn it on."

Such a statement tempted fate. "Business end?" Grinning, he rotated it with his hand, holding the bulbous part with one hand as he flipped the switch-

Vzzt!

"Ow! Fuck- shit!" Jittering violently, he fell away from the device. From the floor, he crawled away. "Geez!"

Hikari sighed.

Hikari tried Lifeup α!

Osamu's minor bruising and other assorted wounds healed. He patted himself, "...Cool."

"...You four should be adequately prepared, now." The lunar doctor gave a final nod to the party. "Still, do not be afraid to come to me if you have any final worries before you set off. Get the job done, and we'll all be better off for it. You have this world's thanks."

She began walking up the stairs after her brief parting message.

...

Marigold looked over at the scattered sci-fi guns. "Hehehe~...!" Quickly, she took to them, sorting through them… only to become more sedate moments later. "Aah. I… don't know how these guns work."

' _You know what? I wanna try…_ ' Hikari moved up aside Marigold.

"Oh?" She turned to the shrine maiden. "...Good luck."

Hikari stared at the blue screen on the gun's top. In the center, there was a little 'x' icon, with writing next to it in Japanese.

"...Key management server not found." Hikari read it aloud. "Some features may be locked or unusable. Activate today for only…" She squinted her eyes. "Four hundred somethings."

"Sounds like a rip." Osamu added, swinging his prod around. "...Dude, this thing, like, makes noises!"

It made an electrical woosh sort of sound, as he flailed it around-

Vzzt! "Ah- shit, shit…"

"Maybe you shouldn't play with it…" Hiyori advised him. "It's a weapon, you know."

Marigold kneeled down, and picked up a few grenades…

Marigold obtained three Plasma Grenades!

"...They look like some kind of grenade." Marigold observed. Looking over them, she decided to place them inside the backpack. "Even if they fit in my pocket… I'd really rather them not go off."

...With that, the party had nothing else to do in Eientei.

"We should get going." Hikari approached the front of the clinic's smashed doors.

"Yeah." Following behind her, Marigold walked with a spring in her step, relieved of the weight of her previous backpack.

"About time!" Cracking his knuckles- and making sure his stun baton was turned off- Osamu strutted after them. "It's time to kick some ass!"

"We'll have to be careful." Hiyori cautioned them. "Anything could happen."

In the clearing outside the clinic, Hikari paused, getting into position for a teleport. Osamu held onto her shoulders, Marigold held onto his shoulders, and Hiyori firmly rested her hands on Marigold's shoulders, intent on stabilizing the rear.

"Yeah, yeah…" Osamu wasn't particularly worried, at the moment. "We're badasses, dude."

' _To be debated._ ' Hikari resisted the urge to reply. "On three. Think of that cave we visited."

Everyone began focusing.

"One…" HIkari gathered wind from the desolate land.

…

"Two…" Tensing her muscles, she took in her surroundings not entirely consciously. ' _This is it…_ '

...

"...Three!"

Hikari tried Teleport ß!

Hikari hurled herself forward, her party members doing the same in her wake. Hastily and eagerly, their legs and respective footwear thundered against the arid soil of the bamboo forest's floor. They went around and around until-

KraKoo~m!

...

The bamboo forest was still.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

KraKoo~m!

Light flashed, signalling the four's arrival.

' _A~nd… there…_ ' Hikari felt herself stop within good distance. ' _About time we pulled that off without any hitches._ '

The first thing to note, was that the cave didn't seem very much like a cave, nor did they seem to be underground.

"Woah…" Osamu gaped.

Grey, bleak fog seemed to wrap around the platform the party stood on. Static lighting illuminated the dense fog, giving the whole area an otherworldly, shifting sensation…

' _It… feels really wet…_ ' Hikari noticed that they stood upon something grey. The air was humid. ' _What is this…?_ ' She stomped on the grey, textureless floor. She couldn't put her finger on the noise it produced.

Kneeling down, she reached for the floor…

' _A-ah…?_ '

Air seemingly stopped her hand, the hand itself feeling the pressure of a surface, but nothing else.

"...We're like, off the _radar_." The team's spellslinger walked further ahead a little.

Marigold looked at the platform's edges, wary. "I think falling would be the one of the _worst_ things to do right now."

"Agreed." Hiyori didn't like the looks of infinite fog above and below, either.

Standing up, Hikari held her Jet Black Gohei tightly. ' _Let's press ahead. This weird mist dimension can't be all that bad…_ '

She stopped, and looked in the opposite direction. Large, flat rectangles of grey sat in the distance at awkward angles.

' _Guess there's nothing over there._ '

With no other choice, Hikari moved forward, her party members following behind her.

The path lead them to a two-way split. One path visibly leaded nowhere, while the other lead to some sort of door.

' _...The path we just came from…_ ' Hikari thought back to the dark cave Yukari took them to. ' _That was the underground's door here. But, where's the underground…?_ '

The path that lead nowhere was also recognizable. ' _That was the path to Hell._ ' She definitely felt like the geometry matched… even though the areas where the cave exits would normally be were now nothing at all.

"There's something over there." After pointing at it, Marigold moved towards it.

As they approached, they found the door sealed shut. There was a busted keypad on their side.

"...Just a door sitting in the middle of nowhere." Hikari reflected aloud, finding it amusing. Looking at it closer, she saw text on the panel's side. "...Lunar Access Gate five." She read it aloud.

' _The moon seems to really get around, these days…_ '

"Geez. It's like the moon freakin' started makin' everything instead 'a us." Osamu found the coincidence curious, as well.

Vzzt! Vzzt!

"Woah!" Marigold jumped, moving for the door as cover. Two thin lasers rotated in the air over the party, the shot not coming terribly close to them.

Moving quickly, the four huddled around the opposite side of the door.

Osamu chose this time to question its existence. "The hell's this door even for!?"

' _Us, apparently._ '

Vzzt! Vzzt!

The lasers rotated against the other side of the door, aimed far more directly, this time.

Marigold brought up her latest, biggest weapon, which she kept on hand. "I suppose this is as good a time as any to see how _this_ works…"

Rounding the corner and aiming it ahead, she saw the illuminated form of a large, pink robot. The robot had similarly colored appendages which supported its ball base, sporting a visor or windshield of some kind on the top…

The device was as large as the tall door the party stood behind, which had to have been eight or nine feet tall.

"Alright…" She held onto the trigger of the NF Burst Gun within the mess she had created. The familiar popping sound was heard, the bullets flying into the green core within the device. Marigold could only guess how it looked from the outward green glow the device projected, as Mokou seemed to make good on her offer to install shielding from the core.

After a few bursts of danmaku made the core glow blindingly bright from the opposing robot's perspective-

 _Fwash!_

A large, green orb rocketed from the device, drifting towards the robot. Lime lightning arced from the orb itself, clinging to the robot's form as the orb flew closer to it…

Fwo-fwoo~m...

The gun's green glow became more saturated, as it vibrated lightly in Marigold's grasp. "U-uh…?"

Heat waves washed out ahead of her, as the air around ten feet ahead of her crackled visibly with small, yellow and green sparks, a mysterious chemical reaction taking place.

Fwoom. The green orb fizzled out on the robot's form, electricity traveling up and down it.

Vzzt! Vzzt!

"Eep!" Marigold turned to run behind the door, when-

Zzzt. Her ankle clipped the persistent laser that stood in its way. "Aa-aa~h!" She fell onto her side as she got back behind the door.

' _Here we go…_ ' Hikari's eyes subtly widened at the immediate damage.

Hiyori reacted quicker.

Hiyori tried Lifeup ß!

...After a moment, Marigold rolled into a sitting-up position. "...I'm not sure how this new weapon works."

Twirling out his stun baton, Osamu grinned. "Well, I'm gonna show it how _my_ new weapon works…!"

He ran out from behind the door, and stopped when he saw how tall and wide the slowly approaching octo-appendaged robot was.

"...On second thought…" He sheepishly backed away towards the door, again.

Osamu tried PK Thunder γ!

Thwaa~sh!

...Hikari looked to the side, noticing a thunderbolt strike down somewhere in the distant fog.

' _Wow._ '

Thwaa~sh!

 _Cla~ng!_ The robot's metal hide made a loud disagreement with the electricity that struck it, the appendages that slowly moved the device jittering and locking up.

Thwaa~sh!

 _Cla~ng!_ The dim yellow and pink lights around the robot's form began to blink sporadically, and out of sync.

Vzzt! Vzzt!

The two resulting lasers shot somewhere into outer space, aimed at incredibly awkward angles.

Marigold came back out from around the door, her Heavy Bazooka on her shoulder. "Heavy Bazooka~!"

She took general aim, and fired.

Fwoosh! The orange projectile soared for the robot's form-

Boom! Seemingly pushed by the force, the dented base drifted to the side softly, the appendages spazzing out as they tried to support its new momentum. It eventually stopped itself from going over the ledge with some fortunate movements…

Fwoosh! Marigold didn't let up, though, another projectile heading for the robot-

Boom! _Blam!_

Hikari jumped, the louder explosion startling her. She looked around the door, to see a column of flame stretching into the air, pink metal parts raining down across the nearby landscape.

"Haha~!" Osamu stuck his middle finger up at the smouldering wreckage. "Fuck robots!"

' _...If every encounter's_ _that easy, we shouldn't have a problem._ '

"...That was probably just a scout." Hiyori guessed, brow raised as she looked out from around the door as well.

' _Yeah, it's not going to be this easy._ '

Putting away her bazooka, Marigold lifted her big weapon again. "I still have to figure out how this thing works…"

Hikari knew how. "Very carefully."

...Marigold gave her an amused but sardonic stare.

Eventually, after a few moments of silence, Osamu prodded things along. "...I don't think we're gonna find anything stickin' around this door. Shit's broke, dude."

"Seems like it…" Hikari decided to part from it. ' _Thank you for your service as a barricade, mystery door._ '

With that, the party pressed forward into the dim gloom of the grey realm. Their walk eventually became open-ended as they reached land that, instead of being a linear path, expanded out into a large plain that simply had foreboding holes in it.

' _Very open-ended…_ ' Some of the holes separated other parts of the land entirely, though, so they had decisions to make.

Grey rectangles poked from the plain in a few places, featuring little other than their outline to make their existence a distinction.

...Coming to the midst of the plain, the party looked around.

Speaking of open-ended questions, Osamu had one. "So, is this like, the world's asshole or something?".

Marigold snorted.

' _Apparently._ ' ...Abruptly, Hikari an interesting thought. ' _What would it be like to live here?_ '

...She tapped her sandal against the floor again, finding that indescribable noise again. ' _Probably weird._ '

On cue-

Ghost of Starman A tried Teleport Ω!

Ghost of Starman B tried Teleport Ω!

From two orbs of light, two ethereal starmen spawned before the party.

" _Life signature double-H detected…_ " One of them spoke, but the party couldn't discern which. " _Impossible! We have a Hakurei-class combatant!_ "

" _It is no matter._ " The other starman assured the first one. " _We are beyond strength. This fight will be trivial._ "

' _More of these ghosts…_ ' Hikari readied her gohei.

Grinning, Osamu turned to one of them. "But are ya beyond _ice!?_ "

Osamu tried PK Freeze γ!

KaKaKa~...

A snowflake-shaped pattern of ice crystals formed in the figure of Ghost of Starman B. It began writhing under their cold effects. " _Auh- ooh- agh…!_ "

Boom! The final blast of ice froze the ghost's midsection, rendering it vulnerable.

' _Now's my chance!_ ' Hikari began running towards it, her gohei raised...

Ghost of Starman A tried PK Starstorm α!

Marigold rose her big gun, pointing it at Ghost of Starman A. "Put your… arm things up!"

The starman didn't react in any definable way.

Hiyori, noticing that it wasn't reacting, decided to get the jump on it.

Hiyori tried PK Freeze γ!

As the snowflake pattern attacked the starman, the unnoticed starstorm finally caught up with the party.

Bam! Boom! "Woah- fuck- _woa~h!_ " Osamu flailed wildly, spooked more by the suddenness of the pain than by the fact he was in pain.

Blam! Bam! "Ow- ow, ow…" Hikari was staggered as she ran, thrown off balance by the crashing of bright stars against her back. She slid to the floor, feeling the awkward sensation of resting on pressurized air. ' _Whatever this stupid floor is…_ '

" _Haha!_ " The starman near her was amused. " _The Hakurei is on the floor!_ "

' _...Is that supposed to be an accomplishment?_ '

Blam! Boom!

Hiyori grunted, stumbling a little. "Hngh…"

Scrambling to her feet, Hikari ran towards the smug, partially frozen Starman who taunted her. Bringing her gohei up, she swung-

SMAAAA~SH!

" _Huoh…!_ " The starman became material, the cracking ice at its core revealing inner machinery, along with tubes that carried some sort of pink fluid. " _Yo-you~...!_ "

Swiftly, Hikari swung her gohei again on impulse, not entirely planning to but going with it anyway.

Thwack!

" _Go~h…_ " The dark strike caused the Ghost of Starman B to buckle. As its torso began folding-

Cli-cli-cling! Slick, dark thorns jabbed up through its torso, acting as support beams.

" _You'll not be rid of me_ that _easily…!_ " The starman bellowed.

Ghost of Starman B tried PK Starstorm α!

This time, Hiyori was more attentive to the sky. "Osamu- shield us!"

His head shot in her direction. "Oh- uh, right!"

Osamu tried PSI Shield Σ!

The party was protected by pale blue psychic shields!

Standing up again, Marigold brought up her big weapon. "En- _enough_ with the stupid star magic…!"

Repeatedly pulling the trigger, she fired up the core of the weapon-

 _Fwash!_ The sickly green orb flew out towards the Ghost of Starman A, lightning arcing out onto its figure as it neared.

The starman stood rigid, until-

Fwo-fwoom…

The weapon entered its violent cooldown state once again, as Marigold approached the starman's side.

" _Uuh-Uoou~h!_ " The starman's form violently began to flicker, the portions of it within the device's cone of effect seemingly boiling. Pops and crackles of lime and yellow energy disrupted its figure-

Crack! The ice that froze its center violently shattered into blue electricity.

" _Aoh-_ vzzvzzvzt…" The Ghost of Starman A lit up with pretty blue, pink, and purple shades of electricity, before multiple parts of its being crumpled to the floor.

The stars from the incoming starstorm hit the party again.

Blam! Bam! Boom! Blam!

"Hn~h…" Hikari winced, nearly having to crouch to hold her ground.

"Oh! Ow~..." Marigold was tossed onto her side, again, her body aching.

"Hahaha~!" Osamu was too amused by the fact he took less damage to acknowledge the fact he was taking damage. "Fucking _stars_ , dude!"

' _If only we all had as much vigor._ ' Pain was pain to Hikari, though. ' _He probably adapted from all the times we've hit him._ '

The remaining material starman stood before Hikari, still. " _Yo-you savages haven't seen the last of me!_ "

Glaring up at it, Hikari leaped.

In the air, she brought the gohei across the helmet of the starman twice.

Thwa-thwack!

Bringing it up before she fell back down, she acted quickly to ensure there was a finisher to her combo-

SMAAAA~SH!

The helmet caved in after the final blow. "Vzzvzzss~hh…"

"Woah…" Osamu grinned at the display. "Dude, that gohei! It has like, a trail of darkness when you swing it!"

' _Yeah, I know. I happen to be the person who swings it around._ '

...She looked down at the gohei. ' _It is kinda cool, though._ '

Suddenly, there was a loud noise.

Kraa~clank _clank!_

"Something's coming…!" Adjusting herself into a battle stance, Hiyori stared forward intently.

"U-ugh…" Marigold couldn't get up. "I-I sprained my ankle, again…"

Hikari tried Lifeup ß!

...Nimbly getting to her feet, Marigold had a half-grin. "Sprained ankles always suck. They hurt so much for something so simple."

A loud whirring sound was heard, and the roar of an engine came from somewhere below the party.

Whhii-Kraa~clank _clank!_

The grey floor before the party opened up, a machine tearing through the foggy material. From it, an immense, grey machine emerged. It had a broad, unmanned platform with railing as its base, and two large pipes tipped with orbs on the front of the machine. A giant tread sat under it, allowing it to move forward.

"It's a run-people-over machine!" Osamu exclaimed. "Oh, shit!"

' _Pffft…_ '

Lightyear Device tried Teleport Ω!

But it failed!

The party moved out of the way of the device as it passed them. As it did, the two rods on top lit up a violent orange color…

Whhii-Kraa~clank _clank!_

Two purple stars were shot from the top of the rods. They slowly descended towards the party…

' _Those don't look friendly…_ ' Hikari and Marigold backed away, while Hiyori and Osamu stood, staring at them.

Hiyori raised her mace to counter one as it flew towards her, and Osamu realized the other was aimed at him a little too late. "Oh, fu-"

Boo-Boom!

The both exploded into purple blasts of energy, which fizzled out immediately after.

"O-oh…!?" Hiyori blinked.

"Woah!" Osamu looked around wildly.

Lightyear Device tried Teleport α!

...Hikari stared at the large machine as it rocketed off into the distance, abruptly and without warning.

' _Oh. Okay. It's… just gone, then._ '

"Uu~h…" Osamu walked around aimlessly. "I can't see, dude…!"

"...I'm blind." Hiyori announced.

Hiyori tried Healing ß!

...She blinked a few times. "Nevermind."

Hikari tried Healing ß!

...Bringing his hands to his eyes, Osamu rubbed them. "...Yeah, it got better. Weird shit..."

' _That machine was weird._ '

...Looking around, Hikari noticed the fog in the distance let up only slightly, revealing that all of the deviating paths of the platform they were currently on went nowhere in particular. The only way left was the new one created by the large device, seemingly.

Moving towards the new tunnel, she made an announcement. "Looks like we're going that way."

"Mmm." Marching aside her, Marigold had the big gun raised.

"That's a big fuckin' gun, dude." Unwilling to resist anymore, Osamu commented on its clunkiness.

Marigold smirked. "I think it fits. This thing sounds like it goes under meltdown whenever I fire it."

The four moved through the small tunnel, only to find that it lead to a grey plain slightly lower than the one they were on.

' _It's hard to tell what's additional land past whatever we're standing on, and the edges…_ ' Hikari pensively examined the landscape. ' _Fog is annoying._ '

Down on the newer plain, the party moved forward-

Vzzt! Vzzt!

From the mists ahead, two persistent beams stretched outward, signaling the party that enemies were approaching. They came from vastly different locations in the mist, however…

' _Two more of those things…_ '

The pink and yellow lights along the rims of the machines lit up. Four octo-appendaged robots approached from the mist, slowly.

"O~h boy…" Osamu backed towards the tunnel.

"We could just let them come into the tunnel." Marigold strategized. "That way we'll just be able to wail on them with bigger attacks."

THWASH

All four party members jumped. Before them, a massive column of electricity thundered down, extending their visibility in the fog just enough to see the sides of a few other plateaus and platforms.

As the column faded, the crackling form of a humanoid floated in the air. It appeared like an Invincible, but its eyes were noticeably sharper. The long, faux-hair the normal variants of it carried was instead flowing. Electricity ran across its locks, and up the immense, orange broadsword it held in one hand.

The obscenely large sword, though similar in style to the purple ones of the invincibles, had unique kanji carved on the blade near the hilt, reading 'Ogre'.

' _Why do the enemies just keep getting more intimidating…?_ ' Hikari was _really_ receptive about fighting something that flashy.

Marigold raised her big freakin' gun. "I think we should focus our fire on that thing…!"

"Y' _think!?_ " Osamu was already backing for the tunnel…

Osamu tried PK Thunder ß!

Thwa~sh!

The lightning harmlessly was absorbed by the electric humanoid.

Thwa~sh!

The lightning arced from its original path, instead being absorbed by the humanoid.

"Yes. Use lightning on the lightning elemental." Hiyori snarked. "Good plan."

...He shrugged sheepishly. "Hey, I had ta try."

Vzzt! Vzz-vzz-vzz-vzzt!

A barrage of lasers came from the approaching octobots.

"Fuu _aa~h!_ " Osamu dove to the floor, pierced through his upper chest.

"Aa-aah…!" Hikari felt her thigh begin to burn. She didn't look down, but saw enough of the laser to know where it probably connected… ' _Oh- ow ow_ ow…!'

"Gu-hnh…" Hissing, Hiyori braced herself against the two oncoming lasers, shielding herself vainly as the lasers passed through her left leg and right arm.

' _It hurt- it hurts…!_ '

Hikari tried Lifeup Ω!

...The party's wounds began to heal.

Miraculously unscathed, Marigold backs away incredulously. "Ahaha~h…! Let's go!"

The other three begin taking her lead and retreating into the tunnel, looking to distance themselves from the firing squad of robots.

The electric Invincible approached the tunnel opening, hot on their heels. Though it was too big to enter after them, it seemed to know their plan by the way it slowly drifted upward…

' _She's so big…!_ ' Glancing back at it, Hikari marveled at the scale of the dark miko. ' _She's, like… eleven feet tall!_ '

Orcus tried PK Thunder Ω!

Raising its blade to the sky, the humanoid allowed electricity to arc into the fog above from its massive blade.

Thwaa~sh!

Lightning struck somewhere within the tunnel, causing various party members to twitch.

"A-ah!" Marigold jumped out of her skin, nearly tripping as she moved away from where it struck on the slope ahead.

"Oh, crap…!" Osamu didn't anticipate good things.

Thwaa~sh!

Hiyori's form lit up, as electricity ran down her horns. Her shackle glowed brightly, the electricity traveling into it instead of through her body in its entirety. "Wo-woah…"

Thwaa~sh!

Bam! "Egegugu~h!" Marigold jittered violently, before unceremoniously faceplanting. A few sparks of electricity fizzled out on her clothing, though.

' _Marigold!_ ' Hikari prepared to heal her-

Thwaa~sh!

Bam! " _Zazatataza!_ " Osamu lit up brightly. Once the shock was through, he was thrown to the floor by the force of it, landing awkwardly and smouldering.

' _O-oh…!_ ' Hikari proceeded to heal the party with wide eyes.

Hikari tried Lifeup Ω!

...Marigold was the first to get up. "Ou-... ou~ch…" Crawling at first, she got back onto her legs quick enough, shambling up the slope.

...Explosively, Osamu roared to life. "Fucking blood and _thunder!_ " ...Wincing, he held his side. "Ow."

...Hiyori patted herself appreciatively. "Thanks."

Quickly, they made it to the top of the slope, now on the surface of the higher ground.

Woosh!

Hikari was knocked to the floor by a sliding jab. The electric miko had sailed across the plain's surface, as if riding on its stomach, to make the slash connect correctly.

"Aa~ugh!" Pain flared throughout Hikari's body as she felt her torso contort awkwardly. ' _Aaaa~h!_ '

Hiyori tried Lifeup γ!

...Hikari felt her body bend back.

' _O-oh- Ow! Ouch, ouch- aaagh…!_ ' She felt her eyes tear up as the healing process took place. ' _Wh-where did that thing even hit me!?_ '

Osamu tried PK Freeze γ!

KaKaKa~...

A rapidly freezing and thawing snowflake-shaped pattern of icicles began to assault the Orcus' torso. It didn't visibly react to it, though, as it adjusted back into a drifting position after its previous stab on Hikari.

Boom!

The chilly surge of cold air made it flinch, but little else.

Hiyori ran at it. Raising her mace into the air, she prepared to attack the lower torso of the towering humanoid.

Noticing her approach, the Orcus swung the huge broadsword at the oni in return-

 _Cla~ng!_

The parry made Hikari twitch in surprise.

"...Ha~h!?" Hiyori was eventually flung into the air from the Orcus' strength. Flying backwards, she promptly touched down on the textureless grey platform-

...Hikari _still_ couldn't name that noise, produced this time by Hiyori's sandals on the platform. ' _It was pretty loud that time, though…_ '

Marigold aimed up her Heavy Bazooka at it, opting not to use her big freakin' gun since Hikari was in the vicinity. "Eat this…!"

Fwoosh! The amber projectile rocketed towards the Orcus-

Boom!

It cringed back from the blow, but sported no obvious physical damage. Red mist drifted from its form, mingling with the fog…

Osamu tried PSI Shield Ω!

The party was protected by blue psychic power shields!

"Hopefully they don't run the _hell out_ this time!" Osamu snapped at his own magic.

' _...These shields are better than his last ones._ '

Orcus tried PK Thunder Ω!

It rose its broadsword to the air once again, lightning arcing into the fog above.

"Get ready…!" Marigold cringed, knowing no other way to prepare for the inevitable.

Thwaa~sh!

Hiyori's shield flickered violently, the electricity coursing through it. Before it was dispelled, the shield wrapped itself into a ball of magic, which shot towards the Orcus.

On contact, the orb exploded into raw mana, but nothing else seemed to visibly happen.

Thwaa~sh!

"Eep!" Marigold shut her eyes as her shield flickered violently, before it performed an action similar to Hiyori's.

Once again, the Orcus refused to react to the orb striking it.

...She opened her eyes. "...I-I'm okay."

Thwaa~sh!

"Egagagaga~h!" Marigold was not okay. Twirling in place, her bazooka clattered on the floor beside her, making that sound Hikari couldn't name, before she fell on her side.

Hiyori tried Lifeup γ!

' _Ma-Marigold…_ ' Hikari stood up, finally having recovered from her awkward healing process. "Al-alright…"

...Rousing herself again, Marigold shook her head. "I-I have a heada~che…"

Vzz-vzz-vzzt! Vzzt, vzzt!

Persistent lasers shot from the tunnel, restricted by its rims.

' _They're catching up…_ ' Hikari grimaced. ' _...I might have to use a big attack. This is getting pretty hairy._ '

Stabbing its blade into the foggy floor, the Orcus dissipated into six orbs of electricity, which spread out and seemingly vanished.

' _It_ would _have this attack._ '

...The blade promptly rose from the floor below, and pointed itself at Hikari.

' _Yep._ '

Hikari tried Shield ß!

Hikari was protected by the power shield of light! Her psychic power shield was overwritten.

Hiyori noticed the incoming robots, as did Marigold. They both moved across the battlefield to get a jump on that situation.

Osamu tried to help with the possessed sword of stabby doom. From a distance, at least.

Woosh! Hikari slid on the floor as she skidded out of the way of one of the electric blade's passing swipes.

"...Do ya think water would help!?" Osamu shouted from afar. "With the sliding and dodgin'!?"

' _It's electric!_ ' Hikari began running towards him, intent on dragging him into the dodging session now. "No!"

Holding her big freakin' gun high, Marigold stood over the tunnel as the octobots progressed out of it.

Hiyori stood before them, mace raised high.

...The four Ultimate Octobots aimed at her, before firing.

Fwoosh! Fwoo-fwoo-fwoosh!

They fired odd lines of light, which surrounded Hiyori to build an electrical cage. The four lines they shot all overlapped one another, building an incredibly dense plasma cage which quickly closed in on Hiyori. As it did, it became invisible, her body jittering lightly.

The shackle on her arm glowed, the four instances of paralysis that were cast on her all being absorbed by the oni treasure.

Fwash! A lime green orb passed across the back of the octobot offensive line, spreading electricity across their robotic forms.

Grinning, Marigold held her gun tensely as it vibrated lightly once again, the violent cooldown process beginning once more.

Cla~ng… Cling, cling, cli- _clonk_ …

The back of the machines seemed to melt under the unique reaction produced by the gun's cone.

Noticing this, Hiyori took a deep breath. "...Here!"

Hiyori tried PK Fire Ω!

Blam! The initial blast of fire lit up the entire tunnel.

Boom, boom, _boo~m!_

Huge blasts of flame made the tunnel a searing red, great explosions pushing swaths of flame up, over the robots, and into the air. The entire tunnel's width became a neon orange, red color, the black of smoke being the only differentiating factor from the bright light.

"E-ah…" Marigold backed away from the tunnel entrance, skittish.

Fwoo~m…

A final swath of flames caressed the entire tunnel's width, the orange, amber glow slowly fading as the fire's brightness gave way to what remained of the octobots.

Smouldering wreckage and melted metal sat in blobs before Hiyori.

"...I-I think I overdid that…" Hiyori's posture faltered.

Hikari watched the electric blade rise to the air, after she had successfully avoided seven consecutive jabs from the great blade.

' _Here it comes… that one move that always knocks me out._ ' Hikari took a deep breath, watching it.

"Shit, shit…!" Osamu began running in the opposite direction.

The blade fell.

Hikari exhaled, kicking against the floor with great force. The unnatural sound of the textureless floor echoed out, and her leg flared with pain, as she cast herself into the air to avoid the blade.

Thwa- _woo~sh_ …!

The Orcus jabbed into the floor. A shockwave of static-charged wind roared out from under Hikari, and from the Orcus' heavy sword.

" _Oo~w!_ " Osamu roared as he was flung into the air by the shockwave.

Before the Orcus could recover from its mighty stab into the ground proper, Hikari swung her gohei with great force, flinging herself towards it. Taking a deep breath as she neared it, she felt her arm muscles begin to yell as well once she cast the gohei towards the dark miko's face-

SMAAAA~SH!

As if surprised, the Orcus jerked its head back. Then, it hunched over, stunned by the inopportune strike on its person.

Hikari dropped to the floor before it, landing on her butt. "Oof…"

...Osamu stared up at it, walking over with an awkward strut. "Dude…"

Marigold and Hiyori approached, too, staring up at it curiously.

...Hikari turned to Osamu. "Quickly, buff me!"

Smacking her face, Marigold reached for her backpack. "I can't believe I forgot about that…"

From the shimmering surface of the backpack, Marigold drew her large and clunky Moon Beam. "Let's see if this works…!"

Quickly, she fired the moon-elemental beam at the Orcus.

...Though it made contact, no flames licked up the stunned Orcus' body.

...Marigold pouted. "Wow."

Osamu tried Offense Up α!

"More!" Hikari felt like being an adrenaline junkie, today.

"Alright, alright…!" Osamu was put off by her ferocity.

Osamu tried Offense Up α!

' _Alright…_ ' Hikari gestured for him to continue.

Boom! One of Marigold's bazooka shots exploded on the Orcus' side, making it wiggle in place a little.

Osamu tried Offense Up α!

"That's good." Hikari gestured for him to stop, her hand going too far accidentally.

...Osamu tried Defense Down α!

The Orcus cringed while in its stunned position. After, it began to raise its head again…

Hikari leapt up at it. Slightly too eager, she went a little higher than intended. Letting herself fall, she readied to attack.

She put enough power into her horizontal slash to spin around, her gohei hitting twice.

Thwa-thwack!

Her overhead strike was equally as overcharged, and she ended up doing a forward flip. "Wo-woah!"

Thwa-thwack!

Before she fell to the ground unceremoniously once more, Hikari unleashed a final, impulsive jabbing attack. "Hra~h!"

 _Bam!_

Her gohei passed through the Orcus' head, as her attack propelled her straight into it.

"Oof!" Hikari rebounded off of the upper torso of the electrical miko, jitters traveling through her body. ' _We-weird…_ '

…

FWOOSH

The Orcus dissipated into a massive whirlwind of wind. Osamu and Marigold were thrown onto their sides, while Hiyori had to squint her eyes to be able to see with all the sudden wind force.

It dissipated in brief moments.

…

Cli-clink. ' _What…?_ '

...Hikari scooted on the floor towards the objects that dropped from the Orcus.

One was its sword, which-

Fwoa~om… vztvztvzt...

-promptly dissolved into nothing but sparks.

There was also a nugget of gold.

' _Oh._ ' Hikari didn't know what to do with that. She grabbed it with one hand...

Finally, there was a ring, with a yellow jewel in the center. Taking it-

Hikari obtained Stolen Thunder!

-she held it close to her face. ' _...I'm not really into rings._ '

...Looking over at the party, she worked to get back onto her feet. Once she was, she held the ring up. "Who wants a ring?"

The party members strutted over. "No thanks." Hiyori declined. "I don't think conventional jewelry would survive on me."

This made Marigold grin. "...It dropped from a thunder god thing. I think it'd fit on you just fine."

...Shrugging, the oni still made no request.

"What if that shit zaps me?" Suspicious, Osamu narrows his eyes at the ring…

Marigold rolled her eyes. "Whatever. I'll wear it…"

Taking it, she paused. "...Also, come to think of it, _this_ thing's starting to itch…"

She unequipped the Eternal Band, and slipped Stolen Thunder onto her right hand, onto her ring finger.

"...Neat." Smiling at the yellow-gemmed metal ring, Marigold was satisfied.

"Rings ain't my style anyway." Nodding compromisingly, Osamu looked ahead at the tunnel. "...Damn, you guys _roasted_ 'em."

Hikari tried Lifeup α!

"...Aa~h." Taking the idle moment, Hikari did a few stretches. "...Let's keep going."

Taking the lead, Hiyori and Hikari moved forward while the other two party members trailed behind. Once again, they moved into the tunnel, taking care to navigate past the now cool blotches of charred, semi-pink metal.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

END OF CHAPTER 31

Protagonist: Hikari Hakurei, Disciple of Paradise

-Inventory-

Weapon: Jet Black Gohei - The gohei once wielded by Sendai Hakurei no Miko. Theoretically, anyway. Boosts attack power, and critical hit rate. The dark impulse of the gohei frequently allows Hikari to strike twice instead of simply once, even when unprepared.

Arms: Shade Sleeves - Dark-elemental arm sleeves. Allows Hikari to add an additional strike to her combo when prepared. Ten percent darkness resistance.

Body: Midnight Miko Outfit - Dark-elemental miko outfit which combines the positive aspects of Reimu and Sendai Hakurei No Miko's outfits. Designed to provide more magical and physical defense all around, and as such might weigh Hikari down a little. Twenty percent darkness resistance.

Misc: Chaos Ribbon - Dark-elemental ribbon. Has a rather crazy slapdash design. Twenty percent darkness resistance.

-Skills-

Attack: Quickly! Swing your gohei at them for massive damage! Sometimes happens twice from the Jet Black Gohei's dark impulse. Has an additional strike due to Hikari's Shade Sleeves.

PK Fantasy α, β, γ, Ω - Bombards the enemy with pain in the form of flashing colors. Deals magical damage. Heavy mental strain that increases with each tier. Third tier forms a barrier, which breaks upon moderate damage. Final tier is a non-elemental nuke of immense magical power.

PK Flash α, ß, γ, Ω - A bright flash that distributes very random status effects to enemies. Usually makes people cry. Higher tiers increase chances, and introduce possibilities of fainting or dispel. Higher tiers can instantly destroy more varieties of foes, and make people feel weird.

Hypnosis α, Ω - Puts weak enemies to sleep for a short time. Works better on tired or exhausted foes. Can also be used in a far more costly form that works on multiple opponents.

Shield α, ß - Halves damage the target takes. Only works against physical attacks, and enough strikes, or powerful strikes, will dispel it. Higher tier turns it into a power-shield that protects even better and even reflects a fraction of protected damage.

Lifeup α, ß, γ, Ω - Heals target a little. Higher tiers heal more grievous wounds, like bone fractures. Highest tier heals everybody in the party.

Healing α, ß, γ - Heals basic status ailments. Higher tiers can cure more dire effects, like burning alive.

Teleport α, ß - Allows instant transport to the general location of an area remembered by oneself or one's party members. Requires a long, fast run-up to execute, however. Higher tier allows a circular motion to control the run-up instead, giving Hikari more control over the teleport.

Ofuda Toss - Throw a holy ofuda that does massive holy elemental damage to youkai and dark elemental foes. Effect lessens the more holy the thing you're attacking is, to the point of healing holy things. Only works if you actually have ofuda, though.

Cautionary Barrier - Summon a barrier that deflects attacks and magical attacks of all elements. Can be broken by stronger attacks, and is holy elemental.

Lightshine Ofuda - Two ofuda which explode into orbs of light. Area denying holy attack.

Summon Koishi - Using the Heart Gem's power, Hikari summons Koishi Komeiji. Casts three random HK spells on enemies, before using a higher tier one that depends on her current mood. Typically can manage two uses before she's out of mana. Costs sizable mana. Doesn't work across time, apparently.

Ω-Ω-Ω-Ω

Mage: Osamu Katsumi, the Wannabe Mage

-Inventory-

Weapon: Lunar Riot Baton - A lunarian riot suppression armament. It saw use in the Genso-Lunar war, and then proceeded to see further use in rebellion suppression and the Giygas-Lunar conflict. Allowed largely only in the lunar capital, and under normal circumstances loses power when not on the civilization's electrical grid, though Eirin knows how to get around this. Deals electrical damage. You can hit yourself with it like an idiot, too.

Arms: Imperial Bracelet - Gives slight knockback resistance. Doubles the strength of the last cast of magic used before running out of mana.

Body: Super Rugged Robe - A sturdy robe enchanted to resist damage. Made partially with sturdy cloth from deep underground. Grants fifty percent resistance to fire elemental damage.

Misc: Rugged Red Mage Hat - A red colored mage's hat made from cloth in the Human Village. Minor resistance to thunder, ice, and fire magic from its well worn usage in the past. Didn't see much action… until Osamu bought it! Grants ten percent resistance to fire elemental damage.

-Skills-

PK Thunder α, ß, γ - Very random thunder attack that deals limited damage. Higher tiers increase number of bolts, and sometimes power.

PK Hydro α, β, γ - Gets everyone wet. Usefulness with PK Thunder and PK Freeze depends on whether you hit yourself or not! Creates whirling water spirals at higher tiers.

PK Freeze α, β, γ, Ω - Generates ice crystals at the target's location. Medium damage and effect; may freeze some targets, especially wet ones. Highest tier has a near-guaranteed freeze chance and immense ice damage, at the cost of being very taxing.

Fireball - Manipulate mana to make a shoddy fireball. Low damage and effect.

Static Hands - Not a real spell. Result of a very undercharged PK Thunder that can accidentally go off.

PSI Telepathy α - Speak to friends you haven't met yet! Unstable connection and only works if they have the skill or are asleep.

PSI Shield α, Σ, Ω - Halves damage from magical and psychic attacks. Thunder spells fry it instantly, and harder blows dispel it. Second tier applies basic shield to entire party at higher mana expense.

PSI Magnet α, Ω - Costs no mana to use, and steals a very tiny amount of mana from the enemy. Enemy has to have mana in the first place for it to work, though.

Offense Up α, Ω - Get pissed! Boosts strength and confidence depending on caster's power and receiver's power.

Defense Down α, Ω - Throw the enemy off their game. Makes them slightly more vulnerable to physical attacks.

Ω-Ω-Ω-Ω

Inventor: Marigold Knowledge, the Tri-Magi Love Child

-Inventory-

Weapon: Big Freakin' Gun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Uses a NF Burst Gun as the base, which irritates the energy core with an inner Pop Gun. Spamming the trigger doesn't make it go any faster, unfortunately. The batteries inside are only there for mana circulation, meaning their power is really inconsequential. The addition of extra parts, blast shielding, and the energy cored turned this into a vastly powerful weapon, capable of shooting a non-elemental arc-lightning ball. The weapon's cooldown is more dangerous than its projectile, the exposure of which rapidly causes enemies to go through violent chemical reactions.

Arms: Stolen Thunder - Electric elemental ring crafted sometime in the distant future. Forged from mysterious, electrical gems and adamantite, it provides one hundred percent electric resistance, granting immunity to electrical damage.

Body: Elementalist Adventure Dress - A custom dress made by Alice. Provides some defense against magical and psychic attacks. Allows very free movement. Grants twenty percent resistance to fire, thunder, and ice elemental attacks.

Misc: Sun Swirly Glasses - Lets Marigold not be blind. Grants immunity to the effects of PK Flash, and to blinding light attacks. Allows Marigold to stare straight into the sun.

LunarStorage: Recreational Model - Allows extended inventory. No weight limit, but has a huge size limit. Allows Marigold to draw any item she wants, at any time.

Unnamed Lock Opening Device - Opens locks very precariously. Made with steel, burnt cloth, packaging peanuts, thumbtacks, string, and wooden wheels. Don't even ask…

Ruler - Lets you measure the world around you!

Protractor - Lets you find the angles of anything ever. Totally overpowered.

Scotch Tape - Transparent adhesive from the outside world. Weak, but handy!

Deck of Cards - Allows Marigold to play Strip Poker with the party. Just kidding… or am I?

Shield Killer - Electrical device used to subdue harassers. Has settings ranging from Tickle Torture to Arse Blaster. Fires electrical projectiles, of unknown power.

Holmes Brand Designer Hat - Village swag! A retro village hat that ceased production ten years ago. Sells for a pretty penny nowadays, but it's pretty useless otherwise.

Slime Generator - A bulky box that shoots a small splat of slime. Doesn't seem good for much.

Counter-PSI Device - A weird device Marigold found from a flying saucer. Works in strange ways, and seems to disrupt everyone's concentration. Marigold is immune to its effects.

Charm of Sleep - Grants immunity to sleep while equipped, or held. Can be equipped to Arms or Misc.

Microwave Gun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Constructed with a controlled flame crystal and metal parts, it fires a beam of sustained microwave energy that cooks biological foes alive. Fire-elemental at its core, it's also very inefficient against machines. The lens used in it was switched with a Moon Lens, allowing it to instead deal moon-elemental damage and silence foes. Silenced foes are unable to use spells.

Defense Shower - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Made of a broom, a showerhead, some magnets, and uses jars of water as ammo. Slapped together with ofuda, giving it a holy defensive effect. The jars are usually filled with Talcum Powder, for alchemical purposes. The liquid that is dispensed becomes auto-applying lotion.

Heavy Bazooka - An invention developed in part by Kappa Tech and Marigold Knowledge. It shoots heavy fire-based blasts of fire magic, and deals high knockback. It was constructed by stuffing some fire and gravity stones into a tube, adding a cap on one side to direct the fire, and hooking a magical wire to the handle. Nitori did most of the work, though…

Eternal Band - Band made from a time transistor. Allows melee attacks to deal time-elemental damage and statuses.

Spectrum Shotgun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Filled with foil chip bags to conduct the mana, and it is transmitted into a wind stone. Upgraded to draw mana from a simple wooden block filled with immense magic reserves, giving it virtually unlimited ammo. The addition of a battery and a prism allow it to fire seven rainbow colored beams at a wide spread, which deal non-elemental damage. Firing long enough allows them to focus and deal incredible damage, at the cost of insane recoil and instability.

Neutralizer - Unused component of the Fear Irrigation Devices, and invented by Eirin Yagokoro.. When activated, all PSI and magical effects on the battlefield are wiped, including area-denial spells, status effects, buffs and debuffs… everything. Levels the playing field! Affects party members, too.

-Skills-

Assembled the BFG-Nine-Thousand - That's a big fuckin' gun, dude…!

Accessorizer - She's accessorized, _son._

Now Has Hyperspace Inventory - Now she's a real FPS hero!

Shiny New Guns - Walkin' armory, yo!

Wasteland Wanderer - Guns and gas and _go~ds!_

Ω-Ω-Ω-Ω

Fighter: Hiyori Hashimoto, the Buddhist Oni

-Inventory-

Weapon: Mace of Devas - The last of the four treasures held by the Devas of the Mountain. Ability to whack stuff really hard. Increases critical hit rate by lieu of being a really big, blunt, spiky weapon. Allows partial blocking of magic attacks.

Arms: Shackle of Devas - The first of the four treasures held by the Devas of the Mountain. Grants immunity to sleep-inducing magic. Grants fifty percent resistance to wind and thunder magic.

Body: Kimono of Devas - The second of the four treasures held by the Devas of the Mountain. Grants immunity to paralyzing magic. Grants fifty percent resistance to fire magic. Insanely durable. Has a floral design to it…!

Misc: Bows of Devas - The third of the four treasures held by the Devas of the Mountain. Grants immunity to confusion-inducing magic. Grants fifty percent resistance to ice magic.

-Skills-

PK Starstorm α, Ω - Summons forth the stars from the night's sky to rain down upon enemies. Hits all enemies, and deals high magical damage, at the cost of being highly mentally taxing. Can hit allies if they're in the effective area, as the white stars don't have homing properties. Power proportional to amount of enemies, as well.

PK Fire α, ß, γ, Ω - Creates an igniting blast of flames at the target's location. More impact comes with higher tiers.

PK Freeze α, β, γ - Generates ice crystals at the target's location. Medium damage and effect; may freeze some targets, especially wet ones.

Shield α, ß, Σ - Halves damage the target takes. Only works against physical attacks, and enough strikes, or powerful strikes, will dispel it. Higher tier turns it into a power-shield that protects even better and even reflects a fraction of protected damage. Highest tier applies a basic shield to the entire party.

Lifeup α, ß, γ - Heals target a little. Higher tiers heal more grievous wounds, like bone fractures.

Healing α, ß, γ, Ω - Heals basic status ailments. Higher tiers can cure more dire effects, like burning alive.

Teleport α, ß - Allows instant transport to the general location of an area remembered by oneself or one's party members. Requires a long, fast run-up to execute, however. Higher tier is largely automatic and requires little room to execute.

Martial Arts - Skilled in hand-to-hand combat.

Ω-Ω-Ω-Ω

Author's Note:

16 k words before author's note and end-chapter summary, 18 k after

HOLY SHIT this was a big chapter

the reasons for that are basically that i wanted to get a lot done but couldn't find time to get it done in under 10 k words, so uh… yeah, here we are!

also i really wanted to get action in since i said it was gonna get in this time

since we're pretty blatantly in the cave to the past right now, the final boss will be NEXT TIME

it's been a rocky road yo, but we're COMIN' IN ON THE FINISH LINE

anyway…

stuff and things about this chapter:

the orcus was a generic heartless recolor from kingdom hearts 358/2 days, but i customized it and stuff because it inspired me somehow. i also gave it some fresh new attacks and stuff because the other one was the same as an invisible because yeah

i still left in its "get stunned if hit after trying the dropping stab" thing

i had a lot of fun writing the interaction with reimu in the shrine in future land, though i dunno how the emotional aspects really carry over or if they have proper time to sink in… or if i hit any emotional notes well at all

oof

reimu picked up teleport α, though, even if she can't use it! she's a smart cookie, yo

a smart, stranded, probably-somewhat-stir-crazy cookie

also, if the timeline situation is confusing, beat me up and i'll update this author's note to give a basic rundown of it or something, but i don't think it's terribly hard to grasp from right now and a little more will be explained in the future; i did my best to make the time travel as least complex as possible considering how out of control time travel always gets in fictional works

...also reimu's moveset was based off of roxas' KH2 fight . w .

despite how much i hate that series' story, the flashiness and RPG elements draw me in, yo…

...not much else to say about the future! it's kind of mysterious but at the same time desolate and stuff

as usual i'll now shamelessly beg for feedback to make sure i didn't blow something up; if i done did did an oopsie please contact your local firing squad for more information- by which i mean yell at me

get HYPE for GIYGAS, YO

edit: also uploading this like ten days after finishing the chapter because i finally got around to proofreading it (something hard for me to focus on because freakin' this chapter's been embedded in my mind from how many times i've tried to proof it only to get interrupted by people)

although i suppose that's what i get for like a sixty nine page chapter (WAHEHE SIXTY NINE DOOD HOHOHAHAHO)

as always, see you all next time!


	32. H,,,A,,,K,,,U,,,R,,,E,,,I

Marching out of the tunnel, the party found themselves able to progress down the lower plain, as it was now free of enemies… for the time being.

' _It can't get any harder than that…_ ' Hikari unintentionally lampshaded that things were going to get harder.

"Like... was that our boss fight? Can we go home now?" Grumbling, Osamu folded his arms. "I mean, that _looked_ like a Giygas…"

Rolling her eyes, Marigold turned to him. "Oh, hush. I got struck by lightning, _twice_. That doesn't even include the one that my shield stopped… and thanks for the shield, by the way."

"Yeah, well- you're welcome- but I, got thrown around... a _bit_." His sentence fell apart due to how it was awkwardly structured. "I mean, it hit _me_ once!"

"Ahead." Pointing her mace, Hiyori focused everyone's attention on the oncoming enemies.

In the foggy distance, the party could see the form of large, round robots. White lights attached to their middle seams pierced the fog.

"More exploding robots…" Hikari felt reluctant, her expression falling.

"All they do is shoot lasers, right?" Marigold began sidestepping around with a raised brow in order to get a better look at the slowly approaching Nuclear Reactor Robots.

Osamu snorts. "Oh, yeah, no big deal. They just shoot fucking death lasers. Not a problem."

" _Ro~uh, hyo~rr!_ "

Two large, cyan lights shimmered over the robots. Fog dispersed, as the form of a Wild 'N' Wooly Shambler hobbled through it, slowly following behind the surge of robots.

...Gaping, Osamu pointed at it. "Holy _fuck._ "

The twenty foot tall robot was clad in white wool, it seemed. Two highly reflective, chrome tentacles flailed and wiggled wildly at each side of it, the huge appendages producing loud slams once they collided with the dusty hide of the shambler.

"Didn't we fight something like this before…?" Marigold squinted at the oncoming form.

"...I think?" Tilting her head, Hikari thought back…

' _We fought a lot of things… but I kinda recognize the flailing tentacle arms._ '

The two cyan spheres the shambler used for eyes were on a vertical alignment, encased by rounded, grey metal.

Ball-like appendages composed the legs of the creature, allowing it to hobble forward by tensing its torso and lower muscles repeatedly, lurching along. For the most part, they were covered by the creature's wool.

"That shit looks like it'd burn _real_ easy." Turning to Hiyori, Osamu gave a not-so-subtle hint to use fire magic.

Hiyori grimaced. "If those four robots explode, we'll _probably_ die. The fire spell's not known for precision."

' _...Yeah._ ' Hikari eyed the robots carefully. Though they were comparatively smaller than the shambler, they were still twice as tall as the party, and at least four times as wide.

"...Shit." Osamu was stumped.

From the distance, the four Nuclear Reactor Robots fired their lasers, hardly regarding accuracy.

Vzzt! Vzz-Vzz-VzVzVzzt!

Everyone tensed up as the bright light show of amber lasers threatened to to pass over their forms-

"A-aah!" Crumpling onto one knee, Marigold clutched her side, wounded. "I-it…"

Hikari tried Lifeup γ!

...The deep, gushing gash in Marigold's side quickly began to close. "Ow- ow ow ow…!" Marigold took her hand from the wound, having noted the the hand was further into herself than she realized…

Wincing, Hikari felt her own side. ' _That… had to hurt. A lot._ '

...Once the wound was healed, Marigold's arms shakily wiped water from her eyes. "O-ooh…"

"Damn. You alright?" Osamu awkwardly turned to her.

"Ye-yeah…" She gave a half smile. "Kinda."

Fwam! Fwam!

Two immense, cobalt lasers traveled along either side of the party, leaving a trail of ice in their wake.

"Ah…!" Hikari backed up, getting closer to the other party members and away from the path of ice.

" _Fuck_ me…!" Osamu stumbled back, observing the sharp icicles that stood on either side.

...Marigold glanced at him. "I'd rather not."

...Furrowing his brows and grinning, he turned to her, searching for a response.

' _What should I do…?_ ' Hikari pensively examined the oncoming front of enemies…

Osamu tried PSI Shield Ω!

The party was protected by the psychic power shield!

"There." He clapped his hands. "No more stupid laser bullshit."

"Roaa~h! Hohohoa~!"

In the air over the robots, a pair of purple eyes and a jagged crimson mouth formed in the air, slowly encroaching upon the party. "Ebajebajoka~h!"

' _What…!?_ ' Furrowing her brows, Hikari considered retreating towards the tunnel, again. ' _So many enemies…_ '

The creature's eyes and mouth seemed almost two dimensional, more reminiscent of floating tears in reality rather than anything else. Inside each was whirling, moving patterns of colors.

"Fucking…!" Osamu grinned up at it. "It's a purple people eater!"

"Back into the tunnel, again…?" Expression dry, Marigold contemplated retreat, again.

...Hikari was reluctant, however. "We'll do that if they get too close, or if we get too beat up. We have to move forward, after all…"

' _I don't know if there are just infinite enemies passing towards us or what… but I think we should keep pressing forward._ '

"Haha _hoo~!_ " The floating demon face laughed, before yellow arrows shot from its eyes, in a direct line towards Hiyori.

Hiyori guarded.

The attack didn't collide with her, instead colliding with her shield. Once it did, her shield flickered out, the electric arrows instead harmlessly colliding with Hiyori's kimono.

Eyes widening, Marigold noticed a similarity. "Those are shield killer arrows!"

' _Oh, good._ '

"Shit." Osamu wiggled his fingers. "Well, that thing ain't gonna be shield killin' for long!"

Osamu tried PK Freeze γ!

KaKaKa~...

A snowflake shaped pattern of icicles began generating within the odd face's two-dimensional plane, as if attacking its existence. It didn't react to the freezing and thawing procedure it did.

Boom!

The final blast of icy air didn't seem to do anything.

"...Did… that work?" Tilting his head, Osamu was unsure.

The face's eyes flashed a bright pink and cyan repeatedly.

Squatter Demon tried Hypnosis α!

Energy rippled around Osamu… "Wo-woah…"

...Then, he fell backwards onto his butt, falling asleep.

Hikari snorted. ' _Wow._ '

Double-taking, Marigold began searching for her Charm of Sleep. "Here…" Taking it in one hand, she chucked it at him. "Wake up, you lazy bum."

It bounced off his face. Moments later, his eyes fluttered open…

Vzzt! Vzz-Vzz-VzVzVzzt!

A better aimed barrage of lasers passed towards the party.

Marigold's pupils contracted, a thinner laser passing right by her face. "O-oh, my…!"

Hiyori was hit by one dead-on in the center of her chest. "Ouh…!?"

As a beam passed through Hikari's shield, she noted that it got a lot thinner once it made contact with the shield's surface.

One of the last lasers clipped Osamu's butt, waking him up. "Holy fuck! M-my ass! It roasted my _ass!_ "

...Moments later, the psychic shields around everyone except Hiyori retaliated. Tracing beams of cobalt energy rushed forth to uselessly dent the broad flanks of the Nuclear Reactor Robots.

Cli-clink-clang, _clonk_

Then, the Wild 'n' Wooly Shambler's two large beams began.

Fwam! Fwam!

Cyan-tinted beams crept across the floor to the party.

"Move!" Hikari threw herself between the beams, sliding across the oddly textureless floor on her stomach. "Oof…"

The beams passed right behind her-

" _Aaauugh!_ " Osamu roared.

"Wa-wha~!?" Marigold made awkward noises.

' _Oh, boy…_ '

Turning around, Hikari observed the state of the party…

Osamu had an ice spike inside of him. "Ackh..." Blood leaked down the white crystal in streams.

Marigold was half-frozen, staring at Hikari. "...He-help."

Lurching over to Osamu, Hiyori attacked the ice pillar holding him with a very delayed swing.

Cra~ck! The icicle shattered, the chunks breaking away and leaving a gaping hole in Osamu's chest.

"Huu~...!?" Osamu took an empty breath, his eyes fluttering…

Hikari tried Lifeup γ!

...As he crumpled to the floor, the wound rapidly began to close. Even so, he managed to slip into unconsciousness before it was fully healed.

Hiyori tried Healing γ!

...Marigold shook the ice from herself, breaking from the chunks that formed on her. "Th-thanks…"

...Bringing up her heavy bazooka, she aimed it at the face of the wooly shambler, and fired.

Fwoo~sh! The amber rocket's glow was a stark contrast to the white and grey expanse that the party began to tire of.

Boom!

" _Hyoo~rk!?_ " The shambler lurched to the side, its cobalt orbs flickering malevolently as gold flames washed over them. It wasn't pleased with being shot in the eyes.

The Squatter Demon opened its maw, and progressed towards the party. "Ehehehe-" SnapSnapSnapSnapSnap!

Rapidly accelerating with its mouth quietly but audibly snapping, Marigold stumbled back, trying to keep back from it. "Ahah- no no no…!"

Hikari moved to try to intercept it with her gohei. Leaping, she swung-

Snap! The maw came down on half of Hikari. Instead of bisecting her, though, it was more like the creature faded once it bit her.

"Aaa-aaaa~h!" Arching back, Hikari felt holes open on her body where the jagged tips struck.

"Hi-Hikari!?" With gritted teeth, and blood flowing from the previously made laser hole in her torso, Hiyori turned her attention to the miko.

Hiyori tried Lifeup γ!

...The holes on Hikari's body began to heal. However, she was still in great pain. "Ow- ow, ow…" Kneeling, she held her limbs, searching for whatever hurt, only to find everything aching.

"Are you okay…?" Marigold stumbled up to her, expression worn.

"A-ah…" Hikari turned to her… before she threw up. "Bwaa~h!"

"Hi-Hikari!?" Stepping back, Marigold's eyes widened. "Are you okay!?"

' _Pro-probably not…!_ '

Holes began to open on her skin, again. "Aa-aah- my- my…" Panic crept into Hikari, seeing her skin begin to disintegrate. ' _Th-that's…!_ '

Hiyori tried Lifeup γ!

...The bloody holes began to close up, keeping Hikari's skin intact. "Ss~h…" She hissed between bared teeth.

' _St-stop…_ ' She felt the process slowly begin to repeat itself. ' _It burns…_ '

Vzzt! Vzzt!

A lesser barrage of lasers began passing over the party again, quickly encroaching upon Hikari.

One passed through Marigold's thigh, the effect lessened by her psychic shield. "Ach… u-ugh…"

Reaching into her backpack, she took out the Neutralizer…

Wild 'n' Wooly Shambler tried PK Flash ß!

Blinking, Marigold noticed her glasses dim to block out the flash. "Oh…?"

"Wo-woah…" A strange sensation washed over Hiyori…

Hikari was unaffected, but still crippled with pain, at the moment. "He-help! _Help_ _me!_ "

Looking through blurry lenses, Marigold pressed the padded button atop the Neutralizer. Then-

A pale blue flash came from the device.

The party's psychic shields were gone!

Hikari's skin stopped tearing itself a new one. "...A-ah…"

The Squatter Demon froze in place, for a moment. "Echk!?" Its inner patterns of color froze with it.

All the beams that were currently active were forcibly shut off.

…For a moment, the battle had come to a complete halt.

' _Oh?_ ' The powerful poison that was affecting Hikari's skin stopped acting. ' _Thank goodness…_ '

Fwam! Fwam!

Two more icy beams came from the Wild 'n' Wooly Shambler.

Marigold grunted. "Really…" She pressed the button on the neutralizer, again.

After it flashed, the cobalt beams were now gone.

...Again, the battle was still.

"Hey…" Hiyori put a hand on Marigold's shoulder-

"Eep!?" Marigold mashed the button, making another pale blue flash.

The oni snorted. "...Sorry. Actually…" Turning to Osamu, Hiyori saw the Charm of Sleep lying uselessly next to him. Moving over to it, she picked it up and pressed it to his face.

…After a few moments, Osamu finally woke up. "U~gh… what the fuck happened…?"

Hikari slowly sat up, her body aching all over. "...A-a lot."

...Looking up at the Squatter Demon, Hiyori considered her options.

Marigold rifled through her backpack, her arm searching through the weapons. Noticing Hiyori's contemplation, she spoke. "Ju-just burn it. With fire."

...She shrugged in response.

Hiyori tried PK Fire γ!

Krack! A surge of red immediately homed in on the Squatter Demon-

Boom! Then, there was a huge blast of fire in the sky where it hung, lighting up the entire foggy clearing.

Quickly, the blast fizzled out. On the other side, the monster's face remained. It was now much more sad, and its features hung awkwardly as it seemed to burn two-dimensionally.

Staring up at it, Hikari had a brow raised. '... _So it doesn't like fire, I take it. It looks so weird… what is that thing?_ '

"Eu~gh…" The floating face began to curl up and blacken, its flat, paper-thin features crinkling like actual burning paper. "Eacha _baa~_..."

Marigold aimed her bazooka at it, and fired.

Fwoosh! The amber projectile soared for it-

Boom!

The form of the Squatter Demon was no more, its form ripping into multiple particles of purple energy. In the air, they crackled and popped, exploding into purple shards that rained to the ground below. The being had become a gravel of dark shards.

As they clinked against the textureless floor, Hikari's posture slowly slipped. ' _That noise is so weird…!_ '

...She also began rubbing her neck. "Hn~h…"

' _My joints hurt…_ '

Vzzt! Vzz-Vzz-VzVzVzzt!

Once more, everyone was surrounded with a hailstorm of laser death.

Hiyori was pierced, again. "Gugh- hhk…!?" This time, she found it hard to breath. "He-hak…"

"Oh, fuck, no!" Frightened, Osamu leapt into the air, and flailed his legs, trying to avoid a nearby laser. "Shit, shit, shit!"

Osamu tried PSI Shield Ω!

The party was protected by the transparent blue psychic power shields!

Sighing, Hikari opened her mouth, only for a laser to pass over her legs, scalding them as their power was syphoned by the shield. "Ha-hah!?"

Hiyori dropped to her knees, her kimono's front stained red with blood. Marigold noticed, and called for heals. "Hi-Hikari! Hiyori!"

Tensing, Hikari turned to her, then to Hiyori.

' _A-ah! Hiyori!_ '

Hikari tried Lifeup Ω!

Within moments, the entire party began to feel better.

' _...Wo-wow…_ ' Hikari felt her head begin to grow light. ' _I-I really used up that much mana…?_ '

By now, the party's space was being encroached upon by the four Nuclear Reactor Robots. The form of the Wild 'N' Wooly Shambler was also very close, too.

"Hyork, hyork, hyornk!" Rocking as it produced its noises, it fired two more beams.

Fwam! Fwam!

Marigold was caught dead-center in it, promptly frozen solid.

Hiyori shut her eyes, the beam washing over her. The bow on her horn glowed a bright teal, the item reducing the frost's elemental effects and rendering her only partially chilled.

"Alright…" Putting away her bazooka, Marigold pulled out her big freakin' gun. "I'm gonna go around the side. I'm not sure if you guys wanna attack the eyes of this thing, or what... "

Pulling one of the potions that Hiyori gave her from her pocket, Hikari popped it open and chugged. ' _Mmm~... this tastes terrible._ '

Moving forward, Marigold weaved past the clunky nuclear robots, moving to get to the side of the oversized shambler. The robots only very subtly acknowledged her presence, the few she passed by slowly rotating in an attempt to face their viewports towards her, again.

Osamu ran along with her, intent on weaving out of the way of damage. "I'm comin' with ya!"

...Hikari looked up at the shambler's cobalt 'eyes'. ' _How am I supposed to do anything about those? Unless I use my big attack, but…_ ' She eyed the exploding robots. ' _Ugh. Strategy…_ '

Hiyori tried PK Thunder γ!

Thwa~sh!

 _Clo~ng_. One of the robots turning towards Marigold was struck.

Thwa~sh!

Clo~ng. Another robot, this one facing Hikari and Hiyori, was struck.

Thwa~sh!

The lightning struck Marigold, whose ring flashed upon impact. Her form lightly glowed, for a moment. "O-oh…?"

"Wo-woah!" Osamu leaps back. "Holy shit! You, uh…?"

...Turning to him, Marigold shrugged. "I don't know what just happened, but it felt good." Her form was almost completely unchanged, if a little less scuffed than before.

Expression dry, Hikari turned to Hiyori. "...I thought the idea was to not hit the exploding robots."

Nodding, Hiyori pointed at them. "Look."

Vzzt! Vzz-Vzzt!

The robots who were injured took time to drip that healing liquid on themselves, whereas the few uninjured continued to fire at the party, this time largely unsuccessfully.

"...Huh." Hikari couldn't deny the effectiveness of that strategy. "Keeps them from attacking…"

"Mmm." Hiyori looks up at the cobalt eyes of the shambler. They began to glow. "Hikari, move!"

Hikari froze. "Wh-what?"

Fwam! Fwam!

Hikari froze, this time literally.

…

She was still conscious, though, staring at Hiyori from inside her icy prison.

' _U~h… huh._ ' She surprisingly didn't feel cold, at the moment.

Hiyori said something that she couldn't hear.

Hiyori tried Healing ß!

...The ice cracked open, allowing Hikari to smoothly break from it.

"A-ah!" She hugged herself. "Co-cold…!"

Hiyori moved up to her side. "I have an idea…"

...Curious, Hikari continued to shiver. "Wha-wh-what?"

From there, Hiyori proposed her crazy plan. "What if I threw you up there?"

…

' _That…_ ' Hikari considered it. ' _That might work. Infact, I think I like it. I suggested something similar awhile ago, I think..._ '

Smiling, Hikari nodded. "Yeah. As long as, uh, you try to catch me, afterward. It's not like a UFO, and I have to hit those eye things. There's really nowhere to hang onto."

Confident with the terms, Hiyori grinned. "No problem."

Lowering her arm, she offered it to the miko. "Hop on."

Hikari promptly did so.

...Backing up, Hiyori reeled her arm back, and looked up at the tall, wooly shambler.

Wild 'n' Wooly Shambler tried PSI Shield ß!

It was protected by a psychic power shield!

"Woa~h!" Marigold leapt back from the newly formed shield's exterior. "So big…!"

Chuckling incredulously, Osamu backed up, as well. "Jeez, dude. Y'got a big enough shield, there?"

Hiyori swung her arm. "Hra~h!"

Hikari flew towards the face of the huge shambler. ' _Woah!_ '

Her speed slowed as she neared it, and gravity kicked in. She managed to get within striking distance of the eyes-

Clink. Her sandals loudly landed on the metal interior of the large socket that held both crystal eyes.

' _I have to be fast about this…_ '

From there, she started striking the lower orb with her Jet Black Gohei.

Thwa-thwack! She spun around on her heel to induce two strikes in rapid succession, the orb shaking as darkness from the gohei spread into the air with each strike.

"Ra~h!" Hikari did a small leap, to accent her finishing blow.

SMAAAA~SH!

The orb glimmered as it shook violently, out of sync with the top orb this time.

The hair on the back of Hikari's neck stood up. ' _I-I have to move, it's about to-_ '

Fwam! Fwam!

' _Aaa-aaaa~h!_ ' Hikari couldn't vocalize the sudden freezing sensation's pain, because she was frozen.

This time, she couldn't see anything. She couldn't hear anything, either.

…

…

Hiyori tried Healing γ!

The ice cracked open, allowing Hikari to push herself free. "A-ah… wo-woah…" Stumbling around, she found her balance after a few moments. Then, she sat down, hugging herself again. "So-so… cold…"

"...I didn't think it'd attack again so soon." Hiyori admitted.

' _Ye-yeah…_ '

...Reeling her arm back, Hiyori decided to use her mace as a ranged projectile, this time. "Hra~h!"

It whirled towards the upper orb, spinning through the air.

...Eventually, it struck-

BOOM

"A-ah…" Hikari reached for her ears a few seconds too late. "...Ow~."

" _Hyoo~hohoho~!_ " The shambler violently recoiled, stumbling about. "Hyo~ hyo~ hyork!"

The mace clattered to the floor ahead, the disorganized nuclear robots slowly rotating in place around it.

Running up to it, Hiyori grabbed it and darted back away from the robots with little trouble-

Vzzt! Vzzt!

The lasers came out too late to hit anything.

Behind the mammoth-sized creature, Marigold and Osamu strategized.

"...Do you think we can climb it?" With narrow eyes, Marigold's hopes to execute such a plan dwindled as it violently rocked back and forth.

Osamu snorted. "Yeah, no."

"Darn." ...Marigold hunched over. "It's not like I can shoot it, either… I think my bazooka's damage would just be reflected back at me."

Furrowing his brows, Osamu realized something. "Doncha have that Shield Killer thing?"

...Marigold rolled her eyes, berating herself mentally. "...Thanks."

BOOM

However, the final eye of the monstrous shambler was destroyed by another ranged strike by Hiyori's mighty mace.

"Hyo- hkh- hork- hork…" The shambler stumbled about, doing off to the side awkwardly…

...After a few moments, it went too far, and thrusted itself off the ledge. "Hyo-hyok hyok hyok!"

Its slow tilt off the edge was accented by the loud sound of cloth flapping in the air and against the interior metal of the machine, before it was fully over. Moments later, the mighty half-machine beast was gone.

…

Vzzt! Vzz-vzz-Vzzt!

"God, fucking…" Osamu almost fell out of the way of a laser. "Can we just leave these explodin' robots!? 'Cause I ain't shootin' these explodin' robots!"

"Mmm." Waiting for the other two, Marigold nodded. "I think that was Hikari's plan…"

...After a few moments, Hiyori and Hikari ran up to them.

"Let's go." Beckoning her friends to follow her, Hikari ran ahead, intent on ditching the slow robots.

"Yeah!" Osamu shot his fist into the air. "About fuckin' time!"

Everyone ran ahead into the foggy distance, leaving behind the four nuclear robots.

…

Clink. Two of the remaining robots walked into each other as they tried to turn around.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

…

' _So… much… nothing…_ '

Exhausted from running, some of the party caught their breath as they walked along the long, barren, grey plain.

"...This dimension fucking sucks." Osamu concludes.

Marigold was somehow not winded. "Yeah. I agree."

...He turned to her. "...How, the heck… are you not tired?"

She grinned. "I have a far lighter backpack. I'm pretty sure that last one I had made for a good endurance builder."

Hiyori was not winded, for obvious reasons. "Really?"

...Surprised by the disagreement, Marigold turned to her. "What do you mean, 'really'? The thing was almost as big as me."

"...Oh, right." Hiyori grinned sheepishly. "...I forgot, uhm… mages and humans aren't that physically fit."

...Marigold shrugged. "Yeah. Come to think of it, if you hang out with a lot of youkai all the time, it _would_ seem pretty jarring to hang out with people with human strength."

Eventually, the party came to an incline.

"Fuck greyland." Osamu protested.

...Blinking, Hikari glanced at him. "It's not _that_ steep."

Her response only fueled his frustration. " _You're_ not that steep."

…

Hikari snorted. ' _What does that even…_ '

"Wo~w." Marigold chuckled. "Uh oh."

...Osamu backtracked at light speed. "Th-that just came out! I didn't mean it!"

' _What?_ ' Hikari blinked, turning to them.

...This made Marigold curious, too. "...She's not mad?"

…

Sighing, Osamu let his posture slip. "O-oh. Cool."

"What did that mean?" Hikari now really wanted to know.

"Nothing." Osamu looked away.

"He meant you had small boobs." Marigold translated.

…

"Well, they're not _big._ " Compromisingly, Hikari nodded her head back and forth. ' _But they're not small…_ ' She looked down at them, then over at Hiyori's.

...Hiyori blinked.

The four approached the top of the incline.

"...That's true." Marigold stepped closer to Hikari. "They're pretty average."

Such a description made Hikari sheepish. "...It sounds bad when you put it that way."

"Are- are we really gonna talk about boobs?" Osamu seemed incredulous. "...'Cause I'm alright with that!"

At the top of the incline, the party saw the eight-foot tall figure of a starman.

It slowly turned around, in spite of its legs not doing anything to perform such an action. " _I~... am the ultimate starman!_ "

…

"Can we keep talkin' about boobs?" Osamu proposed.

Casually, Marigold shook her head. "No."

"Damn it."

" _And no~w…!_ " The starman's visor glimmered. " _I shall extinguish yo~u!_ "

…

"Roaa~h!"

From the fog, a large, pink robot appeared.

It was long, and snake-like. The pink metal that made up its body shimmered with unnatural glitter as it opened it ferocious, neon-green maw.

Then, it bit down on the Final Starman.

Crunch!

…

Boo~m!

The party could hear the starman explode within the beast's mouth.

The Bionic Kraken swam in the air before the party, its long body curling up before them. Its neon-blue tail shimmered in the light, as its body slithered along.

"This quest's gettin' _weird…!_ " Osamu found himself backing up, again.

Raising her heavy bazooka, Marigold lined up her shot… "That didn't occur to you a week ago…?"

She fired.

Fwoo~sh! The glowing projectile soared for the Bionic Kraken's form…

Boom!

It wiggled a little in response.

"...I don't think brute force will work." Marigold admitted outright.

Osamu tried PK Hydro γ!

A huge shuriken of water formed over the form of the Bionic Kraken, raining down water all over its form.

"...Are you trying to drown it?" Hiyori wondered aloud. "...Actually it _is_ a robot…"

"We're gonna fry its shit!" Osamu grinned widely. "Old style!"

...Hikari furrowed her brows. ' _Old style…_ '

Swiftly, the giant metal machine spun around in place.

Bionic Kraken tried PK Wind γ!

Immediately, a tornado began whirling where the party was.

"Wha-woah, woah, woah…!" Within moments, Hikari found herself swept into and suspended in the air. Marigold hovered next to her with her bazooka held tightly.

The dust and fog kicked up by the tornado didn't allow for anyone else to be made out easily…

Then, the kraken's head poked inside the small bubble of visibility the two girls had.

Marigold freaked out. "Ge-get _away!_ "

Fwoo~sh! The impulsively fired shot went for the very top of its head-

Boom!

"Ree~her!" The Bionic Kraken made a whirring noise as it cringed back into the dusty wind.

Hiyori tried PK Thunder γ!

Osamu tried PK Thunder γ!

Thwa-Thwa~sh!

The thunder arced around randomly in the tornado.

' _Good going, guys!_ ' Hikari spun wildly through the air, trying to avoid the electricity. ' _I-I don't know if this is even helping…!_ '

Thwa-Thwa~sh!

A bolt struck Marigold. She glowed a light yellow, "Ooo~..." as the electricity dissipated.

' _...Um?_ '

"Raa~oouuh!" The kraken yelled somewhere in the air above the party.

' _What's even going on!?_ '

...After a few moments, the tornado ended.

Thwa-Thwa~sh!

The two thunder bolts struck the sides of the battlefield, accomplishing nothing.

...Hikari fell from the air. "A-aa~h!"

Marigold looked down. "...U~gh."

They landed in moments.

Hikari chose to belly flop, while Marigold seemed to resign herself to breaking her legs.

Cr-crack!

"Ah-ahn...!" Hikari whimpered. ' _M-my nose… a-and my ribs..._ '

"Aaaaa~h!" Marigold wailed, her legs now bent awkwardly.

Hikari tried Lifeup Ω!

...Slowly, she climbed from the floor. "Th-there…"

Marigold was crying. "A-aah… e-ehn- ow…" Slowly, her legs shifted back into correct posture. "Ow~!"

Hikari looked away. ' _Woa~h, nope, nope, nope. Don't need to see that._ '

...Osamu stood up from the fog, looking pissed, which wasn't entirely new. "It's fucking _go time_ , dude!"

Osamu tried Defense Down α!

Cla~ng!

The kraken's metal creaked somewhere in the distance, away from the party.

Hiyori ran over to the two. "Get ready…!"

…

Hikari blinked. "For what…?"

The kraken shot out of the fog like an arrow, heading for the three with its forehead.

Hiyori ran towards it, and brought her mace down. "Ha~h!"

 _Bam!_ The mighty blow dented its head, and slammed it into the textureless floor. From there, the kraken retracted its head, and let its body catch up with itself, before opening its mouth.

Bionic Kraken tried PK Fire γ!

Krack! Red, hot energy began to home in on Hiyori…

She braced herself, only to recognize the spell when it was a bit late. Eyes widening, she turned to the other two girls-

Boom! Fire blossomed outward from her form, which proceeded to lick Hikari and Marigold's forms.

"Aaa-aaaa~h!" Marigold didn't like fire that much.

"Hnh…" Hikari felt herself catch. ' _...It's actually not that- ow ow nevermind ow!_ '

Osamu tried PK Hydro Ω!

...Heavy rain poured across the entire battlefield, quickly snuffing the flames out.

Hiyori turned to the burning party, and acted.

Hiyori tried Healing γ!

Hikari tried Healing γ!

...Promptly, they were both put out, left with minor burns. ' _...Minor because we can heal them._ '

Hikari tried Lifeup α!

...Her burns healed.

Hikari tried Lifeup α!

...Marigold sighed in relief. "I was just about to ask, too. Thanks."

Osamu tried PK Thunder γ!

Thwa~sh!

"Rro~h!" The kraken recoiled from the electric shock.

Thwa~sh!

Marigold was stricken again, her wet form glowing brightly this time. "O-oo~hn…!" She moaned. Once the electricity dispersed, she had a dazed expression on her face.

Staring down at the ring, Hikari saw it flash. ' _That must be attracting the bolts. It seems to make her immune to electricity, or something, too…_ '

Thwa~sh!

"Rra~hn!" Once again, the kraken roared in response to the abuse it received from the electricity.

It rose its tail into the air, which began shaking. After a moment, it glowed a pale blue…

The rain stopped, and all the water disappeared. The faint psychic shields that still held on around the party also vanished.

' _Those drained to the point I hardly noticed them…_ '

...Blinking, Marigold looked around. "...Did it just neutralize everything?"

" _What!?_ " Osamu's jaw dropped. "It got rid of my rain like fucking…" He snapped his fingers. "Like that!?"

...Marigold nodded. "Yeah."

Osamu tried Offense Up Ω!

The party felt strength well up inside them…

' _Hey, now…_ '

Hiyori huffed with newfound power. "We~ll…"

"...Maybe that wasn't such a good idea…" Fumbling for his mana potion, Osamu sat down.

Bionic Kraken tried PK Thunder ß!

Thwa~sh!

Glowing brightly again, Marigold squirmed. "Wa-waa~h…"

Thwa~sh!

Bam!

Hikari knew pain.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: MARIGOLD'S VIEW ====

Snapped from her electricity-induced comfort, Marigold stared at Hikari's charred from as it slowly dropped to its knees.

"Uh-uhm, Hiyori!" Marigold yelled for the other healer.

...Hiyori turned around, and realized the situation. "Ah…"

Hiyori tried Lifeup γ!

...Hikari's form improved, quickly healing back to healthier skin and hair.

' _...She's still out cold, though._ ' Marigold stared down at her form. ' _Wait…_ '

"Does anyone have that Charm of Sleep!?" She yelled out.

"Yo!" Osamu yelled back from across the clearing, holding it up.

Bionic Kraken tried PK Wind γ!

Like that, Marigold found herself suspended in the air again.

' _Of all the rotten…_ ' Reaching for her backpack, Marigold drew her bazooka again. Looking to her side, she saw Hikari's form limply float in the air with her, so she reached out to grab onto it.

"Hang on, Hikari…" She scanned the fog for the head of the kraken, keeping her eyes open…

Wind violently lashed around at her as she stared intently into the dusty gusts…

"Woaa~h!"

She watched Osamu soar by in the opposite direction.

"Hey!" Marigold yelled out for him, but he was already obscured by the dust and fog.

...Moments later, she saw the kraken's head creeping through the fog, not paying attention to her and Hikari.

"Now!" She fired.

Fwoo~sh! The fiercely glowing projectile went on a straight course for the metal creature's head-

Boo~m! "Reheer!" The machine whirred again, as it sunk beneath the dust.

...Then, the tornado came to an end. This time, Marigold and Hikari weren't too far from the floor.

They fell some feet, and landed loudly and awkwardly against the textureless floor.

"Ow…" Marigold winced. "That's gonna hurt in the morning…" She was on her side, Hikari sprawled out next to her, lying awkwardly on an arm.

"Aaaa~h!" Osamu dropped from way above, and Marigold looked up to see him falling.

"Ah, geez…! Hiyori!" Marigold tried to get the oni's attention.

Hiyori looked away from the kraken who had rested before her, and looked over at Marigold, then at Osamu.

...Once she assessed the situation, she began running to catch him-

The kraken whipped its tail at her, slamming it into her back.

 _Clang!_

"Hah!?" Hiyori exhaled suddenly, being pushed closer to her destination by the attack, but otherwise not particularly harmed.

...The Bionic Kraken slowly panned its head to examine its dented tail.

Rifling through her bag for something that would help, Marigold pulled out a few miscellaneous items.

' _Let's see… Shower thing, key machine… Horn thing._ ' She paused at the horn. ' _...Why do I still have this?_ '

Hiyori caught Osamu. He grinned. "...Fancy meetin' you here."

She promptly dropped Osamu. "Oof..."

Looking through her items, she pulls out the Shield Killer. ' _...Wait…_ '

Bionic Kraken tried PK Thunder ß!

Thwa~sh!

Hiyori lit up, briefly, before her shackle glowed to eat most of the electricity. "Hnh…"

...Marigold stared at her. ' _Electricity seems to… make me feel good, for some reason._ '

Thwa~sh!

The other bolt hit somewhere in the distance.

...Taking her Shield Killer, Marigold began shifting the prong, taking off the part that makes it fire the harmless electric arrows. Then, she flicked it on.

The taser produced a low hum as it lit alive.

' _I… should wake up Hikari before I test that out. Don't wanna wind up in a coma just because I thought electricity healed me, or something._ '

She flicked it off again.

The kraken moved towards Hiyori again, displeased with her previous resilience.

Hiyori tried PK Freeze γ!

KaKaKa~...

As the ineffectual ice spell generated around the kraken's armored exterior, Hiyori sighed, and reached for one of her canteens.

Boom! The kraken, as a whole, was unaffected.

Marigold decided to blow into the horn for funsies.

Bwoo~!

After she blew into the Horn of Life, the entire party glowed, for a moment. Then, the white glow faded.

...Hiyori drank from her canteen, downing it in a few simple gulps. "Ha~h…"

...Hikari sat up. "Hello, world."

She startled Marigold. "Wo-woah… when did you wake up?"

"Just now." Standing up, Hikari raised her gohei. "...I feel great."

...Marigold nodded. "Huh."

Cr-crack!

The horn in her hands began to crack. She gingerly looked down at it, observing it until-

Krack!

The horn become white dust, which vaporized into nothing.

"...It was such a cute little horn, too." She seemed crestfallen that it was destroyed.

The kraken lurched down to headbutt Hiyori, but she readied herself. Once it lunged forward, she brought her mace down-

 _Bam!_

Retracting its head, exposed circuitry showed through the new hole made by Hiyori's mace.

Marigold held up the taser. Turning it to 'arse blaster', she prepared to poke herself with it. "Hikari, if this fries me, heal me."

Hikari instantly looked worried. "...What are you doing?"

Then, Marigold tazed herself.

Zazazazazap!

"Oh- _oouu~h!_ " Shutting her eyes, Marigold let her posture relax fully. "Ye-yes...!" Her ring flashed repeatedly.

' _So- so good! So goo~d!_ ' A blissful state of relaxation washed over her body as she rubbed the taser across herself, all the normal effects of electricity nullified.

...Hikari blinked.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIKARI'S VIEW ====

' _Oh. Okay, then._ '

...Turning away from Marigold's pleasurefest, Hikari focused on the Bionic Kraken. ' _How are we gonna get this thing to turn off?_ '

Hiyori huffed. "Alright…"

Hiyori tried PK Starstorm α!

Bionic Kraken tried PK Fire γ!

Krack! Red energy began to form around Hiyori…

Osamu got away from it, recognizing the spell. "Woah, fuck no!"

Boom! Hiyori was once again immersed in fire, which was as ineffectual as it usually is against oni.

Then, the stars she summoned came crashing down upon the mechanical beast.

Clink-cla-clan-clank-clank! Yellow and white stars bombarded the pink armor.

It shifted to the side with a smooth sliding motion, only for the yellow stars to trace its movement, and crashed against the side of it.

The metal menace now had loose plates all along the side of it, its armor gradually coming undone as the magical energy continuously bombarded it.

Osamu tried PK Thunder ß!

Thwa~sh!

The bolt struck the Bionic Kraken-

BOOOO~

' _Wo-woah! Ow, ow, ow…!_ ' Hikari covered her ears, but it didn't help.

A huge pillar of flames stretched from the upper part of its snakelike torso into the sky, the head vaporizing in the flames after it was blown off from the electrical damage.

-OOooo~...

…

Hiyori tried Healing Ω!

Hikari's hearing came back to her. "A-ah…" She rubbed her ears, curiously.

Then, she turned to Marigold…

Zap! Za-za-zap!

"Ooo~!" Marigold smiled deviously, as she poked her upper torso with the taser. "Hehehe…"

...Hikari's stare was dry. "Hey."

"A-ah!?" Marigold jumped, blushing. "He-hey!" ...She hid the taser behind her back, and after it gave her a few zaps, she turned it off. "Eh-eheh…"

...Osamu and Hiyori walked towards them.

The kraken's body flailed about, the head having apparently been wiped from existence by the blast. After a few moments, it fell over and stopped moving, the inside revealed to be curiously hollow.

...The party stared at the smouldering, crackling remains of the Bionic Kraken.

"Thing looked like an oversized toy." Osamu strutted towards the giant metal tendril, and Marigold followed along behind him.

...He tried to place a hand on the seam where the metal was disconnected from the main body-

Zap!

"Fuck- ow…" Retracting his hand, he began sucking on the burned part. "Grr~h…"

Marigold spared him a dry glance, "Electronics do that." before she decided to step foot inside herself-

Zap, zap! Zap!

"A-aah…" She sighed. After keeping her foot down for a few moments, the metal exterior of the metal shaft ceased crackling. "...Huh."

...Reluctantly, Osamu put his hand on the seam again. He retracted it again after a light charge shocked him, but he didn't swear like a sailor from the sensation. "How the _hell_ did you do that…?"

Smirking, Marigold held up her ring-bearing hand. "This ring's _super_ powerful."

' _...Huh._ ' Hikari slightly wished she didn't hand it over.

Hiyori stepped eventually moved inside the shaft-

The entire passage creaked and groaned, the spot she stepped on sinking down slightly.

"...Whoops." She proceeded further inside anyway. Her shackle glowed lightly as she progressed, the soft glow getting brighter the further she went.

...Hikari stepped inside after them, her feet slightly tingling. "Weird."

Inside, lots of smashed crates and small boxes laid around the interior, many smashed open and others bolted into place.

Marigold was unsure what she was looking at. "...Was this a cargo-carrying… hydra thing?"

"Apparently…" Osamu carefully stepped in, looking at his shoes as he experimented with the statically charged floor. "Dude had a craving for freakin' crap…"

Pushing forward, Marigold looked over the many boxes carefully. Towards the more inner ends of the kraken's body, the sheer amount of box fragments blocked the way. There was also-

"Request-Request-Requesting ba-ba-ba- _Error, one-seven-nine-two~!_ Critical system _malfunctio~n!_ Could not find- Could not find- Help! Request-Request-Requesting ba-ba-ba…"

The mangled form of the Final Starman sat in the back, droning on about errors and backup requests in a loop.

' _I can't hear myself think…_ ' At the same time, Hikari was impressed how well the outside of the kraken buffered noise.

...Leaning over a box, Marigold tried to bring her arms around it, to move it… only to find it surprisingly heavy. "Wo-woah…"

Hiyori came over and lent her a hand, smoothly ripping the box's side open.

Crack!

Loaves of bread began spilling out.

"...Why?" Hikari was mystified.

"Dude, evil robots have to eat, too." Osamu jeered. "Maybe this thing was a-"

"REQUESTING BA- Requesting ba-ba-ba-ba-ba…" The Final Starman loudly interrupted.

The entire party jumped, before turning to it.

"...O~kay." Marigold slowly turned away from it, idly moving to the side. Then, her foot hit something. "Oh? Oh, hey, there's a box, here…"

Hikari wanted a closer look. "What's in-"

" _Critical_ system mal _funct_ io~n!" The Final Starman interrupted loudly, again. "Requesting back- back- back- back- backbackbackbackbabababababa-aaaaaaaa~..."

The repeating word quickly devolved into a droning, constant sound.

"Wh-what the heck…!" Marigold contemplated covering her ears. "What's wrong with that thing!?"

Osamu furrowed his brows. "Fucking- here, lemme-"

"-aaaaAAAAaaaa~..." The starman's droning got louder for a moment, forcing Osamu to cut off his sentence.

"That's it!" He reached for Hiyori's mace, and tried ripping it from her hand. After a few tugs, she noticed, and decided to let go of it.

It promptly dropped to the floor, Osamu being unable to lift it. "Wo-woah!" In fact, he fell _with_ it.

The starman slowly rose in volume naturally. "Aaaaa~aaaaa~...!"

Final Starman tried PK Starstorm Ω!

But it failed!

Boom!

The party jumped back, the being destroyed in a contained blast.

…

"Finally…" Marigold sighed. "Now we can loot in peace."

' _Guess that sorted itself out…_ ' She wasn't sure how she was going to go about trying to whack it inside this somewhat claustrophobic shaft.

Looking to the side, Hikari decided to pick at a nearby box. It was on the floor, rather regular, but had some kind of paper stuck to the top.

' _It looks like a letter…_ ' Hikari looked over it.

'Hey!

I don't know where you are… but I baked you some cookies!

I'll send them to you by snail-mail, Mari-chan!

Best of love!'

At the bottom, there were two signatures. One was in nearly illegible English, and the other was too fancy for Hikari to properly make out.

' _Mari-chan?_ ' Hikari furrowed her brows. ' _...This might be addressed to someone I know._ '

"Oh, he~y…!" Marigold lifted something from the box she opened up. "...A box full of… logs. Wow."

"This one's full of fuckin' water." Osamu complained over his large crate, Hiyori aside it with the now broken lid. "They're all in these weird bottle things, though…"

Hiyori took a couple discreetly.

Hiyori obtained two Processed Water Bottles!

"Marigold, over here." Hikari patted the box she was looking at.

...Marigold moved over to it, and glanced over the note. "...Oh, wow. How did _this_ get in here…?"

Moving her hand over the cardboard box, she opened the top. Inside was genuinely nothing but cookies.

...She dug through the cracked and crumbled ones on the surface and around the sides, and got to the safe ones in the center. Hikari began digging, too, munching on a few as she did so.

Then, Marigold pulled out a single, isolated packaging peanut.

She gave it a good, long stare, before grinning and shaking her head. "That fairy never ceases to confuse me…"

Osamu stood up from the floor, nearby. "Dude, I found somebody's _mail_."

Hikari snorted. "Whose?"

He shrugged. "Fuck if I know. Blank on the outside. Here…" He handed it off to Hiyori, before moving to look at more stuff.

Hiyori did her best to delicately open the letter, rending a very minimal amount of paper in the process as she did so. She took out the very worn piece of lined notebook paper, and skimmed it. "...Normally I wouldn't care to read these sort of things out loud, but… I don't think it matters right now."

Marigold waved it off, her mouth full of cookies as she stuffed the message from her fairy friend into her backpack for safe keeping. "Hoo ca'hs? Wuh li'... firty y'rs in th' futer…"

...Hiyori gave her a dry stare, before continuing. "...Dear… Keine."

Osamu lit up. "Oo~h! A love letter to the big bad teacher girl!"

...Handing out another dry stare, Hiyori continued. "Today this rabbit said she could fly to the village, and we might be able to… talk like this. Her name is Isaki, and she's been real good, so treat her okay, okay? If I don't hear back from you guys, I understand, paper is probably limited. That, or Isaki died."

Hikari and Marigold turned to her, focusing on the letter's contents, now.

"I just wanted to write to you and let you know I really miss talking with you. I don't have a lot else to write about. Please write back soon, Keine." Hiyori finished.

...Slowly nodding, Hikari proceeded to look for more loot. "I wonder if Keine ever got that letter."

"Considering it was in _here_ …" Hiyori was doubtful, "I'm betting on 'no'."

Carefully, Osamu looked over a somewhat stout box he was thinking of tearing into. "Well, shit." With that, he tried to tear at it, only for a curious adhesive to get in his way. "What the hell…"

Hiyori put the letter aside gingerly, stepping towards him. "Cardboard too much for you?"

"Apparently!" He tried to claw at the tape with his short nails, which went about as well as expected. "Did they want people to just _not_ open it!?"

Reaching for it, Hiyori grabbed onto an upper edge of the box-

Rip! Ri~p…

She pulled off the entire section of cardboard that held the strip of tape in one tug.

Osamu chuckled. "Fuck yeah…"

Now that it was open, he reached inside, finding curiously shaped objects, and a very worn piece of paper. Slowly, he lifted a large, long grey object from the box. It resembled a club, but had many metal panels and odd seams on it, the spaces between the panels dark.

"Geez, it's heavy…" He took the club thing, and handed it to Hiyori. "Yo."

She grabbed it with one hand. "...What _is_ this?"

"A fucking _super_ dildo." Looking back that box, he dipped into it to grab the worn letter, "We also got more mail." before shoving it into Hiyori's hands.

Hiyori backed away to let herself put the huge grey rod aside, so that she could read the letter.

"...Hey, Reimu." She began reading. "Can't stick around for long, so I'm leaving you a letter instead. I brought you some tea from the mansion, and cooked up a little something extra, I think you'll like it. Especially since skies these days are pretty… crazy." Squinting her eyes, Hiyori ad libbed the few words that were illegible, profane, or both. "By the way, you gotta fill the gohei with holy magic to turn it on, and don't get your hands caught in it, either. Love you, Marisa Kirisame."

' _...I don't think Mom ever got that letter._ '

...Slowly, Marigold moved over to the box herself. "...I, huh. Reimu… didn't get that, huh..." Her words came out somewhat awkwardly.

Casually, Hikari meandered towards it herself. "Gohei, huh?"

Looking inside the box, no one saw anything that really resembled a gohei.

' _Where?_ '

"...I think it's this." Hiyori raised the large grey club-like object. "She wrote more about it, here, but I skipped over it because it was a bit long to say out loud."

Stepping over to her, Hikari took the letter to read for herself. Marigold scooted up beside her, intently reading it.

'Hey, Reimu!

Can't stick around for long, so I'm leavin ya a letter instead!

I brought ya some tea from the mansion and cooked up a lil something extra I think you'll like. Specially since the skies these days are pretty batshit.

By the way, you gotta fill the gohei with holy magic to turn it on, don't get your hands caught in it, either.

I'd like to call it the Aether Gohei! It's super heavy duty super ass kicking super machine! Basically, it's really dynamic to lettin ya do whatever ya want with it magically once its on. I tried to make it light but it was kinda hard when ya work with adamantite and all that crazy shit. It also amplifies hitting stuff so you'll love it!

Also, to work this tea set, you gotta-'

Hikari glazed over the part about the tea set, since she was pretty sure she wasn't going to use it anytime soon.

'Love you,

~~~Marisa Kirisame'

...Nodding, Hikari folded up the letter and stuffed it into her pocket. ' _I'm going to assume it's the giant grey thing._ '

"...Oh." Marigold was crestfallen. "So… she probably died in here, huh?" She took the letter from Hikari, looking it over fully again...

' _...I didn't really think about it._ ' Hikari suddenly felt sad, herself. ' _Marisa didn't deserve this._ '

Then, she snapped back into reality, noticing Hiyori offer her the club-esque gohei with one hand. It was accepted with her two hands-

Hikari obtained Aether Gohei!

"Ah…?" Hikari nearly dropped it, before getting used to the weight. "It's heavy…" Lifting it up, she slung it over her shoulder.

Osamu grinned. "It'd probably hurt like a son of a bitch, though."

Holding the four or five foot long club outward, Hikari focused on it. ' _...Let's see if I can pour holy magic into it…_ '

Cli-Cling!

Nearly dropping it again, Hikari's arms shook as the club opened, exposing its interior. Three segments expanded outward, and inside were numerous metal crossbeams that attached the three grey outer shell parts to the interior of the gohei. However, the inside of the gohei was also bright- not so much that Hikari couldn't stare at it directly- but it glowed in a lively, uneven manner.

Electricity- or what Hikari thought was electricity- crackled from the inner depths of most of the gohei, some sparks arcing out and traveling along the external shell.

She looked at her hands, and saw that where she was holding was very padded and didn't open like the rest of the gohei for obvious reasons. The very bottom had a tiny, rounded spike on it.

' _...Now it's even heavier._ ' Hikari held it up in a regular stance. ' _I can't sling it over my shoulder… I think._ '

Experimentally, Hikari slung it over her shoulder, allowing the slightly live looking shell to rest against her shoulder. She didn't get shocked, however.

' _...Huh._ '

Bringing it out into a normal stance again, she held it steadily. ' _There's not a lot of room to swing it, in here._ '

Looking over at her party members, she found them observing the massive weapon curiously.

"...That actually _looks_ like a weapon." Osamu slowly grinned.

Hikari snorted. "Yeah. I guess so. I don't really have any room to swing it around, so I couldn't really say whether or not it felt like one."

Stepping forward and into the main aisle, Hiyori held up her mace in a blocking position with both arms. "Try swinging it at me, then."

Raising the bulky gohei, Hikari brought it down on her friend's mace-

SMAAAA~SH!

The impact caused Hiyori's arms tense, her mace shaking from the impact-

Kri~ng! The energy inside the Aether Gohei flared outward from the point of impact, traveling along the mace and into Hiyori's arms.

"Hnh…" Furrowing her brows, Hiyori found the sensation curious.

Hikari swung again with renewed vigor, finishing her combo-

SMAAAA~SH!

Hiyori slid back slightly, the shaft they were inside creaking from the force of the blow.

Kri~ng! This time, the oni was able to see some sort of blast expand with the pseudo-electrical energy.

Woosh! Wind traveled up along the gohei, and expanded to engulf Hiyori. It spun around somewhat assertively, but didn't do anything to budge Hiyori.

After having felt the impacts, Hiyori nodded approvingly. "...I'd have to say that's pretty powerful, for a weapon you'd use."

Hikari tested another short combo. She brought her gohei down again-

Cla~ng! This strike wasn't as powerful as the others, hardly requiring Hiyori to tense her arm much at all.

The miko reeled both arms back, and swung again-

SMAAAA~SH!

Once again, Hiyori found herself surprised by the force in comparison to the last swing.

Kri~ng! Energy flared out at her superficially. Wind traveled up the gohei and proceeded to lightly assault Hiyori again.

Grinning giddily, Osamu was hyped. "That's gonna fuckin' _destroy_ 'em, dude!"

Marigold was digging through the rest of the box Marisa had constructed. "It's so loud…" Holding up some fragments of an included tea set, she half-smiled. "...Tea. Not much use, now."

Then, something inside caught her eye. "Ooh?"

Reaching into the box, she pulled out a small, transparent yellow rock, in the shape of a star, as well as two unshattered mana potions.

"...I wonder…" Taking the items, she backed away from the box.

Digging into her backpack, she pulled out her now seldom used Spectrum Shotgun, and inserted the two potions she found.

' _I'll have to remember that she found those…_ ' Hikari observed her friend's inventory management.

"Oh, thank fuck." Osamu commented on the potions. "We _definitely_ needed those. Even if they taste like garbage."

Holding it by the barrel, she took the prism stone that was at the front, and carefully slipped it off. Then, she replaced it with the star-shaped stone.

"I'm not sure if that's how it works." She admits.

' _I don't think it could hurt, at this point._ '

Once she looked away from her weapon, she noticed Hikari trying to hand her the Jet Black Gohei.

The miko made a request. "Could you store this? Grandma's… persona is in it, and everything."

"Sure." Gingerly, Marigold rotated, allowing her backpack's side panel to glow. "Stick it in."

...Hikari stuck the Jet Black Gohei inside, and it was stored with the rest of Marigold's stuff.

…

With all of that said and done, the party members took a few bottles of water from inside the one crate they found.

"Water's boring." Slowly, Osamu drank his water…

"Probably better than that fizzy stuff." Hikari countered.

Crumpling up her finished bottle of water, Marigold grinned. "They're carbonated drinks, Hikari… and generally no, they're not good for you."

...Hikari decided to crumple up her empty bottle, too, even if there was no real reason to. ' _...Plastic is weird._ '

Hiyori hadn't started her bottle of water yet.

...Marigold looked over at her. "You gonna drink that?"

...She blinked. "Oh, right." Bringing her hand up to it, she-

Crack!

-tore the cap and the attached plastic right off, drinking the water directly from the new opening. Within seconds, it was all gone. When she tried to crumple it-

Crack!

-it shattered into multiple shards of plastic, which fell to the floor.

' _Pffft…_ '

...Amused, Marigold began to move for the exit of the Bionic Kraken. "Whatever works."

' _Everything else in here is either kinda junky, or just broken. We can probably leave, now..._ '

Quickly, Osamu gulped down the last of his water, taking the bottle with him as he moved to follow Marigold. The other two girls followed closely behind.

…

A short distance away, Marigold reached into her backpack, and pulled the letter back out, reading it over one more time.

' _Marigold..._ ' Hikari wasn't sure what to do.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

After they'd left the Bionic Kraken and walked for some time undisturbed, they came to an abrupt, steep rectangular wall.

' _That reminds me of the walling from when this cave place was actually a cave… and a place._ '

"That looks awfully familiar…" Bringing a hand to her chin, Marigold's thoughts were similar…

In the middle of the large, jagged block that stuck out of the land, was a rectangular, cave-like opening.

' _Could this be one of the caves that lead out of the cave?_ '

"Looks like one of the ways out…" Hiyori considered.

"Oh, _finally._ " Glad to hear that, Osamu slouched. "Aside from that room full 'a postage, this place's just been a bunch of bullshit."

The four moved for the cave opening, approaching it. Then, they entered the relatively similar darkness, which obscured the other side's presence.

Hikari passed through first, holding her gohei high.

…

On the other side, there was more darkness. The floor was uneven, and composed entirely of weird pipes. Hikari's sandals didn't clack on the beige pipes, however.

' _What… what is this?_ '

"Where… are we?" Marigold looked around, curious herself.

Osamu froze once his eyes met the look of the place. "...What the _fuck_. Are we in hell?"

Hiyori snorted. "...I don't think so."

Taking his water bottle, he tossed it into the darkness off the edge of the platform. It faded into the darkness instantly, and quickly produced a very light impact sound, as if it landed on something in the darkness.

"...Woah." Marigold jerked her head back.

Carefully, Hikari reached a foot out into the darkness…

She saw it vanish completely, but upon lowing it she felt it press down against some kind of surface-

Clack.

' _So there's metal off the edge, here…_ '

Hiyori walked forward along the pipelines that stayed lit. A few deviated off into the darkness, and some looped back around to the main path of veiny, beige pipes.

"I'm not sure how to feel about this place." Hikari decided.

Looking down at the floor again, Osamu snorted. "Yeah, you and me both. Is- is this shit _skin?_ Just a cozy little hellhole, huh?"

The party continued forward on the veiny path. Eventually, they came to a structure very reminiscent of flesh. It was a some kind of chunk of systematically organized tendrils, all centered around a fleshy, round core with the beige tint of skin.

Just below the fleshy core was a mound of folds, where the center held a small, slit-shaped hole. It twitched and writhed sporadically.

"...What have we _found?_ " Hikari was awed by the sheer bizzarity of the sight before them.

...After a moment of nothing, Osamu slowly grinned. "Boy, did we go _way_ the fuck off the beaten trail-"

The pipes beneath them pulsed, causing everyone to jump.

' _What…?_ ' Hikari tensed up, expecting something to jump out at her.

The pipes continued to pulse, making their footing unsteady.

Before them, the fleshy orb shifted, and shook. As it did, the skin facing the party began to pull back, revealing an almost glass-like, foggy grey orb within it.

As the skin peeled back a little further, the orb subtly pulsed, growing a brighter tint.

An image flickered to life on the glass orb, taking the form of a woman's face.

' _...Who… is that?_ ' Hikari stared intently at the face, before she was able to make out the subtle details of a Hakurei ribbon in the depicted image, the red not translating well to the very monochrome color set.

"...I'm not sure what's going on." Marigold made her confusion known.

Fwi~sh…

Looking up at the noise, Hikari and her friends quickly backed up and away from the slowly lowering, gradually materializing object…

"Hikari! Are you surprised!?"

She blinked at the grainy voice that came from the floating craft's speakers. "Wh-what?"

As that device lowered, the four could see the chubby kid who sat inside of it. His skin was a sickly, pale, almost mint color, and his hair was darker than it used to be.

"It's me, Porky." From inside the saucer-esque craft, his chewed-up lips smiled smugly. "I assist only the strong and able. That's me, Porky."

...Osamu blinked. "Wait. This dude… Were you that runt we saw, at the temple? With the paint and shit?"

Hiyori turned to him curiously.

Marigold lit up. "Oh, yeah! You're that guy who... turned his dad into a killer cyborg. I remember now."

"...He's not remotely friendly, I take it?" Hiyori assessed.

Abruptly, Porky laughed. "Hehahaha~h! You guys look _pathetic!_ "

"Just as much of a jerk, as you always were." Hikari got vocal. "What are you even _doing_ here, Porky?"

"Hehehehe~..." He took a moment to giggle to himself. "...What am _I_ doing here? Aa~h… you see, the eight purple clouds made a prediction..."

...Hikari slowly tilted her head. "The what?"

"But I won't let what she predicted take place." Porky shifted in his torn up chair, his voice slowly raising… "You will be beaten by Giygas. Giygas will be a stronger, more powerful entity than any other!"

Hiyori was very doubtful. "You're very certain of that, aren't you?"

...Seconds after her response, Porky snorted. "You wanna know why, huh?"

' _I don't think that'd help, at this point…_ '

Spreading his lips, Porky gave a yellow-toothed smile. "'Cause of me. I was led by Giygas, and now I'm here. The eight purple clouds couldn't predict _this_."

Osamu rolled his eyes. "No shit."

...Slowly, he hobbled around in his craft, turning to gesture to the big fleshy orb behind him. "Master Giygas…" He awkwardly jerked his neck at a backward angle. "No… Giygas is no longer the wielder of evil. He has become the embodiment of evil itself… which he cannot control on his own. He is the evil power."

' _Is that… thing Giygas?_ '

"Sorry, dude, but Giygas looks like a she." Osamu jeers.

"If Giygas is really so evil, that's too bad." Marigold decides to mock him, too. "We've got a miko, here."

...Slowly, Porky hobbled himself back into proper sitting posture, before staring at the party.

…

Hikari rose her big, unwieldy gohei, getting used to its weight. "What's your plan, now, Porky? You're not gonna scare us away with some melodramatic speech about how evil Giygas is."

Porky's hand shook. "...The eight purple clouds couldn't predict _this._ "

Raising it, he slammed it down onto the inner panel of his mech.

Shink! Shink!

Two long, grey legs shot from the front of the hovercraft, causing the party to step back.

The darkness around the five began to lift, revealing the room to have a large, circular shape. Red metal composed all of the flooring not covered by tendrils, and the very edges of the arena had black and yellow caution patterns printed onto them. The tendrils stretched from the machine, up into the black, featureless sky to an undetermined extent.

"...Woa~h." Hikari was awed by the massive space.

Cli-cli-cli-clink…

The two legs began to articulate, bending and revealing the drill tips to them.

Shi-shink! Shi-shink! Shi-shink!

Six more legs shot out from the back, which also began to loudly articulate.

The party quickly fell back and got off of the pulsing segment of the floor, settling for the more stable metal…

Bam! A large patch of black and yellow metal slammed in place over the cave's exit.

"Can't you just make things easy for once, Porky…?" Hikari tiredly stared at the spider mech.

' _It's admittedly menacing looking… but it's just metal. We've been beating up robots all day._ '

Marigold raises her modified Spectrum Shotgun. "Time to see how this goes…"

"About time we get to kick his ass!" Osamu cracks his knuckles.

Hiyori slightly lowers her weapon as she backs up. "...Is there any way we could just talk about this?"

Porky chuckles. "Lemme thi~nk..." Looking down at his control panel, he presses a button. "No."

A latch opens on the front of the mech-

Fwoo~sh! A rocket flew out towards Hiyori.

Hiyori guarded-

Boom!

Porky laughed. "Hehahaha~h! How's it like seeing your friends _die_ , Hikari!?"

...As the dust settled, she was revealed to be mostly just scuffled.

Porky double-took. "Wha~h!?"

Hiyori grinned. "Oni are a _little_ tougher than that, you know."

...At that, Porky smiled. "I know. How do you think I killed so many before?"

"...What?" Hiyori rose a brow.

Porky grabbed the two control sticks of the robot.

And then-

Woosh! His device ripped through the air extraordinarily fast, Hikari's eyes widening as the device rapidly spun towards Hiyori, all drill legs extended.

Having already been blocking, Hiyori reinforced her posture-

Cla-cla-cla-cla-cla-cla-cla-cla~ng!

Hiyori was nearly pushed into the wall from the numerous, lightning-fast impacts against her mace.

The heavy machine whirred in protest as Porky forced it to leap back.

"I call this the Youkai Eradication Beam!" Porky grinned widely. "Bye bye, oni~!"

Two drill legs shifted to be above the glass dome Porky was within. Between them, a colorful ball of magical energy began to generate…

Zazazap! Immediately, electricity arced from the orb to Hiyori's figure.

Her shackle glowed, absorbing the arcing bolts.

From within the orb, three large beams spread out, all of them quickly reuniting over Hiyori's figure.

Her bow glowed as the harsh, pale ice elemental rays engulfed her completely.

"A~nd _die!_ " Porky pressed a button.

The orb shot from between the two drill legs, which returned to their normal positions as the projectile homed in on Hiyori.

It collided with her mace-

 _Boom!_ Flames, snowflakes, and static all blossomed outward from one massive elemental blast.

"O~kay!" Osamu chuckled. "He remembered to bring weapons this time!"

...Hiyori's glowing form marched out of the blast, her clothing shimmering in the dim light of the battle arena.

" _Wha~h!?_ " Porky was surprised for real, this time.

Abruptly, Hiyori dashed forward and leaped, intent on attacking the glass dome with her mace. "Hra~h!"

Reacting quickly, Porky tilted his machine back-

 _Cla~ng!_ Hiyori's mace bounced off of the front of the metal machine, barely denting the base of it.

"Hahahaha~h!" Porky laughed smugly as he made his machine march backwards. "Do you really think an attack like _that_ would work against the mighty Porky!? I eat oni for breakfast!"

' _...I'm not sure if he's joking._ ' Hikari furrowed her brows.

The form of the shrine maiden on Giygas' exposed bulb began to flicker rapidly, the form of it becoming distorted, for a moment.

A weird, comfortable sensation washed over Hikari. "U-uh... " She looked over at the flesh-covered bulb. "What's with you?"

Giygas tried PK Fantasy α!

Then, the party was bombarded by drops of technicolor energy.

Fizzle!

"Woah- Ouch! Shit!" Osamu's jaw dropped, the bright energy traveling up his form. "What the fuck!?"

Fizzle!

This process repeated itself a second time, causing the entire party to writhe in rainbow-colored agony.

"Wow- ow, ow, ow…!" Marigold stumbled about, trying to avoid as much damage as possible, and failing at it.

"Ugh…" Hiyori grunted from the sheer magical damage, even if it wasn't excessive.

Hikari saw the shrine maiden in the bulb staring at her, instead of into space.

Bwa~sh!

The final blast of psychic energy launched Hikari weakly. "Augh…!"

...Porky looked around wildly. "Wh-what the…!? What just happened!?"

Hiyori tried Shield Σ!

The party was protected by the power shields of light!

"Grr~h…" Porky banged on his console. "Whatever stupid magic you're casting, it won't work!"

Osamu cracked his knuckles. "Ya sure about that, asshole!?"

Osamu tried PK Thunder γ!

Thwa~sh!

The lightning bolt struck Giygas' orb-

Ti~ng!

The lightning bolt was gone.

Osamu jumped back, baffled. "...The fu-"

Bam!

His form suddenly flashed with electricity, catching Hikari's attention. Then, he fell over.

' _Oh, good._ '

Thwa~sh!

Porky's mech was struck, forcing it to jitter violently. Even so, he grinned. "...Wa-was that it?"

Hikari tried Lifeup γ!

...Osamu gradually rose his head from the floor. "Oo~h… my-my head, dude…"

Thwa~sh!

The bolt struck GIygas' orb-

Ti~ng!

"Oh, fuck…!" He panicked, quickly raising from the floor and flailing his arms.

Osamu tried PSI Shield ß!

Osamu was protected by the blue psychic power shield!

...Bam!

His form glowed softer, this time, as his shield fizzled out from the electrical energy. "...Fucking… _ow._ "

The shield shot a beam of magical energy at the Giygas orb-

Ti~ng! It traveled straight back towards Osamu, before striking him in the gut.

"Fuua~h…!" The wind was knocked from him, and he curled up into a ball on the floor. "Hi-... Hikari~..."

' _...I guess attacking Giygas isn't a good idea, right now…_ '

Hikari tried Lifeup ß!

...Osamu slowly got up, again. "...I-I'm _comin'_ back…"

Marigold aimed her modified Spectrum Shotgun at Porky. "Here goes…!"

She pulled the trigger-

ChuuChuuChuu~! Her arm shot around wildly, firing three star-shaped projectiles in wild directions, which proceeded slightly home towards Porky's large mech.

"Wo-woah…!" Hardly able to control it, she held the trigger down, three more projectiles being emitted towards Porky as she steadied the gun…

The six total bullets harmlessly pattered against his mech. "...Hehehe~! What a useless-"

FwiChoo~m! A thin, yellow laser stretched out towards the mech, which made it shake on impact.

"Huwoah!" Porky rocked in his seat.

FwiChoo~m! Another thin, yellow laser was fired, accomplishing slightly less impressive results, the mech not shaking nearly as much.

...After a moment, Porky shook his head. "That's nothing!"

Shrugging, Marigold shoved the gun into her backpack. "I should've just stuck with that bazooka…"

As Porky's mech slowly treaded towards the room's bulbous centerpiece again, it turned towards the party. "A bazooka, huh!? Lemme show ya a _real_ bazooka!"

Latches opened all over the front of the large mech.

"Oo~h, no that's okay…" Marigold started moving towards Hikari…

"Yeah dude just uh… chill out." Osamu followed in Marigold's footsteps.

FWOO~SH

From the many slots, an immense barrage of rockets emerged, well more than ten moving straight for the party. Hiyori, however, was still near the mech's side, readying to get a blow on it…

Hikari's eyes widened. "A-ah…!"

' _Wh-what can I do…!?_ ' Hikari's mind raced. She thought about everything on herself- ' _my ofuda…_ ' -when the realization came to her.

"Cautionary Barrier!" She threw her arm outward.

A square barrier was erected before her-

Boom!

The few correctly aimed rockets that hit the barrier shattered it, throwing the three back. "Enh…!"

The rest of the rockets soared into the walls behind the party.

Boo-Boo-Boom!

Porky laughed at the smoke cloud. "Hahahaha~! Yeah, yeah! Fairy Harvesting Device, go go~!"

A large panel folded open on the back of the mech as the rocket panels closed.

It emitted a sound reminiscent of a vacuum cleaner, as a vortex of wind extended out and sweeped the nearby area around his machine.

It only caught Hiyori, which did nothing because oni are significantly heavier than fairies.

...Porky scratched his head. "Aw, right. No fairies to kill in Giygas' place…"

As the smoke cleared, Hikari and her friends stood there with their weapons ready.

Porky rolled his eyes. "That's _really_ getting old, you stupid-!"

Bam!

"Aaa~h!" Porky flailed his arms, before reaching for the controls. "Ge-get off!"

Hiyori rose her mace after a successful strike against the glass dome atop the machine. However, it only very slightly cracked as proof of her effort…

She was taken aback. "What is this _made_ out of…?"

The meach leaped, then flipped upside-down, throwing Hiyori off of it. It then flipped again, then tried to slam down fast enough to crush her, having not anticipated that she wouldn't stuck to a directly vertical descent.

Even so, Hiyori blinked as the machine loudly landed before her. "So fast…"

Hikari felt herself relax, again…

"Ev-everybody…" She tried to warn them, her voice suddenly cracking for reasons unknown to her. "Brace yourselves…!"

The face on Giygas' bulb flickered.

Giygas tried PK Fantasy α!

Her friends didn't have time to think over her exclamation.

Fizzle!

"Aw, _geez…!_ " Osamu tried to pull his wizard hat over his head to block the pain, which went about as well as one might expect. "Fua- aa~h…!"

Fizzle!

More technicolor particles washed across the entire party, turning them into a light show.

"Th-this is gonna _suck…_ " Marigold was already tired of the pain.

Hikari felt herself compelled to look towards Giygas.

Giygas looked back at her through the miko projection's eyes.

Bwa~sh!

"Guh…!?" Hikari was flung into the air, again.

' _Th-that stings a lot more, now…_ '

" _Damn_ that attack is annoying…" Osamu grumbled.

Porky slowly marched the giant spider mech towards the party. "La~ter la~ter, alliga~tors!"

' _...If you told me about this situation when I started this quest, I'd've called you insane._ '

Since he was getting closer, Marigold decided to take out her big freakin' gun. "Oh, no. He's getting closer. Whatever shall I do."

This made Porky grin. "Hehehe~! Magicians are so _stupid!_ "

Marigold couldn't keep herself from letting out a strained giggle at the reaction.

After observing the increasing proximity of the mech, Hikari turned to Osamu. "Give me a boost…"

Osamu tried Offense Up α!

...Hikari felt strength well up within herself. ' _Not that kind of boost, but that works too…_ '

Running around the side of the device, Marigold aimed her gun. She pulled the trigger, letting the shot charge up...

Porky began turning towards her. "Magi's gonna get i~t! Magi's gonna-"

Fwam! The orb of lime-green energy drifted towards the mech…

"Woa~h!" Porky gaped. "What kinda gun is _that!?_ "

Electricity arced from the orb, attacking the armor of the machine and making it vibrate. Once the orb got close to the cockpit window, it was slowly repelled off of it, drifting at a slow rate upward into the air. The window still jittered violently, and Porky-

"Aaa~h! Holy- woah! No no no~!"

-was freaked out by the few shocks that got inside the cockpit.

Then, the gun underwent cooldown…

It vibrated rapidly, the weapon shaking in Marigold's arms as the air before it began to pop and sizzle from the unnatural radiation…

Clink! Ka-clink- _clonk_.

"Ow, ow, _ow!_ " Porky's expression flared as some of the radiation burnt through his reinforced window. "You- you _idiot!_ You _hurt_ me!"

He fumbled with the controls, the mech stumbling back awkwardly, before it bumped into Giygas-

Ti~ng!

-and was sent stumbling forward instead.

"Good!" Marigold shouted back. "Maybe you'll stop hurting _us!_ "

...Porky frowned. "You _deserve_ to die!"

Osamu chuckled incredulously. "Wo~w."

Hikari got a running start, aiding herself with the wind available, before leaping- "Huap…!"

-and, clearing the drill legs, touching down on the uneven surface of the mech.

Porky jerked his head back. "Aah! Stupid miko…!"

Hikari rose her gohei that was shaped pretty far from a gohei, and brought it down on the glass dome with a heave. "Hru~h!"

SMAAAA~SH!

A tiny crack accented her effort-

Kri~ng! Energy traveled onto the dome superficially, but it freaked Porky out anyway. "Oh my God- that's gonna _destroy me!_ "

Bringing the heavy gohei along her side, Hikari swung wide. "Ho~h!"

SMAAAA~SH!

This crack was bigger than the other two, but still pretty insignificant.

Kri~ng! More superficial but fancy energy traveled up the dome's side. Wind also began to softly caress the sides of the mech, something that only Hikari really was able to acknowledge even happened.

' _I kind of thought this was going to do a little more… but I hit really hard!_ ' Hikari grinned.

Displeased, Porky made the mech bounce lightly-

"Woah!" Hikari slid backwards and off of it, flung by the motion.

Breaking into a grin, Porky rose the two front drills of his spider mech, preparing to perform a basic combo. "Now cry for mommy to change your band-aid diapers…!"

' _My what?_ ' Hikari would have given him a dry stare, were she not preparing for whatever potential attack he planned.

Charging towards Hikari at a faster pace, Porky had his drill appendages ready. "Hehahaha~!"

"Cautionary Barrier!" Hikari erected a barrier before herself.

The two front drills jabbed into it-

Vrr-vrr! Vrr-vrrr!

Kra~ck! Four jabs was all it took to shatter the barrier.

Hikari tried Shield ß

Hikari was protected by the power shield of light!

Porky whipped two drill arms from each side at her, one side at a time. The left side slammed into her-

Bam! "Aaagh!" Hikari was sent soaring to the floor a few feet away.

Woosh! The right side's swing hit nothing at all.

As Hikari tried to get back up, the mech spun towards her, the drills spinning wildly as it spun. "O-oh…!"

The mech slammed into her, a drill powerfully slamming into her figure and spinning.

" _Gua~h!?_ " Hikari felt her clothes and skin rip around her stomach, as she was sent flying.

"Hikari~!" Marigold yelled for her.

...Many feet away, Hikari landed on the other side of the arena. "U-uugh-euh…o-ow..."

Hiyori tried Lifeup γ!

"...Th-there…" Slowly, Hikari began to sit back up…

A beam shot from her power shield of light, roaring after Porky's mechanical spider…

 _Cla~ng!_ It hit the base, leaving a big dent in it.

Porky's basic combo continued, following up with another spinning motion that tried very hard to close the distance between itself and Hikari, but also failing very hard to do just that.

It leaped into the air for one final attack-

 _Boom!_ Its massive form slammed down into the arena floor, releasing a shockwave that extended outwards-

"Aa~h!" Marigold was weakly flung by it. "Oof…" She landed a short distance away.

...As Hikari rose from the floor, she felt a sense of comfort wash over her…

' _Oh, whelp… bottoms up._ ' She rolled her eyes, a glance of Giygas' form revealing that the image on the bulb was flickering.

Giygas tried PK Fantasy α!

Nobody was ever really prepared for this attack, because it just _happened_.

Fizzle!

"Oh, come the fuck o~ho~ho~n…" Osamu whined, kneeling from the pain.

Marigold hissed. "Hu-hurts… so-so…" She dropped to her knees, too…

Hiyori huffed. "Hoo~..."

Fizzle!

Hikari and all her party members flashed bright blue, yellow, and red colors.

' _...It's not so bad after you've been healed to full._ ' She discovered.

Her head jerked to lock eyes with the miko depicted in Giygas' orb-o-vision.

Bwa~sh!

"Gehn…!" Hikari flew a foot into the air, before landing on her bum. "Oof…"

...Noticing her party members in a state of disrepair, she decided to help them.

Hikari tried Lifeup Ω!

...Osamu got back up, steadying himself. "Alri~ght, I'm _comin'_ back…"

Marigold took a deep breath. "I guess this isn't gonna end until all of us've been impaled by a drill at least once."

Porky was confused. "...How're you all getting back up!? You're supposed to die, or cry! Or both!"

' _...I don't think he really prepared for us, specifically._ '

Aiming her heavy bazooka at the machine, Marigold fired.

Fwoo~sh! The amber projectile once again made a debut as it zoomed towards the mech-

Boom! It rocked backwards, the blast making the machine stumble.

"Wo- _woah!_ " Porky gritted his teeth. "...Man, when I kill you, I'm gonna have a _ton_ of new guns to play with!"

Hiyori tried PK Freeze γ!

Osamu tried PK Freeze Ω!

"Not if I set yer machine to 'freeze', dude…!" Grinning widely, Osamu snapped his fingers.

...Slouching, Marigold shook her head. "Really…"

KaKaKa~...

At first, a pattern of snowflake-shaped ice crystals began assaulting the glass bubble Porky was encased inside of. "...Hahaha~! I got temperature control, dummies!"

Kookookoo~...

As they rapidly froze and thawed, a larger box of ice began to materialize around the cockpit, trapping it inside.

"He-hey!" Porky began mashing his controls. "I can't see! I can't see~!"

Random slots on the sides of the machine opened, various colorful lasers of different elements shooting in random directions, and rockets randomly taking to the air.

Boom! The snowflake pattern Hiyori summoned exploded, straining the glass.

Kra~ck! The frozen cage then began to shatter, causing tiny cracks to form all across the dome.

Blam! Once the cage was outright gone, the final blast caused the cracks to grow even larger.

"Wh-what!?" Porky recognized it, too. " _Wha~t!?_ "

' _...I should see if this works._ '

Hikari tried Hypnosis α!

His glass dome shimmered unnaturally, but nothing else happened.

' _Yeah, I figured._ '

...Looking over at Giygas, Hikari had a similar idea.

Hikari tried Hypnosis α!

But it failed!

…

' _...Nothing even happened._ '

Hiyori managed to navigate near Hikari. "Are you alright?"

"Mmm." Nodding reassuringly, Hikari raised her gohei.

The jeer Marigold made earlier ended up coming true, as Porky directed his machine to jab towards Osamu. "Hahahaha~!"

Shink!

The drill pierced through Osamu's torso entirely.

"Gu-...ouh!?" Knowing exactly what to do, Osamu put his hands on the drill in an attempt to thrust himself out of it-

Vrrrrr~! It whirred to life.

" _Aaaaa~h!_ " Osamu wailed like a banshee, blood spattering the length of the drill and the ground around himself. As it rose back into the air, it flung his body aside.

Hikari tried Lifeup γ!

Hiyori tried Lifeup γ!

...Osamu's body rapidly began to close up the gaping hole in his chest where his ribs and other assorted organs were supposed to be. His eyes were open during the processing, darting around as tears streamed from them.

' _He has that Charm of Sleep on him still, doesn't he?_ ' Hikari figured. ' _Ow._ '

...After a few moments of recovery time, he sat back up, his body contorting weirdly as it returned to its normal proportions. "Oka~y… I'm _comin'_ back…"

"No! You're _not_ coming back!" Porky barked at him. "Just _die_ , already! Die, die, die!"

' _I still want to know if he comes with an off button._ ' Hikari was offput by just how childish Porky was during the length of this battle…

Osamu tried PSI Shield Σ!

The party was protected by the pale blue psychic shields!

Once again, Hikari felt herself slow down and relax…

' _Giygas, no. You don't_ need _to spam it…_ ' Slowly turning to the orb, she saw the miko's face flickering again.

Fizzle!

The party's psychic shields made the energy particles disappear as they neared. The ones that managed to touch down were in places the party members weren't.

' _Th-this works!?_ '

Fizzle!

The other rain of technicolor drops was completely ineffective against the party.

Even so, Hikari found her head pulled to look at Giygas' miko-esque face again.

Bwa~sh!

"Ugh…" Hikari was softly thrown by the painful blast. "Gu-guess it doesn't block that…"

Osamu tried Defense Down α!

 _Cla~ng_ … Porky's machine creaked woefully.

"Yeah! _Fuck_ you." Backing up, Osamu stuck his middle finger up.

"What!?" Porky jerked his head back. "Nuh-uh! No, you!" He stuck his own middle finger up.

Pulling out her Spectrum Shotgun, Marigold took the moment to switch the star crystal out with the prism gem. "Alright… there we go."

Hiyori tried PK Freeze γ!

KaKaKa~...

The snowflake-shaped pattern of ice crystals generated around Porky's glass dome again, rapidly freezing and thawing.

"U~gh, ice magic is _so_ retarded…" Porky grumbled, frustratedly messing with the controls as the ice blinded him-

Boom!

The cracks on the glass shield intensified.

Hiyori pulled out one of the plastic bottles of water she brought along. Ripping the top off, she proceeded to guzzle its contents, some of the water streaming down her chin due to her little regard for precision at the moment.

"That's it! You stupid miko people are _really_ gonna get it now!" Bringing his hands down in an attempt to be menacing, Porky pressed eight buttons at once.

Eight slots opened, four on either side of the machine.

...Awkwardly, Porky brought his chubby elbows inward to try and use the control sticks as he held down the eight buttons. "E-eh… Ehn!"

Fwoosh! From the eight slots came eight grenades, aimed at random angles.

Eyes widening, Marigold rapidly backtracked away from the large machine. "Wo-woah, no… no, no, n-"

Boo-boo-boom-bo-boom! They all exploded nearly simultaneously.

"Aaa~h!" Marigold was thrown from the machine's side, the blast's effect reduced but not by any means nullified by her psychic shield. Now a few feet away, Marigold rolled to a stop on her side, awkwardly resting on her arm.

Hikari tried Lifeup γ!

' _That looked like it hurt…_ '

Fwoosh! Eight more grenades were launched outward. The mech awkwardly jerked around as Porky did his very best to move and fire at the same time.

Boo-boo-boom-bo-boom! The grenades exploded, this time being near no one.

Fwoosh! It seemed Porky was just going to keep spamming grenade barrages, for now.

Hikari felt comfort wash over herself, again. ' _Yeah, yeah, keep doing that…_ '

The miko's face on Giygas' orb flickered.

Giygas tried PK Fantasy α!

The party jerked their heads back as the colorful particles disintegrated against their shields.

Fizzle!

"Didn't know shields worked this freakin' well against this…" Osamu tilted his head.

Fizzle!

Hikari decided to just stare at Giygas, managing to catch it before the miko it depicted on its orb stared at her.

Bwa~sh!

"Ahn…" Hikari let herself be thrown into the air, intent on landing after the pain flowered across her body.

Boo-boo-boom-bo-boom! The grenades launched earlier exploded, adding to the room's noise.

Fwoosh! Porky was still doing this, apparently.

Hiyori managed to grab one of the grenades that flew out far towards her, and tossed it back at the huge spider mech.

Osamu tensed up. "Oh, shi-"

Boo-boo-boom-bo-boom! The grenade Hiyori threw exploded next to the machine's cockpit, causing Porky to jump and release his buttons.

"Aaaa~h!" Osamu was sent flying across the room, before landing loudly on his back. "Aahaa~h…"

Hikari tried Lifeup ß!

...Stiffly, Osamu sat up. "I-I'm _comin'_ back…"

"Stop coming back!" Staring at his shaky, abraded hands, Porky sneered. Gradually, he turned the mech around, to face Hiyori and Hikari. "You… You're working some dumb Hakurei super magic, aren't you!?"

...Hikari tilted her head. "Maybe."

Back on her feet, Marigold aimed the Spectrum Shotgun at the heavily armed Porky. She pulled the trigger-

FwiChoo~m!

Seven rainbow lasers extended outward at wide angles, immediately pushing her back. "Wo-woah…!"

Hikari guarded, holding the fort in place as one of the beams briefly passed over her. "A-ah…"

Within moments, Marigold was back against the caution-colored wall. She found it to be strangely concave, curving inward a little for unknown reasons. Her back met the diamond-plate metal roughly. "Oof…"

A few of the beams passed over Giygas' form, briefly.

Ti-Ti-Ti~ng!

"Aa-aa~h…!" Gritting her teeth, Marigold seethed her way through the reflected pain directed upon her immediately.

Eventually, the beam came to focus on Porky's command deck.

"Wha-wawawa~!?" He was awed by the laser that came together to pound the glass of his device. "N-no fair! No _fa~ir!_ "

Cr-crack…

The glass it was striking began to crack, the damage webbing out from where the beam was in constant contact with, as if creating a spider web.

Grinning, Osamu hoped one of the other party members would catch on with his plan...

Osamu tried PK Hydro ß!

A shuriken of water formed above the heavily armed machine, quickly wetting it with a flurry of water drops.

Hiyori noticed the seemingly useless spell's usage, and proceeded to follow up with an attack that would compliment it.

Hiyori tried PK Freeze γ!

KaKaKa~...

The freezing and thawing snowflake of ice generated around the glass dome, rapidly freezing all the ice on the outside, even under the beam's heat…

Boom!

All the ice shattered at once, a slew of new cracks forming on the glass.

' _I wonder…_ '

Hikari tried PK Flash γ!

Fwa~sh!

The brilliant, blinding light did nothing, Porky's glass darkening to filter out most of it. "He-hey! What gives!?"

Giygas did not react at all.

Hikari felt herself relax, again. ' _...You know, this is kind of nice, minus the whole painful explosion bit…_ '

The sensation persisted for a moment. ' _...Wh-what?_ '

She looked over at the miko image, which began to distort into basic colors.

Giygas tried PK Fantasy ß!

Suddenly, technicolor projectiles shot from the fleshy orb, surprising Hikari.

FwOwOw!

"Woah!" Hikari nearly fell out of the way as the seizure-inducing polygon rocketed past her.

FwOwOw!

The next one hit her dead on, its impact lessened but not prevented by the psychic shield. "Agh!" She was thrown a few feet ahead, sliding to the floor.

' _That hurts…!_ '

Next, the technicolor particles bombarded the party from above.

Fizzle!

Again, they stared at the world around them in semi-dazzled awe as the colorful drops failed to impact them, the psychic shield working wonders against the lesser psychic projectiles.

Fizzle!

Hikari braced herself for the incoming pain rush. ' _U-ugh…_ '

Suddenly, she forced herself to sit up, to get another glance at Giygas, who was staring at her through a miko's expression, again. ' _Hello to you, too-_ '

Bwa~sh!

"A-agh…" Hikari was propelled lightly into the air, enough so for her to land on her sandals.

' _Hah…_ ' She grinned back at GIygas, before nearly stumbling onto her bum again. ' _Wo-woah…_ '

Hiyori tried Lifeup ß!

...Regaining her balance, Hikari looked behind herself to see Hiyori there. She gave the oni a thumbs up. "Thanks."

"Mmm." Hiyori smiled back at her, giving a nod in return.

Marigold released the trigger of her beam, after a while. "A-ah…" She proceeded to caress her aching arms.

...Grinning from within his cracked dome, Porky leered at the party. "Don't you idiots get it yet!? I'm unstoppable! I've killed like a _million_ zillion youkai!"

' _...How many did he really kill? Aside from… the ones here, maybe._ '

Osamu tried PK Hydro ß!

"How fucking tough is that glass!?" Osamu was incredulous at the dome's fortitude, at this point.

Exhaling, inhaling quickly, Marigold traded out her Spectrum Shotgun for her heavy bazooka. Bringing it up, she aimed it ahead, and fired.

Fwoosh! The amber projectile rocketed towards the wide machine-

Boom!

 _Shatter!_

" _Aaaa~h!_ "

The machine promptly dropped to the floor, the drill legs spazzing out as Porky held resolutely onto the control sticks.

' _Finally!_ ' Hikari pumped an arm into the air.

...As the smoke cleared, Porky sat in his machine, arms shaking and his hair full of glass. Water invaded his control deck from above, his wet hair cast over his face, and his form soaked.

"Are you done, yet!?" Hikari yelled over at him. "One attack from us, and you'll be sorry!"

"Ain't got no stupid glass dome now!" Osamu smiled widely. "Give it up, dude!"

From behind Hikari, Hiyori spoke boldly, as well. "You don't have to fight us. We're only defending ourselves."

...Marigold yelled over from the very edge of the arena. "I have bigger guns!"

…

' _I can't believe this kid was just the captain's stupid son just weeks ago…_ '

The mech slowly stood, rotating itself to face Hikari, as per Porky's twists of the control sticks.

"Don't do this, Porky." Hikari held her gohei high. "We don't have to hurt you."

Once again, Porky grinned. "...What's all this stupid stuff about 'not hurting me'? You've been hurting me since day one! I can't stand to _look_ at you!"

' _You're_ really _not making this easy…!_ '

"All 'cause of you…" He trailed off. "Hahahaha~! _Shut up_ , Hikari!"

Raising his arms up, Porky slammed them down on his command board, holding them there. The specific array of buttons he pressed made the mech tilt forward, towards Hikari.

Hikari held her gohei in a guarding position, and Hiyori readied herself behind her.

Cli-clink! The two frontmost drill legs articulated to face Hikari, and-

 _Fwoo~m!_ Roaring flames erupted from the back of the machine, two panels being blasted off the machine in the process. The huge flames forced Osamu to cringe back.

The six other drill legs folded in, skidding across the floor. The giant mech roared towards Hikari unrealistically fast, the two drill arms jabbing for her torso-

' _Ah-_ ' Her eyes widened.

 _Cla~ng!_ The drills met the metal gohei before she could blink, the energy inside flailing out at the drills and traveling along their form.

Osamu tried Offense Up Ω!

The party felt strength well up inside of them!

The machine's mass quickly pushed Hikari back into Hiyori- "Aah!"

Hiyori's eyes widened, and she slammed her sandals into the metal floor. It echoed loudly, but her efforts to make them slide to a stop were in vain. Her force did nothing to stop the roaring mech as it pushed them towards the curved-inward, black and yellow wall.

' _Wo-woaa~h!_ ' Hikari's arms began hurting within seconds.

Vrrrr~! The drills whirred to life, sparks flying from her gohei as they tried to cleave through it.

Hiyori bent her legs to accommodate the curves of the wall as they were pushed towards…

All it took was no more than two or three seconds for the two girls to end up in this situation. From here, they were pushed along the length of the curved wall, the giant mech also rotating onto the wall's form with its compact, folded legs, skidding along with the two.

Sparks rained from the wall behind the mech, and from the gohei as it was being drilled into.

"Woah- aah!" Marigold dove out of the way, barely avoiding being clipped by the top of the mech.

Like this, the three went in circles around the arena, Hikari and Hiyori pushed along the inner side of the wall. This feat was only possible through the machine's sheer power.

"Hehehahaha~!" Porky laughed like a maniac. "Cry! _Cry!_ "

Klack, klack! Hiyori's sandals were vaporized by all the abrasion against the diamond-plate wall.

"Holy _fuck!_ " Osamu spun around, trying to track the three. "It went into _maximum overdrive!_ "

Aiming her bazooka, and backing near the center of the room, Marigold had doubts she could hit the mech. "Wo-woah…"

Osamu tried Offense Up Ω!

The party felt strength well up inside of them!

The aching in Hikari's arms was somewhat reversed, allowing her more endurance against the two advancing drills.

"Haa~h…!" She was still really feeling it, though.

Fwoosh! One of Marigold's rockets traveled towards the wall-

Boom! It exploded way behind the three.

"Darn…" Marigold huffed.

Hikari felt herself relax…

' _It's still doing that!?_ '

Giygas tried PK Fantasy α!

The rainbow colored particles made the arena light up, again.

Fizzle!

Hikari froze. ' _The- the blast! That's going to suck…!_ '

Fizzle!

The second rain of technicolor drops didn't do anything, either.

As Hikari passed the section of wall frontmost to the orb's miko face, she was forced to look towards it.

' _Here it comes…!_ '

Bwa~sh!

"Aaaa~h!" Hikari yelled out in pain, her arms starting to fold…

Hiyori tried Lifeup γ!

Her vision blurring, Hikari slowly extended her arms again. "Hraa~h!"

Marigold tried to aim another shot, becoming increasingly flabbergasted at the speed the three revolved around the arena.

...Hikari had an idea, though.

Hikari tried Shield ß!

Her form was protected by the power shield of light!

The shield expanded enough to include the drills.

 _Scree~!_ The noise they made against the shield's magic was horrible.

However, the shield ended up slowing down the rate at which the three were pushed along the wall, allowing them to almost slide off of it and back onto the horizontal section of flooring that comprised the arena's midst.

With that slower speed, Marigold lined up her shot. "Fire!"

Fwoosh! The projectile traveled towards the three-

Boom!

"Aagh!" Hikari winced as it struck the front of the mech, forcing her to shut her eyes. Some of the blast briefly expanded to include her, but the rate at which they were pushed quickly got her out of the fire.

Porky, however, was not so fortunate, the command board now in ruins. His arms were forced out of the position he held them in, the mech's advanced function now inoperable. "Aaaa~h!"

Bam! Boom! The control panel started exploding in his face.

 _Blam!_

" _Aaaa~h!_ "

Porky was launched by the blast, soaring across the room, away from his machine.

Quickly, the machine and the girls began slowing down-

Bam! Boom!

The machine was thrown from the wall, explosions on its undercarriage throwing it back into the midst of the arena, and flipping it upside-down.

Kaboom!

Some of the drill legs were blown off by the final blast.

"Augh…" Porky finally landed, next to the bulbous mass of tendrils in the center of the room.

Hiyori slowed to a stop, her feet bloody after being pushed along the harsh, diamond-plate wall for so long. "A-ah…"

Hiyori tried Lifeup α!

She sighed in relief. "There…"

…

Taking their time, the party gradually gathered towards Porky's intensely breathing form near the room's centerpiece.

"Happy?" Hikari frowned at him. The four still kept a good ten feet of distance from him.

...Slowly, Porky began to stand. "O-oww~!" He grabbed his arm, before standing fully. "...Yo-you _meanies_ hurt my arm."

Hikari's expression didn't change.

Backing towards the central mass of tendrils, Porky smirked. "So- so… I understand you guys're already thinking you're all _bi~g_ heroes, huh?"

"Dude, we fought like, a _robot dragon._ " Osamu grinned, shaking his head. "We're like, legends."

"...If we can stop more harm from coming to this world," Hiyori nodded. "I guess we'd be considered heroes."

"I just want this Giygas thing to stop ruining my day." Hikari decided, staring at Porky tiredly. "Can you give it a rest so we can just break it?"

Porky held himself with his good arm. "Hahahaha~! It-it's a _gazillion_ years too early for you to oppose Giygas!" He threw his bad arm outward to accent his point, wincing as he did so.

Stumbling back, he leaned against the mass of tendrils. "I mean… you must feel pre~tty stupid for fighting… without even knowing what Giygas _looks_ like! Hahaha~!"

"Give it a rest." Marigold interrupted his laughing. "Nothing some bombs couldn't do to fix that _mess_ behind you."

Porky seemed to want to genuinely argue that point. "If-if you _actually_ saw what Giygas looks like, you'd be so petrified with fear, you couldn't even _run away!_ " He grinned wildly, patting the side of the tendrils. " _That's_ how scary it is!"

"...This Giygas is starting to sound more like an imaginary friend than anything else." Hiyori folded her arms.

"Mmm…" Hikari glared at Porky. "We're going home, Porky. Then you can explain what… all of _this_ is."

Tilting his head slightly to the side, Porky sneered. "So… do you want me to turn off the 'Devil's Machine'?"

"Preferably, yes." Hikari decided. "If that shuts down whatever this is."

"Well, prepare to be _amazed!_ " With that, Porky ran around the side of the mass of tendrils.

' _What is he-_ ' Hikari acted immediately. "Don't lose him!"

The four rapidly ran around the length of the mass. At the front, they saw Porky kneeling down, shoving his whole arm inside of the folded mass of flesh under the central orb. As he did, the miko's form on the orb began losing focus, rapidly flickering.

And then-

Crack.

The image of the miko blinked out.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

The room's dim lighting immediately went dark.

' _I can't see…_ '

From where the room's central orb was, light was created by a thin, red mist that began to spread out.

' _Is- is that light…?_ ' It allowed Hikari to see things it passed over, at least. ' _I'm not sure if that counts… but it glows in the dark, I guess…_ '

Then, fear.

' _A-ah…!_ ' Gasping, Hikari felt her heart start racing. "Wha-woah…"

' _Wh-where'd this come from…?_ '

Osamu yelled. "Aaaa~h!"

Marigold jittered. "O-oh…!"

Hiyori froze in place.

…

"Isn't this terrifying…?" Porky's voice quietly echoed through the room, accented only by a very subtle shifting noise in the background. "I-I'm te-terrified, too…"

The party was suddenly able to see each other, red mist gathering around each of them. It whirled over their forms, as if trying to convene at each of their heads, only to dissipate. Everyone appeared as a flat crimson against the black background of the room.

"Gi-Giygas cannot th-think rationally, anymore…" Porky's lips slowly curled upwards, again. "He isn't even aware of what he's doing now…"

Haphazard clouds of red began to form all around the party. When they glanced down, they could see clouds below them as if they were floating in the midst of a vast, empty space.

' _How far…?_ ' Hikari couldn't judge their distance.

"His own mind was destroyed by his incredible power…" Porky slowly nodded, resisting the urge to laugh. "...Wh-what an almighty _idiot!_ Yep, that's... what he is...!"

Taking his arm from the fleshy slot at the base of the machine, he-

Thud. Porky fell forward.

"He-heh… heh heh…" He breathed out his laughs in a strained fashion. "And you… you will be…"

He gasped, his form shivering violently. "Ju-just… another meal to him…"

' _U-ugh…_ ' Hikari's head began to hurt slightly, her mind going to weird places. ' _Tr-trees…?_ '

Fwoom!

Porky's form instantly lit ablaze.

" _Aaaoouu~h!_ "

The dimmed flames revealed his features perfectly, as his skin melted and he curled into a ball as best he could.

"Po-Porky…!?" Hikari stepped back, her heart skipping a beat.

"O-oh, shit… o-oo~h _shit_ …" Osamu stepped back, too.

"Fi-fire!?" Marigold's eyes widened.

"Aa-aah…?" Taken aback, Hiyori gazed at the flames…

…

…

Porky's form started to go out. As the light faded, so did the crimson around his form. His limp body faded in with the darkness of the room, rendering him invisible.

' _ **I'm h...a...p...p...y…**_ '

' _Wh-what!?_ ' Hikari looked around, her eyes wide, unable to make out anything but mist and the outlines of her friends in the darkness.

' _ **...Hikari…**_ '

Hikari cannot comprehend the true form of Giygas' attack!

In a brief moment, the entire space around the party was pitch-red. A ring devoid of this red overlay pulsed outward, causing Hikari's head to throb as it expanded and passed her.

' _What's going on!?_ ' Eyes wide, Hikari scanned the single tone of color, freaking out as her senses momentarily felt no stimulation. It was if she was drifting in space…

Then, the color vanished as fast as it appeared, and the shrine maiden felt normal again. She couldn't read her friend's faces in the monochromatic lighting.

KaKaKaKaKaKa~...

Snowflake-shaped patterns of ice crystals generated around the entire party, catching everyone by surprise. Many, many more snowflakes began to generate in the air around and between them, but targeting nothing in particular.

Then, they began freezing and thawing.

Hiyori's bow glowed dimly in the darkness. "Hnh…"

"A-aah! Aaa~h!" Marigold began screaming, terrified.

"Fuck! No!" Osamu tried to punch the ice as it froze and thawed around him. "I _command_ you! I _cast_ ice spells!"

Hikari hugged herself. "A-ah…"

Boom! Bam-boom-boom-bam-boom!

The snowflakes all exploded at once, the huge amount of ice damage washing over the entire party.

Osamu and Marigold were both frozen solid.

"To-too… co~ld…" Hikari curled up in a ball on the floor, nearly frozen herself.

Hiyori, however, was only partially frozen, patches of ice stuck to her in places she couldn't see, but could feel.

Hiyori tried Healing Ω!

Hikari was no longer stiff, but still really cold. "A-ah…"

Osamu and Marigold broke from their ice. "Fu-fuhuhu~ck…" Osamu began rubbing his hands together.

"...Be-better… than burning." Managing a sentence, Marigold slowly dug through her backpack.

The cave now quiet, the party had a moment to figure out just what was attacking them.

' _Where… who?_ ' Hikari looked around in the dim, black space.

Her eyes caught sight of a whirling mass of red mist. It seemed that wherever it passed, the sporadically generating clouds joined it, although it never got any bigger from all the clouds it linked with. The mist swirled around in a vortex around a central cloud. Hikari couldn't make out if anything was in the center, though…

"Ev-everyone…" Hikari spoke weakly, the cold having weakened her vocal cords, "attack the… big mist."

Double-taking, Osamu described what he saw. "It-it's a giant _fucking_ skull!"

Marigold aimed her bazooka at it. "It-it…"

Not commenting, Hiyori rose her mace menacingly.

"St-stay back!" Rapidly backpedaling, Marigold fired-

Fwoosh! The projectile was a simple solid red in this realm, its glow dimmed and dulled to the point of simply making it look bigger.

Boom! It struck something, its flames flowering outward as grey shades that momentarily discolored the red mist.

' _...So we can hit it?_ ' Hikari wasn't certain.

"Return to sender!" Osamu threw an arm outward.

Osamu tried PK Freeze γ!

KaKaKa~...

The crimson-tinted pattern of snowflakes generated within the red mist. As it froze and thawed, it displaced it, only for the red mist to fill back in where it was displaced from slowly.

Boom!

The final icy blast made the mass of mist ripple.

Hiyori tried PK Starstorm α!

Looking up, the party saw the stars generate in the black sky above, their solid red forms either homing in on the swirling mass, or falling haphazardly and without aiming.

Eventually, they closed in on the mist.

Bam-boom! Blam-boo-bam!

The star's yellow and white blasts caused color to flash near the mist's form, but for only a few moments.

' _...Light!_ ' Hikari was reminded of something she could do.

Hikari tried PK Flash Ω!

 _Fwa~sh!_

The area around the party lit up, allowing them to see the red metal floor once again. The areas where there used to be the beige tendrils were now flat metal, as well, and stained a deep crimson.

Light didn't extend more than a few feet out from each party member, nor did the flash affect Giygas.

' _ **...friends…**_ '

The mass of red mist began to drift uncomfortably close to the party, revealing its actual size to be something well over twenty or thirty feet.

Hikari cannot comprehend the true form of Giygas' attack!

Once again, the entire room was bathed in a solid, red color, before the only ring of space free of it expanded outward again.

' _O-ow…_ ' Quickly, HIkari rubbed her forehead, the feeling making her briefly lose focus again.

Her vision returned. With her friends now illuminated, she could see their similarly panicked expressions clearly.

Thwa-thwa-thwash!

Hiyori, Marigold, and Osamu lit up with electricity, their forms glowing brightly in their small illuminated spaces. Their psychic shields were demolished by the lightning strikes.

Freezing up, the sight took Hikari by complete surprise. ' _No…!_ '

"Agh…" Hiyori's shackle responded, as she quivered under the shock's might.

" _Oo~hn!_ " Arching her back immediately, Marigold felt her mind melt in pleasure as her previous frostbite was reversed. "Wo-wow…"

Bam! "Aaaa~h!" Osamu quickly crumpled up into a heap after the lightning struck.

Hikari acted quickly. ' _So-so fast…!_ '

Hikari tried Lifeup Ω!

...Osamu's form, still crackling with static, began to unfold from the floor. "O- _ow_ …shit..."

Marigold was already nearly fully recovered. "...Thanks, Hikari."

Fixing her posture, Hiyori began to run towards the swirling form of Giygas. Raising her mace above her head, she brought it down once she was sure she was close. "Hra~h!"

It flew straight through the mist, displacing it as she swung through it. It rippled gradually in the wake of her strike.

Hikari leaped towards it, intent on attempting to attack it, too. In the air, she swung wide-

Fwoosh. The swing of her gohei didn't do anything she could really recognize as damage…

As she fell, she swung downward-

SMAAAA~SH!

' _Wh-what did I hit!?_ ' Even though the loud noise rang out, Hikari didn't feel her weapon hit anything.

 _Kri~ng!_ The energy of the gohei traveled along the mist, making some of it vanish, for only a moment. Wind energy traveled off of the gohei, too, but it completely vanished once it got to the red mist.

Osamu tried PSI Shield Ω!

The party was protected by the blue psychic power shields!

Bringing out her Spectrum Shotgun, Marigold quickly switched the rainbow prism out for the star-shaped topaz. Then, she aimed it-

ChuuChuuChuu~! She shot out three small, star-shaped projectiles in random directions. They promptly arced around to pass through the form of the mist, making tiny ripples in it.

' _ **I feel g...o...o...d…**_ '

Hikari felt like her head hurt again. ' _Th-this voice…_ '

"Ugh…" Marigold sighed. "My-my head…"

' _It's not just me, then…_ '

Hikari cannot comprehend the true form of Giygas' attack!

The entire room was once again one color, before a ring of contrasting darkness stretched outwards in spite of it.

When it stopped, Hikari found herself looking in all the wrong directions, for only a moment. "A-awah..."

Boom! Bam! Boom!

Implausibly large spikes of rock shot from the floor, knocking the entire party away from one another.

"Aaaa~h!" Osamu was flung somewhere.

"He-he~y!" Marigold's voice came from above.

Hiyori didn't exclaim anything Hikari could hear.

As for herself, Hikari was sliding down a jagged section of rock, her clothes scraping sharp edges on her slide down the side of it.

"A-ah…" She winced, before glancing at her arm, only to see the sleeve ripped, and blood oozing out from a fresh wound.

Kr-kra~ck…

The spike of stone retracted into the earth, leaving no visible hole as it vanished entirely.

"He-he~lp!" Marigold fell from above, accelerating towards the floor.

Hiyori was rapidly running towards her form, but didn't look like she'd make it in time.

Hikari felt her heart skip again. ' _Wh-what… do I do!? Ma-Marigold!_ '

Hikari tried Shield ß!

Marigold was protected by the power shield of light, over writing her psychic shield.

She hit the floor-

Cr-crack! "Aaa- _aaaa~h!_ " Once again, Marigold found her legs woefully and gruesomely broken.

Hiyori stopped before her, eyes wide. "No…!"

Hiyori tried Lifeup γ!

Similar to the last time Marigold was healed from this position-

"A-aah-aah…" Her eyes widened. "Ow ow ow ow~!"

Hiyori grimaced as the girl's legs snapped back into their correct postures and positions…"I-I'm so sorry- I-I…"

"It- nh- it-it's okay…" Tears streaming down her face, Marigold gritted her teeth through the rest of the pain. "It's okay…"

Osamu tried PK Thunder γ!

Thwa~sh!

It struck Marigold. "Wo-woah…" Feeling pleasure right after she felt pain completely threw her off-guard, leaving her in a weird middle ground.

Thwa~sh!

The electricity arced through the red mist, briefly causing it all to scatter, before it clumped back together.

Thwa~sh!

...Despite looking around for it, Hikari couldn't find the bolt in the darkness.

The mist moved towards Hikari, slowly.

' _ **Hikari, Hikari, Hikari, Hikari, Hikari, Hikari, Hikari, Hikari, Hikari, Hikari, Hikari, Hikari, Hikari, Hikari, Hikari, Hikari, Hikari, Hikari, Hikari, Hikari, Hikari,**_ '

"St-stop…" Hikari retreated away from the mist as it neared her.

Hikari cannot comprehend the true form of Giygas' attack!

Everything was once again red.

' _Ju-just…_ ' Hikari shut her eyes, but nothing changed.

The disorienting ring of negative space traveled along the arena once again, before the red overlay finally lifted. Then-

FWOOSH

Everything within the party's light was pale blue, a massive shockwave of lunar energy sweeping everyone off their feet and onto their side, Hiyori included.

"Ah…" Hikari looked at her arms, and her legs. "I-I'm…"

Hiyori tensed up. "This is…"

Hiyori tried Healing Ω!

But it failed!

"My- my mana…" Hiyori slowly moved to get back onto her legs.

Osamu tried PK Hydro ß!

But it failed!

"Fuck! What the _hell_ , dude!" Osamu stared at his hands, which were engulfed with pale-blue flames. "We got stinted or something, dude!"

...Marigold glanced at him, half-smiling. "It's _silencing_."

Small beams of magical energy finally responded to the slight magical damage everyone took from the moon-elemental shockwave. The beams traveled into Giygas' mist, and vanished.

Not bothering to stand up, Marigold pulled the Neutralizer from her backpack, and pressed the button on the top.

It flashed, and then all the blue flames dissipated, along with the party's psychic shields.

"Fucking…" Osamu was annoyed by that.

Osamu tried PSI Shield Ω!

The party was protected by the blue psychic power shields!

...Hikari turned around, seeing the mass of red mist floating behind her. For some reason, the way it did so came off to Hikari as ginger, almost casual.

' _Wh-why… do I feel like this?_ ' Stumbling back, Hikari considered getting away, before her instincts told her otherwise.

Leaping into the air, she attacked again-

SMAAAA~SH!

 _Kri~ng!_ Bright yellow energy illuminated Giygas' red mist, as the powerful gohei flew through it.

Bringing the gohei around her shoulder, Hikari swung again-

SMAAAA~SH!

 _Kri~ng!_ The finisher to Hikari's short combo was also a critically loud blow, despite Hikari not feeling her weapon recoil against anything. The swing's momentum caused her to twirl back to the floor, allowing her to land on her sandals. "Ha~h…"

Putting away her Neutralizer, Marigold had time to raise her Spectrum Shotgun again. "I hope this actually works…"

ChuuChuuChuu~! Three yellow, star-shaped projectiles flew from her gun at random angles, moving to meet the red mist.

ChuuChuuChuu~! Letting the recoil take her arms wildly, Marigold's additional shots ended up tracing themselves to the red mist anyway.

Steadying her arm, she pointed the gun at the swirling mass as Hikari backed away from it, for fear of getting caught in the crossfire. The gun shook, the energy pooling up in the topaz-

Choo~m! A thin but solid yellow laser shot out, piercing Giygas' mist, and creating a momentary hole in it.

Choo~m! Her second shot yielded similar results.

"Aah…" She released the trigger, shaking her hand from the strain the gun's power put on it.

Taking out another bottle of water, Hiyori ripped it open and chugged it. "Mmh…"

' _ **I'm h...a...p...p...y…**_ '

Hikari took a deep breath. ' _We have to be doing something to it…_ '

' _ **...friends…**_ '

She shivered.

Hikari cannot comprehend the form of Giygas' attack!

Red blinded the shrine maiden again, straining her eyes.

' _En-enough, already…_ ' She was starting to get a headache…

She hardly acknowledged the process it went through with the negative space, before the red faded.

Kr-Krack, krack, krack…

Hikari suddenly broke out in sweat. "Uh-uhm…?"

"Oh, shit…" Osamu gasped. "Dude-"

Marigold froze up.

BOOM

This time, all Hikari saw was the warm colors of flames, the heat's intensity being suppressed only a margin by their psychic power shields.

In only a second, with the color of flames came the sensation of heat, and with it, intense, searing pain.

The pain instantly caused Hikari to stretch her limbs. She couldn't tell if she fell, or if the heat simply fluctuated.

She couldn't tell if she was on fire, if the explosion was still happening, or if she was lying in a smouldering heap on the ground.

Hiyori tried Healing Ω!

The reversal of the fire and the charring reminded Hikari that she was still very much alive… and in very much pain.

All the non-oni party members opened their mouths in silent, horrified wails, their voice boxes momentarily silenced.

' _A- my- a-ah… he-help…_ ' Hikari's mind was scattered, her ability to reason lost for the moment.

"Hi-Hikari!?" Hiyori yelled, noticing no one getting up. "...Marigold! Osamu!"

Hiyori tried Healing Ω!

…

' _I-I…_ '

Hikari tried Lifeup Ω!

…

Ever so slowly, Hikari threw her limbs forward.

Osamu was still conscious, to his own chagrin. "...Kauf, kauf, kauf…" His lungs were still healing.

Though Marigold was unconscious, having collapsed from the pain, she was healing along with everyone else.

"O-oh…" Hiyori almost dropped to her knees. "Ev-everyone…"

No one really had time to act for awhile, all too busy trying to withstand the horrible, overwhelming pain that would break those of less willpower.

Thick beams shot from their psychic power shields. They homed in on Giygas' mist and tore straight through it, creating large disruptions as they did so.

' _ **Argh…**_ '

Hikari felt everything about herself ripple. ' _A-ah…_ '

Hikari cannot comprehend the true form of Giygas' attack!

Her eyes desperately wanted to filter out the harsh red as they healed, but regardless of whether they were open or closed, they still saw red.

The red stopped, and she was relieved.

…

Woo~sh!

Finding herself in the air, Hikari floated aimlessly as powerful gusts rotated her. As her body healed up, she found herself anxiously staring down at the now far mass of red mist…

Looking around, she even saw Hiyori caught in the gust, her kimono flapping wildly in the wind.

' _This is gonna hurt…_ ' Hikari felt mentally drained.

...Unable to do much, Hikari let herself ride the wind.

Osamu tried Offense Up Ω!

But it failed!

"Sh-shit…" The powerful winds took his breath away when he opened his mouth. "Aa-ack…"

…

As the typhoon of powerful gales ceased, instead of being unceremoniously dropped from pelvis-crushing height, the wind abruptly pulled everyone downward, smashing them against the metal floor.

Crack! "Ha-ah!?" ' _Aaaaa~h!_ '

Hikari shut her eyes, her arm now dangling behind her, the shoulder removed from its socket.

She rolled across the floor as the wind ended, bouncing against it. "Enh- anh…"

Once again, she shed tears from the pain.

' _He-here… goes…_ '

Hikari tried Lifeup Ω!

But it failed!

Hikari froze.

' _...N-no… no, no no! No!_ '

Hikari tried Lifeup γ!

Her arm snapped back into its socket.

"Aaa- _aaaa~h!_ " She let out what might be mistaken as a primal roar in the wrong context.

Hiyori tried Lifeup γ!

Osamu scrambled up from the floor, limping on his healing leg. "Ma-Marigold… wh-where's Marigold?"

They saw the light that still hung around her, the magi unconscious and her limbs bent out of shape on the far side of the arena.

Hiyori tried Lifeup γ!

"She-she's over there!" Hiyori yelled, pointing her arm at the unconscious magi.

"I-I'll wake her the fuck up…" Osamu sprinted as fast as he was able, as his leg slowly healed to strength again. "Hang in there, Marigold!"

Hikari slowly stood, tears dropping from her chin. "O-ow…"

Hiyori hurried over to her. "Are you okay!?"

"...N-no…" Hikari sobbed. "I-I'm… out."

"What do you mean…?" Trembling, Hiyori moved over to Hikari, and picked her up carefully.

"Of ma-mana…" Her voice cracked, the force from before now drained and empty.

...Carrying Hikari, Hiyori dashed towards where Osamu and Marigold were…

' _ **Hikari, Hikari, Hikari, Hikari…**_ '

' _Shut up! Pl-please, just…_ '

Hikari cannot comprehend the true form of Giygas' attack!

Red filled Hikari's vision. She furrowed her brows, but had no will to get angry anymore…

…

After a few moments, the red vanished, and Hikari felt the rhythmic movement of Hiyori's running again, before she stopped.

"Is- is she alright…?" Hiyori breathed heavily.

"Ye-yeah…" Marigold sat up, her limbs fixed. "Well… no, but yeah."

The floor shook, vibrations rocking the solid platform the party stood on.

Eyes wide, Hiyori moved to scoop up the other party members as a sea of crimson rushed towards them.

"Y-yo…" Osamu protested weakly.

"Ah…?" Marigold rose a brow.

And then-

Fwam! The four were slammed by a huge wave of water, the color revealed to be a more natural blue within the party's light. Hiyori felt herself get swept into the tide, momentarily, but eventually got to a point where her feet touched the floor again.

Hikari kept her mouth shut, water fiercely slamming against her face. ' _Ou~ch…_ '

…

' _I-I can't breathe…!_ '

"Mmm! Mmh!" Hikari protested the roaring current, the fluid tides drowning out all other noise.

Hiyori crouched down… then she jumped.

Fwoom!

Her powerful legs shot her up. They were caught in the current- something preferable to being slammed by it- as they slowly ascended…

Briefly, they cleared the water.

"Ha~h!" Everyone took a deep breath.

Splash! They sunk deep into the dark tides again, the water's power amplified by the relief they had just moments ago.

' _Ma-make it stop…_ ' Hikari shivered, her body surrounded by icy water.

Hiyori touched down on the bottom again. Slowly crouching, she propelled herself up again.

' _I-I can't hold it…_ ' Hikari felt the need for air. She opened her mouth as they rose. "Gughumf-...!"

Splash! They cleared the surface of the water.

"Ha~h!" Everyone except Hikari inhaled.

"Kauf, kauf, kauf!" Her lungs were filled with water. "I- Kauf! Kau~gh…!"

As they sunk-

"...!" Hikari's mouth failed to close in time. ' _Aaaa~h!_ '

-the water lowered rapidly.

Hiyori was slammed against the bottom of the pool-

 _Cla~ng!_ Her bare heels hit the paneling loudly.

-as the water receded.

Within moments, it was all gone.

"Ha- Kaugh! Kauf!" Hikari coughed up water. "Bwaau~gh!" Then she threw up.

Hiyori tried Lifeup ß!

...Hikari felt her airways return to normal instantly. ' _Ye-yes! Yes, yes, yes, yes!_ '

Hiyori let everyone go.

Hikari dropped to her knees, while everyone else landed on their feet.

Turning to her, Marigold crouched next to her. "Hi-Hikari? Are you okay?"

...Hikari stared forward, looking at the swirling mass of Giygas.

"...Sp-speak to me. Hikari? Hikari?" She shook Hikari's shoulder. "Sp-speak to me!"

"A-ah…" Looking over at her, Hikari blinked. "Ma-Mari…"

"What's wrong?" Marigold stared into her eyes.

Hiyori spoke. "Out of mana."

...Marigold lit up. "Ooh! Ooh, ooh, ooh!"

Reaching into her backpack, she took out one of the mana potions from earlier. Popping it open, she shoved it into Hikari's mouth.

Hikari let her friend force-feed it to her, shutting her eyes to drown out the horrible taste…

…

Then, she opened her eyes.

' _...Wo-woah!_ ' The rush of energy hit her like a freight train. ' _...I'm alive!_ '

She stood up, shook her head, and stretched her arms. "...I've had _enough_ of this _stupid Giygas thing!_ "

"There we go!" Marigold pumped her arm in the air.

"Du-dude…" Grinning sheepishly, Osamu shook Marigold by the shoulder. "I need one, too…"

"Ah…" Reaching into her backpack, Marigold took out the last mana potion. "Here…"

Snatching it out of her hands, Osamu pried it open, "Th-thanks!" and guzzled it.

Looking over at Giygas, Hikari rose her gohei. ' _It's all or nothing…!_ '

Hikari tried PK Fantasy Ω!

Throwing both of her arms outward, she sent two technicolor polygons out at once.

FwOwOw, FwOwOw…

Zooming in on Giygas, they rotated rapidly, zeroing in on the gaseous zone in the midst of its red mass.

FwOwOw…

The colorful reticle stopped somewhat engulfed within Giygas' form.

Hikari's eyes were forced to stare straight into the reticle, and into Giygas. From there, her attack continued on its own. For a moment, her mind went blank.

KABOOM, Boom, boom…!

Yellow energy brightly engulfed the misty form of Giygas. The party didn't bother to cover their ears, finding themselves not terribly off-put by the sound, by this point. Though the light was dimmed by the darkness Giygas cast upon the room, the colors of the attack still shone beautifully. It was a stark contrast to the sheer amount of red they were seeing.

Boomboomboomboom!

A gridwork pattern of round, red yellow and blue particles whirled around. Features of the arena, and the featureless nature of the tendril-less sky above, was revealed by the pure, unfiltered technicolor energy. The particles washed across the battlefield.

Bambambambambam!

As the blast spread out, briefly illuminating everything, Giygas' mist was momentarily scrambled, reducing it to a thin, barely visible color.

Boo~m…

A final explosion echoed in the distance of the strange realm. Soon, darkness followed, the arena once again monochromatic and otherwise pitch black.

The light the party members had was still around them, though.

Giygas' form began gathering again, except this time a little bigger…

It expanded outward rapidly.

Hikari swung-

Clang! Her gohei hit the floor.

' _What…?_ '

The space around them was filled with a far more dense assortment of red mist now. Masses that appeared similar to the one they were attacking materialized all around them, slowly growing in quantity and size…

"What the _hell_ is this thing!?" Osamu finally got the chance to criticize the unspeakable horror they found themselves up against.

' _ **It hurts, it hurts…**_ '

' _ **...Hikari…**_ '

' _You're in for it…!_ ' Hikari looked around wildly for anything that looked like a target.

Hikari cannot comprehend the true form of Giygas' attack!

Once again, the space all around Hikari was a solid red. This time, as the ring of negative space stretched outward, Hikari braced herself.

' _Stu-stupid…_ ' She was really in the mood for ruining Giygas' day.

KaKaKaKaKaKaKa~...

The air around the party froze and thawed rapidly. Everyone was frozen solid as the air turned from a gas to a solid in rapid succession, and with great repetition.

BOOM

The final icy blast didn't do anything to the already frozen solid party.

Everyone was left encased deep within a single, large chunk of ice.

…

Hiyori's bow still glowed inside, and quickly she found herself able to move within the large ice chunk. By wildly exerting force with her arms-

Cr-crack! The ice began to break.

"Ha~h…" She took a moment to pull out her last swig of water, downing it in quick gulps.

Hiyori tried Healing Ω!

Crack! Cr-crack!

The party broke from the rest of their icy prison, the large chunk slowly splitting apart and dissipating due to the healing magic's effects.

Shivering, Marigold held up her Spectrum Shotgun. "Th-this sh-should do…"

ChuuChuuChuu~! The wildly aimed star-shaped bolts flew into the red mist. To Marigold's dismay, she was unable to track where they went, once they left the space immediately before herself.

"S-so much mist…" She glared at the red mist that flooded the air.

By this point, it was getting hard for Hikari to make out anything that wasn't herself or her friends in the mix of black and red space.

Thick beams shot from their psychic power shields, traveling off into the red mist around them in response to the earlier ice attack.

The mist wiggled in response, as the beams shot off in wildly different directions.

' _Is… it all around us?_ '

"Dude, let's shock its shit." Osamu beckoned Hiyori to zap their intangible, potentially omnipresent foe.

Briefly debating with herself, Hiyori decided to comply. "...Alright."

Osamu tried PK Thunder Ω!

Hiyori tried PK Thunder γ!

Thwa-thwa~sh!

The mist began jittering around the party violently, causing everyone to lose their sense of direction.

"A-aa~h…" Looking to her friends for something solid, Marigold stumbled about. "Woaa~h…"

"Tr-trippy…" Osamu fell over, losing his balance.

Thwa-thwa~sh!

' _ **Argh…**_ '

The rapidly shifting pattern of solid red and black caused Hikari's head to hurt…

' _Yeah, 'argh' is right…_ '

Thwa-thwa~sh!

Then-

Hikari fell on her bum, pushed by a mysterious force.

' _Wh-wha~t was that!?_ '

"A-ah!?" Hiyori felt herself get dragged into the air for a moment, only to drop back down to the floor, on her stomach. "Ah…"

"What the fuck!?" Osamu slowly got dragged in a circle. "The air is fucking _alive!_ "

Thwa~sh!

' _ **Yaargh! Aa~rgh! Argh!**_ '

' _ **It hurts, it hurts…**_ '

' _ **...friends…**_ '

Hikari felt herself black out, for only a moment. "Wha~h…"

Hikari cannot comprehend the true form of Giygas' attack!

Red filled her vision, and as usual, she waited out the moment. It was less jarring due to the abundance of red mist, now.

Once it faded-

Fwa~sh!

A bright, brilliant light washed over the party.

Marigold's glasses darkened, rendering her blind for a moment. "Wo-woah…"

Osamu went limp, his form paralyzed.

Hiyori began crying. "Wh-what…?"

Unaffected, Hikari looked around tensely. She was braced for another impact of highly magical pain, but didn't receive any.

' _What was that…?_ '

Wiping her face, Hiyori found it hard to focus her vision. "My-my eyes, th-they're…"

' _Hi-_ Hiyori's _crying!?_ ' Hikari was surprised. ' _...What did it do to her!?_ '

Hikari tried Healing ß!

...Hiyori stopped crying, taking a moment to expel the last of the snot on her nose onto her kimono's sleeve. "U-ugh…"

' _...Oh. It was that kind of crying._ '

Aiming her Spectrum Shotgun into the air, Marigold backed up towards Hiyori. "Hang onto me, Hiyori." Quickly, she swapped the prism on again, putting away the star-shaped topaz.

Complying, Hiyori kneeled and wrapped her arms around her-

Choo~m! The seven lasers shot off into the mist, most of their length not visible to the party as they spiralled into the mist.

The portion of the mist the lasers spun around in writhed and pulsed violently, some of the mist actually dissipating away from the vague area it fired. However, as the beam condensed, the mist rapidly rushed towards where the beam traveled, and became more dense.

"...I don't know if this is doing anything." Marigold spoke under the slowly growing shifting sounds of the mist, and the loud roar of her laser gun.

Once she noticed Hiyori getting pushed back, she let go of the trigger.

Hikari looked to the ground where Osamu was still getting spun around in circles.

"Osamu…?" Hikari noticed he wasn't moving. She took a step towards him-

"Ouch…" -only to fall on her stomach, something unseen tripping her.

Hikari tried Lifeup α!

It didn't seem to do anything…

"Osamu…?" She tried to get his attention again.

Osamu tried Defense Down α!

...The mist convulsed, for only a moment.

' _ **It's not right… not right… not right…**_ '

' _ **Hikari!**_ '

' _ **Hikari, Hikari, Hikari, Hikari, Hikari, Hikari, Hikari, Hikari, Hikari, Hikari, Hikari, Hikari, Hikari, Hikari, Hikari, Hikari, Hikari, Hikari, Hikari, Hikari, Hikari, Hikari, Hikari, Hikari, Hikari,**_ '

' _Shut up! Shut up!_ ' Hikari glared into the mist. ' _Shut up!_ '

Hikari cannot comprehend the true form of Giygas' attack!

' _This red thing is really getting old…_ ' On the floor, she felt her eyes get berated by the monotone color once more. ' _So weird…_ '

It faded, promptly replaced by another magical attack.

Fwa~sh!

Marigold's glasses darkened again. "Again…?"

Osamu began crying.

Thud. Hiyori loudly collapsed…

' _U-ugh…_ ' Unaffected, Hikari unsteadily stood, unknown forces pulling at her limbs in all directions.

Looking at her friends, she noticed some problems.

"O-Osamu?" She was getting worried, now that he was crying and still immobile.

Hikari tried Healing γ!

...After a moment, he stood back up. "Ba-back in action, baby…"

"Hiyori!" Marigold shouted, having noticed her collapse behind her. "...Hi-Hikari! Hiyori's down!"

Hikari tried Lifeup γ!

...Hiyori didn't get up.

Hikari tried Healing γ!

...This time, the oni groaned. "Uu~nh…"

' _I.. think she's okay._ ' Hikari sighed.

Osamu tried PK Thunder γ!

Thwa~sh!

"This shit seems to work…" He breathed out, his robe coated in sweat and char marks.

Hikari looked down at her own clothes, briefly acknowledging the fact they were almost completely gone.

Thwa~sh!

No one could really tell if the thunder was working, as all around them was whirling, loudly shifting masses of red mist.

Thwa~sh!

' _ **Ahh- Grrh, oo~h…**_ '

' _ **It's not right… not… right…**_ '

' _ **I'm...h...a...p...p...y…**_ '

' _Quit… doing that!_ '

Hikari tried PK Fantasy Ω!

FwOwOw, FwOwOw...

Her polygonal, technicolor reticle traveled outward into the mist. Even as it went far into it, she could still see it clearly…

Hikari couldn't comprehend the true form of Giygas' attack!

FwOwOw...

When everything was solid red, she could still see the blue and yellow flashes of her technicolor reticle. It had stopped, and her eyes were locked into place. Then, for a moment, she turned her mind off, which was a sweet release from the confusing mash of sensations that the battle currently was.

KABOOM, Boom, boom…!

Once the red vanished, the party was instead blinded by the intense yellow explosion that took its place. The energy blossomed forward in the mess of red and black, becoming another color added to the visual throwup.

Boomboomboomboom!

As the gridwork pattern of technicolor particles spun and rotated outward from the powerful blast, Giygas' own cast of magic took effect.

Thwa-thwa-thwa-thwa-thwash!

Bambambambambam!

Everyone could hardly see, their eyes assaulted violently by everything around them.

Bam! A lightning bolt struck Osamu's power shield. It dissipated, shooting a large beam into the darkness as he jittered violently from the residual static…

Bam! The next bolt struck Marigold, ridding her of her power shield, as well. " _Oo~h…!_ " Euphoria replaced pain, due to her resistances.

Bam! Hiyori's power shield was struck and destroyed. The rest of the damage was soaked up by her shackle. "...Hmm."

Boom…

The final explosion of Hikari's cast was unheard, as Giygas' shifting was now loud enough to drown out regular speech easily.

Bam! Hikari flailed her arms, surprised by the lightning bolt that struck her power shield. Within moments, however, the lightning was gone and so was her shield, leaving her with only a nasty shock. "Agh…"

...Once the attack was over, the party-

Bam!

Electricity traveled up Hikari's form, filling her with sudden, intense pain. ' _Aaaa~h!_ '

Hiyori tried Lifeup γ!

...

"O-oo~h…" Hikari whined on the floor. She cried naturally in response to the immense amount of damage she just took. On the positive side, her body slowly reversed the charring and cooking process…

' _This sucks…_ ' She wasn't very happy about getting sniped, though. That, and her increasing mana exhaustion from spamming her strongest move.

To everyone's curiosity, colors of yellow still hung in the air, the mist around them now so loud that everyone could hardly hear themselves think.

Osamu tried PSI Shield Ω!

The party's psychic power shields were restored!

Hiyori tried PK Starstorm Ω!

Suddenly, the mist began billowing, as if large bubbles were forming within it.

Boom! Bam-boom-blam-bam-boom-blam-bam!

The stars all exploded somewhere inside the mist the moment the were generated.

"Ho~ly shi~t!" Osamu tried to yell over the deafening roar that came from the mist.

Loud beeps and siren-esque noises came from the mist. Infact, there wasn't really mist, anymore; the party was in large part surrounded by what was now more like colors. Yellow, red, and black comprised the colors, but they flashed rapidly and without organization.

"What's going o~n!?" Marigold couldn't hear herself think.

"I don't kno~w!" Yelling back to her, Osamu felt his vocal cords strain.

Violent pulls of gravity pulled the party members around…

' _ **...go...b...a...c...k…**_ '

' _ **It hurts, Hikari…**_ '

' _ **Hikari!**_ '

"Sto~p!" Hikari yelled out loud at the voice she thought was in her head.

Hikari cannot comprehend the true form of Giygas' attack!

The red monotone was pierced by how bright the yellows were underneath the color, the mass that encapsulated the party brighter than this procedure Giygas performed.

Fwa~sh!

Bright white light was added to the mix, for only a brief moment.

Osamu was frozen solid, encased in ice.

Thud. Hiyori loudly collapsed, again…

' _N-no!_ ' Hikari saw Hiyori drop. ' _...I-I can't just keep healing everyone. I… need to finish this._ '

"Ah…!" Marigold noticed the team's oni drop, too, as her glasses lightened again. "Hikari! We need another heal, over here!"

Hikari tried PK Fantasy Ω!

FwOwOw. FwOwOw...

The reticle of technicolor energy shot into the mess. Hikari couldn't make it out.

FwOwOw…

Her eyes locked to where it was, anyway.

KABOOM, Boom, boom…!

The mess of colors got worse, more yellow added to the mix.

The pushing, pulling, tugging and twisting induced by the distortion of space around the party worsened as more and more problems were added to the unholy concoction around themselves.

"A-ah!" Marigold put away her gun, and grabbed Hiyori's legs, as the force tried to pull her away. "Hikari! What are you doing!? We need a heal!"

Bambambambambam!

Osamu still sat in place, safe and sound within his block of ice, even if he was pushed around a little by the violent force.

Boom…

Now that her magic was finished, Hikari was forced to fight the currents of the catastrophic disaster that was happening around her.

' _Wh-where is…!?_ ' The colors had gotten so bright, she couldn't see anyone.

She moved in their direction, before walking into a block.

Marigold had one arm around the frozen Osamu, and one arm held onto Hiyori's leg. "Hikari~!"

' _I-I should've healed them!_ ' Hikari was rapidly regretting her previous strategic move. ' _...Bu-but…_ '

' _ **Aarrgh! Yaaegh! Grrh!**_ '

' _ **Hikari!**_ '

' _ **It hurts, it hurts, it hurts...**_ '

Hikari cannot comprehend the true form of Giygas' attack!

Red filled her vision.

' _A-ah!_ ' She was stricken with indecision, torn between healing her friends and trying to kill the force attacking them.

...However, the moment of eye damage let her consider her options. ' _Either I win this… or I run out of mana, and we… could die…_ '

The red vanished.

Fwa~sh!

Hikari began crying, not of her own will. ' _Wh-what…? No!_ '

Osamu was paralyzed within the ice.

Hiyori was unaffected, unconscious from the sheer pain she took from the last cast.

"Hi-Hikari…!" Marigold's voice cracked, but that wasn't from the magic.

At this point, the miko wasn't sure if they were moving or not, but she held tightly onto Osamu's side. She desperately made certain not to lose sight of her friends.

To keep herself attached, Hikari decided to continue attacking, using the least involved cast she knew that still dealt damage.

Hikari tried PK Fantasy α!

Fizzle!

She doesn't know if it activated.

Fizzle!

' _I-I'm sorry…_ '

Bwa~sh!

Her eyes hurt.

"Hi-Hikari…" Marigold's arms hurt, too. The force around them wiped the tears from her eyes for her.

…

HIkari tried Lifeup γ!

…

' _Mo-mom…_ ' Hikari's arms hurt. ' _I'm sorry…_ '

…

Hiyori writhed on the floor, if she was on the floor.

' _ **...go...b...a...c...k…**_ '

' _ **...friends…**_ '

' _ **It's not right, it's not right…**_ '

Hikari cannot comprehend the true form of Giygas' attack!

Red filled her vision.

' _I love you, Mom…_ ' Hikari was crying. ' _I should have listened to you…_ '

Marigold closed her eyes, holding on.

KaKaKaKaKaKaKa~...

The sporadically generating ice chunks rapidly spawned in the air around the party, generating with little rhyme or reason. Most of the ice chunks got ripped away in the air by the violent maelstrom of colors, but some stuck around-

Boom!

Marigold was frozen solid, her ice partially engulfing Hiyori's legs, keeping the oni attached.

"Agh…" Hiyori was awake, through, and eyes wide and heart racing.

Hiyori tried PK Starstorm Ω!

...Bam, boom! Ba-bla-boom-bam-blam-boom!

Hikari felt the force of the colors press against her skin from all directions. ' _Mom…_ '

' _ **...friends…**_ '

' _ **...go...b...a...c...k…**_ '

' _ **Hikari!**_ '

Hikari sobbed. ' _...Go back?_ '

HIkari cannot comprehend the true form of GIygas' attack!

Red filled her vision.

' _We… we can't teleport like this. I…_ ' She tried to move her leg, but couldn't. ' _I can't move._ '

The red was gone.

Fwa~sh!

Hiyori passed out…

' _Wh-what… would Mom do?_ '

…

"Ca-Cautionary Barrier!" Hikari tried to stretch her fingers.

Cra~ck!

She heard the barrier shatter instantly.

' _M-my ofuda…_ '

...All things considered, she was naked right now, her clothes having been either torn off or vaporized by potent magic.

…

' _I really should've listened to Mom…_ '

…

' _Hakurei…_ ' Hikari pondered her family name. ' _Why me?_ '

She felt like she wanted to throw up from all of the momentum she was experiencing at the moment.

' _I-I can't do any of the stuff Mom can…_ ' Hikari closed her eyes, the colors piercing through and making the action offer little relief. ' _I can't fly. I can't smash stuff with orbs. I can't… well, I guess I can make barriers, at least… and make stuff blow up. Go me._ '

' _ **Hikari, Hikari, Hikari, Hikari, Hikari, Hikari, Hikari, Hikari, Hikari, Hikari, Hikari, Hikari, Hikari, Hikari, Hikari, Hikari, Hikari, Hikari, Hikari, Hikari, Hikari, Hikari, Hikari, Hikari, Hikari,**_ '

…

' _ **...friends…**_ '

' _No, we're not. I hate you._ '

Hikari cannot comprehend the true form of Giygas' attack!

Red filled her vision.

' _Osamu, Marigold, Hiyori… I'm sorry I got you stuck in this._ '

…

The red vanished.

…

Hikari suddenly felt herself experiencing a lot of pain. "A-aah…"

' _Aaaaa~h!_ '

Hikari tried Lifeup α!

...Her sense eventually returned to her.

' _Ha-Hakurei…_ ' She darted her eyes around rapidly, desperate. ' _Why was I born a Hakurei!? Why am I supposed to do this!?_ '

…

' _Am I supposed to die here?_ '

…The thought made her feel like she couldn't breathe, for a moment.

' _Th-there's a way out..._ ' She tried to smile. ' _There has to be. There always is!_ '

…

' _A-agh…_ ' She was actually legitimately having trouble breathing. ' _N-no…_ ' The force was pressing her tightly.

…

' _I-if there's really a Hakurei god…_ ' If she was going to go out like this, she was going to go out criticizing her luck. ' _Why won't it ever_ _ **help me!?**_ '

Hikari's eyes shut, as the bright colors around her began to peacefully fade out.

…

…

…

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

…

…

…

The Hakurei Shrine was still, and silent. Wind softly echoed through the wood. Sunlight shone through the open doors, and through the windows.

' _Where…_ ' Hikari looked around, sitting up in her bed. ' _Where am I?_ '

…

' _Home?_ ' She blinked.

…

' _Am I dead?_ ' Her heart sank. ' _No…_ '

…

' _I should look around, first._ '

Throwing off her covers, Hikari rose from bed. She was in a proper shrine maiden kimono, although it still had the detached arm sleeves.

' _This is new._ '

She went over to the window, and looked outside.

Instead of the Hakurei hillside, she saw forestry and grass immediately outside the window.

' _That is also new._ '

Curious, she leapt into the window frame, and leapt outside.

To her surprise, she fell through the ground.

' _Wh-wha~t!?_ ' Her eyes slowly widened as she fell down into the white space below…

…

Then, she was back in her room-

Thud! "...Ow."

' _At least my legs didn't break…_ ' They actually didn't hurt much, to her wonderment.

Getting back up, and looking around her room, she didn't see anything else interesting, or out of place. Satisfied with the state of it, she proceeded out of her door, and into the shrine's main room.

The main room of the shrine had the kotatsu setup.

There sat Sendai Hakurei no Miko, who was enjoying a cup of tea. "...Hey."

' _...I-I might really be dead!_ '

"You look like you've seen a ghost." She grinned at Hikari.

' _Oh, no…_ '

...Slowly, Hikari progressed towards the kotatsu, and took a seat across from her grandmother.

Sendai's brow was raised. "What's with the long face?"

Her response was blunt. "I'm dead."

...Wobbling her head back and forth briefly, Sendai brought her tea to her lips. "...Not really."

…

"What?" Hikari wasn't sure what she meant.

"You're not exactly dead." Sendai remained vague, staring at Hikari blandly.

"...So I'm alive, then." Hikari tilted her head.

Jerking her head back, Sendai promptly replied. "Oh, no. You're dead… but not quite."

…

"I wouldn't be good at explaining it." Sendai put a hand up, before bringing it back down. "Lazy bones in the sky up here'll be here any minute now. She- it… it'll do a better job at it, I can tell ya that much."

…

She stood up, ofuda flowed from her sleeve to slowly make one of her giant axes, causing Hikari to lean back a little. ' _Woah…_ '

Sendai poked the ceiling with it. "If. It. Gets. Down. Here. I know you can hear me!"

...Hikari suddenly felt a comforting sensation wash over herself.

Before her, to the right of the kotatsu, a form began to generate. It slowly faded into existence, the texture of it pure white and glowing. As the featureless humanoid sat, it took a vaguely miko-esque look to it, sporting what looked like long hair and a bow in the back. Its chest puffed out a bit, but was purely a bulge of light, and not much else.

...Hikari rose her brow at the pitch-white being. "...Hi."

The elder miko stared at it sardonically. "Feel like one of us, today?"

"I have taken a form Hikari would be most comfortable with." The pitch-white being spoke with a loud, inexpressive but not completely monotone voice.

"What, didja have to put on makeup?" Grinning, the elder miko leaned towards the figure.

"I simply thought you might have appreciated some quality time with your descendant." The probably-a-woman's voice spoke.

' _It sounds like a she._ ' Hikari decided.

...

Sipping from her tea again, Sendai sighed.

"Didn't think you'd actually go through with this." Sendai turned to the neon-white figure.

"I didn't believe I _could_ go through with it." Turning to meet the miko's gaze, the being gave a slow, isolated nod. "...I had lost faith in Gensokyo myself, since the collapse of the barrier."

"You're… the Hakurei God?" Hikari assumed.

"Indeed." Turning, the god addressed her. "Due to my absence of faith, I could never meet you or your mother in person-"

"Technically." Sendai muttered.

"-but I've watched over your mother closely."

...Hikari took in the information. "I find it hard to believe that."

The elder miko smirked.

The god didn't emote, but was surprised. "Why is that?"

"Considering Mom has a ton of awesome holy powers, I feel like the least you could be able to do is appear before us." She felt a little wrong criticizing her god- or goddess- like this, but… ' _I pretty much just died, I think I deserve a little elbow room._ '

"...I am a being of great power," The Hakurei God responded tactfully, "but not one of great faith. Not anymore."

…

' _I guess that makes sense._ ' Hikari didn't have much to add to that.

"Those who believe in me, and hold the Hakurei blood, can be granted great power." Nodding slowly, the Hakurei God informed the miko. "There is little I can offer for those not of Hakurei blood but my blessing… which makes things admittedly difficult. Especially so now, since your mother is lost, hurt, and confused."

Hikari instantly felt guilty. ' _Mom…_ '

"Once she dies, this place will likely go with it, unless Yakumo has other plans." The Hakurei God looked around itself for a moment. "...I've not heard from her in awhile."

"Why would this place vanish?" Seeking clarification, the miko asked a question.

The Hakurei God responded. "Without the faith of any living being, I will cease to exist entirely. This includes all manifestations of my power."

"But…" Hikari furrowed her brows. "I'm technically not dead, right?"

...The god glanced at the elder miko, before clarifying. " _Technically_. Although, you could not support me."

Hikari was confused. "Why not? I'm a Hakurei."

"You're not of this universe." The god shook her head. "The real Hikari Hakurei was last seen thirty years ago. I believed that she was dead, but since her soul had vanished as well, I was unsure exactly what happened."

The elder miko sipped her tea calmly.

' _...I wish I had some orange juice._ '

"Your presence is an enigma." The Hakurei God continued. "You seem to have arrived with your original goal of thwarting Gensokyo's previous threat… unfortunately many years late."

"Time travel." Hikari summarized.

"...Understandable." The god turned away from her, staring into space.

"Understandable!?" Sendai was less than pleased with the answer. " _Time travel!?_ Why?"

"...It's a long story." Not feeling like recounting her entire journey, Hikari trimmed down the details.

"Oh, I'm sure it is!" Folding her arms, Sendai glared at her.

…

Her glare became dry. "No, really, why?"

"Well…" HIkari wasn't sure how to start. "Basically, I learned that I'm not from this timeline."

The god turned to her, intrigued. "Time _line?_ "

"Mmm." Hikari nodded. "I'm from one where I… supposedly come back alive. I think. I hope." She looked worried, for a moment. "The versions of me from this one… never came back, apparently. And probably never will, at this point."

"...I see." The Hakurei God gave a single, affirmative nod. "May she find peace."

The elder miko frowned at the kotatsu top.

"Your fight is not over yet." Speaking out, the god slipped out of the kotatsu, and stood up. "I was able to bring you here by the power of faith."

...Hikari blinked.

"Bullshit." Sendai grinned at the god. "I know you're stressed, but that was kinda a stupid statement, coming from you."

"...The faith is not of this world." The god stared into space.

"Not of this…world?" Sendai blinked. "Okay, I'll bite. What're you talkin' about?"

"Around the same time this Hikari came to this world…" The god liked to pause a lot. "She, herself, supplied probably the least faith of any Hakurei miko, likely bordering on none."

' _Oh, good._ ' Hikari blinked. "...Why?"

"Did you believe in me?" The god retorted.

...Hikari shrunk back a bit. ' _Not… very much. Mom never really went over you, other than the fact you existed and did nothing useful._ '

It took her silence as a 'not really'. "...Admittedly, part of this was the fault of this strange entity that attacked your world. Further, I would not place the blame on yourself, or your mother. Considering the current size of the Hakurei clan, I wouldn't have been surprised if I had ceased to exist within a few more generations. I don't think the Yakumo would have allowed such, however."

It continued, "When Hikari arrived, there was something else. It may have been present before her departure, but if it was, I hadn't felt it… it was the will of many people. It was not belief in me, but it was belief in you, Hikari."

Hikari felt awkward. "Belief… in me?"

"Yes." The god nodded once.

…

"Was it my friends?" Hikari speculated.

"Yes and no." The god was prompt. "The faith was far greater in quantity than what they could offer. I would say that it is certainly stronger than the faith you left this world with, which you had simply accumulated from your family friends, and friends." The god's mouth did not even move for speech, and considering the coloration, Hikari couldn't tell if it had a mouth.

"What're you tryin'a say here?" Sendai was perplexed. "Did she just find some, or something? I'm pretty sure that's not how it works."

"I have reason to believe the faith is from beyond our universe. Somewhere, our circumstance may be being recounted as a tale, or as some other form of folk lore." The god couldn't elaborate further. "That is all I know. It is also what allowed me to intervene."

"Right before- no, right _as_ I died." Hikari smiled bittersweetly.

"...I could have tried to reach out earlier," the god considered, "though I would have expended all of the faith collected. I may call the amount great, but that is only in comparison to what I've been working with for over the past century."

…

"Here." Moving fluidly in excess for the first time, the Hakurei God gestured towards Hikari with one arm…

A cup of orange juice materialized before Hikari.

' _...Huh._ ' She gave it a long, curious stare, before slowly moving to grab it.

With that, she moved onto a different topic of discussion. "How does this whole 'dead not-dead' thing work?"

"I return your soul to your body, heal you, and attempt to grant you the power you need to survive." The god explained, once again inexpressive and stiff as its arm returned to its side.

"Oh." Hikari blinked.

"...I would recommend finding a way to escape." The god advised her. "My power likely wouldn't last long, considering the faith pool."

' _Fair enough…_ ' Feeling herself relax, Hikari stood. "Um… do I do that now?"

The god shook his- or her- head. "No. I am going to do my other self a favor, and teach you how to properly worship me again."

...Such wording made Hikari slightly skittish. ' _Uhm…?_ '

...Noticing her reluctance, the god did its best at expressing comedic disdain. "You'll also learn to better hone your powers in the process." The tone wasn't that different from its normal tone.

' _Well, in that case…_ '

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Hikari stood before the Hakurei God, in the shrine's dedicated worship room.

...Which was still the main room, they just moved the kotatsu to the side.

"Didn't we have an actual worship room, at one point…?" Sendai lazily leaned against the wall, out of the way.

"It was a different building." The god reminded her. "It is gone now."

She looked to the side, away from the two. "Ah. Right."

...With that, the Hakurei God folded its arms.

"You're a she, right?" Hikari confirmed, unsure.

"...If that's what you're most comfortable with." The god decided. "Over a century ago, I took on the form of a male, but through these many trying years, I've felt less and less obligation to bother with personification except where absolutely necessary."

This just made Hikari more unsure. "...How?"

"You're talking to a god, sweetie." Sendai annotated from the sidelines.

' _...Yeah, that's true._ '

The god elaborated. "Us gods may change our physical forms at a whim. We do not obey biology."

' _Well, there we go. I guess they're beings of faith and stuff, after all..._ '

Standing in the center of the room, Hikari began looking around idly-

Then, small, runic boxes of yellow energy surrounded her, sitting on the floor at various disorganized angles.

The god began going over the steps to a basic summoning. "First, set up the chamber relics."

' _The what?_ '

Then, there were candles around the relics. "Set up holy candles. Two to three around each relic would suffice."

Then, a hexagon began glowing around Hikari, the lines of it drawing across the floor.

"Then, pray. It is a much more effective method of contacting me than meditation."

…

"Where do I get the relic things and the candles from?" Hikari tilted her head.

…

"You've never seen them, then?" The god tilted her head.

Hikari shrugged.

...It was at a loss for words. "Oh."

"I left 'em in the praying room underground." Sendai provided. "...I dunno if I ever told Reimu where they were."

"...Right." Refusing to linger on that, the god continued. "The candles, if you were wondering, can be made from normal candles if you apply a blessing to them. Otherwise, you'd likely have to hunt for them from holy youkai and other gods, but I wouldn't ask you to do such things."

' _Mom's got holy candles, I'm pretty sure._ '

"In addition, if you ever need my power in a time of need and have sufficient mana or faith to fuel a link between us, it simply requires a focused prayer. As you are a Hakurei descendant, you and I have the most optimal means of communication and power transfer accessible to us." It really was very motionless.

Putting her arms behind her back casually, Hikari confirmed what she heard, "So, when you send me back, I just need to… pray really hard?"

"Yes." Giving another simple, slow nod, the god began to walk for the shrine's door. "Leave through the front door when you are ready. Take your time."

After it paced out the door, it was gone.

…

"Real party animal, ain't she?" Grinning, the elder miko stopped leaning against the wall, and started stretching. "Ha~h… it's something how you can be dead but still feel the need to stretch. It might've just been a habit, or something…"

...Curiosity piqued, Hikari began questioning her. "How much do you know about me?"

"Yer my granddaughter who was supposed to be dead but apparently just traveled through time." Sendai revealed all she knew. "...That's about it."

' _Ah…_ '

Hikari smiled. "That gohei you left us really came in handy."

Sendai jerked her head back. "Wha~, no shit? Reimu _still_ has that?"

...Scratching her cheek, Hikari continued. "Well, I found it in the underground place, left lying on the floor in some dark room with ghosts and stuff."

...Sendai rolled her eyes, becoming unenthused again. "She never found it, then, huh…?"

"No, Mom found it." Hikari corrected her.

She looked at her blankly. "And left me down there?"

"Apparently. I never asked why." Stepping closer to her, Hikari looked up and down at her costume.

Sendai folded her arms, and rose a brow, but refused to comment on her actions.

"...I may've gotten your outfit vaporized." Hikari remembered that her clothes disintegrated on more than one occasion.

"...How?" Grinning from the unexpected remark, Sendai questioned her. "Wait- you can use my gohei? Did you actually beat me, in there?"

Hikari nodded. "I kinda did it the cheap way. I used my strongest spell over and over again."

...Sendai grinned wider. "What the hell kind of spell is it that you can just use it over and over and beat my ass with it? I don't think I was _that_ crappy of a fighter when I was alive…"

"Not a very fair one." Hikari bluntly decided. ' _I would know. I've been on the receiving end a few times…_ '

...With that, Sendai moved for the door, too. "I shouldn't get too familiar with ya. Good luck with the whole time travel thing… and try not to die again. Nice meetin' ya, Hikari."

Hikari watched her go. "Bye, Grandma."

...Pausing, Sendai turned to her, before shaking it off, giving her a wave.

She grinned. ' _Got away with that, too._ '

…

Hikari looked around the empty shrine. The door to her room was gone, and all the remaining open doors seemed to lead outside, which meant this shrine apparently had only one room.

' _Weird…_ ' Hikari decided to walk for one of the side doors-

The door shut before her, as did all the doors that weren't the front door.

' _Okay, okay…_ ' She got the message.

Moving for the front door, she took a deep breath.

Then, Hikari stepped outside…

…

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

When Hikari's eyes snapped back open, everything felt like hell again.

' _Woaa~h!_ ' Hikari felt her body get pushed and pulled in all directions, intense physical pain coursing across her entire figure. She felt like her free arm was being pulled away from her.

However, the feeling of Osamu's frozen arm still vaguely connected with her other arm, giving her hope.

The bright colors made Hikari dizzy, like she was going insanely fast. "Uh-uoh…"

The noise of the color around her was violent, rending. The constant loop of siren noises and high-pitched chirps made her skin crawl, and her head ache. ' _Th-this… is terrible…_ '

Shutting her eyes- which didn't help block out any of the color- she began praying. ' _Hakurei God! Hear my plea- or something-_ _ **help!**_ '

She felt herself getting crushed tightly again.

' _Hakurei God! Hear my plea! I need your power!_ '

Hikari prayed with all her heart.

…

Her vision began to fade, her throat getting pressed tightly together by the colors. ' _N-no…!_ '

Then-

Fwa~m!

She glowed softly with holy power, something mostly offset by the insane color storm around her. With it, she felt her power increase.

' _Wo-woah!_ ' Her throat, while still being crushed, didn't result in her being choked to death anymore. ' _Th-this-_ '

 _Fwoo~m!_

More power poured into her. "A-ah…!"

Feeling the pain ease and her senses sharpen, she stared into the colors around her.

She now realized that the party wasn't being crushed by a blanket of color, or a wall of some kind, rather, the density of the space around them was condensing entirely. With her sharpened eyes, she could see that the color moved in a constant, untraceably fast current. Only a few moments let her see direction within the mess, but she saw it.

' _Th-this is insane…!_ '

Unexplainable squiggles of yellow formed everywhere in the mess, along with particles of black and red.

' _ **Argh! Yaagh! Grrh!**_ '

' _ **It hurts, it hurts…**_ '

' _ **...Hikari…**_ '

Hikari cannot comprehend the true form of Giygas' attack!

She saw red, and once again it overwrote everything she saw, somehow usurping her sharpened senses.

' _Wh-why~?_ '

The ring of negative space traveled outward, Hikari's eyes following it as it moved. She notice the red behind it lag a little. ' _Why is that…?_ '

When it disappeared, particles of electricity ran through the air, from the jagged yellow lines Hikari saw in the mess of colors.

Zazazazap! She felt her form light up with electricity, but wasn't too harmed by it.

"O- _ow_ …" Physically, anyway.

' _I-I need to act now!_ '

Hikari moved her arm, and felt her gohei still in her hand.

' _C-c'mon…_ ' She tried to swing it-

SMAAAA~SH!

 _Kri~ng!_ White energy flared out from the swing. The party's rapid momentum it held while accelerating in the crazy, physics-defying space seemed to change, to allow a pocket of free movement where Hikari swung.

' _There!_ ' Seeing a way to move forward, Hikari swung again-

SMAAAA~SH!

 _Kri~ng!_ White energy flourished outward again.

Like this, she slowly but surely made progress by flailing her club-esque gohei wildly.

SMAAAA~SH!

 _Kri~ng!_

At this point, she stopped trying to track what weird ways their momentum changed. If one were to see the party from a static position in space- and had the ability to see through the color storm- they'd see the party rapidly spiralling in place, or moving in large circles at remarkable velocity.

SMAAAA~SH!

 _Kri~ng!_

Hikari slowly carved a tunnel forward, using her newfound strength to drag her party members behind her through the tunnel she carved.

' _We need to teleport…_ ' Hikari didn't know if she could make them move faster. ' _Maybe if I…_ '

Hikari tried Teleport ß!

She accelerated forward-

' _Ow ow ow ow~!_ ' Hikari was quickly pressed against space she hadn't modified with powerful strikes. Sluggishly pulling her gohei into the hellish space, she swung it with all her might. "Aaaa~h!"

SMAAAA~SH!

 _Kri~ng!_

This created part of the circle that she needed to revolve in. As she moved forward-

SMAAAA~SH!

 _Kri~ng!_

-she continually kept inflicting critical hits on the walling and immediate busy space.

SMAAAA~SH!

 _Kri~ng!_

"Hraa~h!" She cleaved through the space with mighty swings, as she progressed faster and faster. Her feet didn't need to be on solid ground as she spun, the god's power taking care of the flight for her.

SMAAAA~SH!

 _Kri~ng!_

While sparks violently lashed out against the colorful space, and Hikari easily saw how she could've mistaken the texture of the busy space for a blanket or a wall.

The more room she cleared, the slower the party's speed got in as they were thrown around in the weird dimension. However, their speed within the slow space was quickening further and further...

And once they were fast enough-

SMAAAA~SH!

 _Kri~ng!_

' _Co-come on…!_ '

Hikari pulled through.

KraKoo~m!

…

The space where the party was closed in on itself, and then-

,;'.';,.';,.'the space ;,';.',;.';,.';,.';,.',;.',.;,';.,.;;,'. ',.;;',.';,.;',;.';',.;',;.',;'.';,.';,.'; colors flashed ,';.',;.';,.';,.';,.',;.',.;,';., without core.;;,'.',.;;',.';,.;',;.';',.;',;.' folded in ,.;',;.',;'.';,.';,.';,';.',;.'; ,.';,.';,.',;.',.;,';.,.;;,'.',.;;',.';,.;',;.';',.;',;.',. _**friends**_ ;',;.',;'.';,.';,.';,';.',;.';,.';,.';,.',;.',.;,';.,.;;,'.',.;;',.';, .;',;.';',.;',;.',.;',;.', _ **Hikari Hikari Hikari Hikari**_ ;'.';,.';,.';,';.',;.';,.';,.' ;,.',;.',.;,';.,.;;,'.',.;;',.';, .;',;.';',.;',;.',.;',;.',;'.';,.' ;,.';,';.',;.';,.'; _ **It hurts**_ ,.';,.',;.',.;,';.,.;;,'.',.;no more;',.';,.;',;.';',. ;',;.',.;',;.',;'.';,.';,.'; ,';.',;.';,.';,.';,.',;.',.;,';.,.; fell apart ;, _ **It hurts**_ '.',.;; ',.';,.;',;.';',.;',;.',.;',;.',;'.';,.';,.';,';.',;.';,.';,.';,.',;.',.; ,';.,.;;,'.',.;;',.' ;,.;',;.';',.;',;.',.;',;.',;'.';,.';,.';,';.',;.';,.' ;,.';,.',;.',.;,';gravity.,.;;,'.',.;;',.' ;,.;',;.';',.;',;.force',.;',;.',;'.';,.';,.';,';.',;.';,.' ,.;',;.',;'.';,.';,.';,';.' ,;.';,.';,.';,.',;.',.;,';.,.;;,'. ',.;;',.';,.;',;.';',.;',;.' ,.;',;.',;'.';,.';,.';,';.' ,;.';,.';,.';,.',;.',.;,';.,.;;,'. ',.;;',.';,.;',;.';',.;',;.' ,.;',;.',;'.';,.';,.';,';.' ,;.';,.';,.';,.',;.',.;,';.,.;;,'. ',.;;',.';,.;',;.';',.;',;.' ,.;',;.',;'.';,.';,.';,';.' ,;.';,.';,.';,.',;.',.;,';.,.;;,'. ',.;;',.';,.;',;.';',.;',;.'.;no more;',.';,.;',;.';',. ;',;.',.;',;.',;'.';,.';,.'; ,';.',;.';,.';,.';,.',;.',.;,';.,.; fell apart ;, _ **It hurts**_ '.',.;; ',.';,.;',;.';',.;',;. ',.;',;.',;'.';,.';,.';,';.',;.';,.';,.';,.',;.',.; ,';.,.;;,'.',.;;',.' ;,.;',;.';',.;',;.',.;',;.',;'.';,.';,.';,';.',;.';,.' ;,.';,.',;.',.;,';gravity.,.;;,'.',.;;',.' ;,.;',;.';',.;',;.force',.;',;.',;'.';,.';,.';,';.',;.';,.' ,.;',;.',;'.';,.';,.';,';.' ,;.';,.';,.';,.',;.',.;,';.,.;;,'. ',.;;',.';,.;',;.';',.;',;.' ,.;',;.',;'.';,.';,.';,';.' ,;.';,.';,.';,.',;.',.;,';.,.;;,'. ',.;;',.';,.;',;.';',.;',;.' ,.;',;.',;'.';,.';,.';,';.' ,;.';,.';,.';,.',;.',.;,';.,.;;,'. ',.;;',.';,.;',;.';',.;',;.' ,.;',;.',;'.';,.';,.';,';.' ,;.';,.';,.';,.',;.',.;,';.,.;;,'. ',.;;',.';,.;',;.';',.;',;.'

.

.

.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

KraKoo~m!

Hikari skidded to a stop in front of Eientei. Her form was still glowing, her eyes momentarily a grey instead of a brown. She had no clothes on.

' _Uh…_ ' She dismissed that, for now.

...Her eyes caught her gohei, which was crackling with immense holy energy, sparks running all along its form. ' _Cool…_ '

Turning to her friends, she surveyed their status...

Behind her, Osamu sat in a chunk of cracked ice.

Marigold was frozen solid, too, but she was also naked, her clothing having also vaporized. Her backpack was still with her, as it was metal.

Hiyori was simply unconscious, it seemed, her deva items scuffed, charred, and ripped.

...Looking around idly, Hikari sighed.

' _It's over. It's finally over._ '

…

She looked over at her frozen friends. ' _I should probably do something about that._ '

Hikari tried Lifeup Ω!

Hikari tried Healing γ!

Hikari tried Healing γ!

…

Cr-crack!

Marigold fell from her ice. "Oof…"

Osamu launched himself from his ice. "Wh-whoah- lemme the fuck at 'em! Lemme-..."

...Looking around, he scratched his head. "Where the fuck- oh. Eientei…?"

Sitting up, Hiyori wiped her forehead. "O-ooh…"

...After looking around, everyone eventually settled their gaze on Hikari.

...Osamu slowly beamed.

"We made it out, everyone." Hikari smiled widely. "We did it!"

"We-... we did?" Marigold slowly smiled. "How?"

Fwish. Hikari's eyes went back to normal, and she stopped glowing.

"Very carefully." ...After a moment, Hikari elaborated further. "I finally got in contact with the Hakurei God."

Osamu jerked his head back. "Who?"

' _...I never got its name. If it had a name, anyway._ '

"The god of my shrine." She put her arms on her hips.

Grinning, Marigold decided to cut in. "You'd think her last name being involved would've clued you in…"

Osamu snorted. "Dude, I just got my ass torn inside-out by some reality destroying asshole. I think I deserve a 'lil leeway…"

"Yeah- I was _there_." Marigold gave him a very enthused expression.

Standing up and brushing herself off, Hiyori looked over everyone. "...You know you two are na-"

BooOOO-,.;',;.',;'.';,.';,.';,';.' ,;.';,.';,.';,.',;.',.;,';.,.;;,'. ',.;;',.';,.;',;.';',.;',;.'

Jumping a foot into the air, Hikari ,.;',;.',;'.';,.';,.';,';.' looked,;.';,.';,.';,.',;.',.;,';.,.;;,'. spire of grey and yellow',.;;',.';,.;',;.';',.;',;.' Then, the spire closed in on itself, before fading out completely.

…

' _I think that was actually it._ '

With the blast came a pale blue glow to the sky, a stark contrast to the oppressing red that covered the land previously.

...To Hikari's surprise, without there being any clouds, it began snowing.

"Jee~z…" Looking up Osamu saw the snow. "He~y…!" He stuck his tongue out.

"...I think that was Giygas." Marigold voiced.

Hikari casually agreed. "I think so, too."

Looking over at the temporal gate, Hikari was reminded her clothes were gone, and so were her pockets.

' _...Uh oh._ '

Turning to Marigold, she smiled sheepishly. "Um… did I give you the key for the gate?"

...Marigold shook her head.

' _Oh boy._ '

...Hiyori blinked. "Isn't Eirin here?"

…

Osamu exhaled in relief. "Dude, I like, died."

' _I actually died._ ' Hikari restrained herself from making that joke.

The party moved to the door of the clinic, intent on paying Eirin one last visit.

…

"You two are naked." Hiyori finally finished her sentence from earlier, now having the moment. "I'm… not sure if you noticed."

...Marigold finally acknowledged it. "A-ah, right… uhm…"

"I don't really care." Hikari was just happy the quest was almost over.

"I _do._ " Aside from the whole 'almost eaten by an eldritch abomination' thing, Osamu was having a good day.

"Mmrm…" Marigold held her hands over her sensitive areas. "Eirin better've made clothes or something…"

The party began walking up the purple steps inside the clinic. The torches were now lit with orange flames, instead of the pale blue ones Marigold left them with earlier.

"Why would she?" Hikari questioned. "She probably didn't expect to see us, again."

"...Doesn't she think we're supposed to live, though?" Marigold was confused.

Hikari clarified, "I mean, she probably expected us to just jump out, and not lose the key by getting burnt alive repeatedly."

"Aa~h. Yeah." Marigold was satisfied with that answer. "...I-I mean… ga~h…" She wasn't satisfied with what it meant, though.

After some moments of climbing up the stairs, the party made their way to the large room at the top.

Eirin was seated at a bent, metal chair, staring at the open sky that was revealed by the broken roof over the stairs.

Once the party came over the apex of the stairs, she turned to them. "Ah, you fou~r…" She trailed off, noticing Marigold and Hikari's bare state. "...Was there some radiation in the atmosphere I was unaware of?"

Hikari snorted. "Well, no. We almost got vaporized, and the clothes couldn't heal like we could, so…"

Eirin nodded. "Ah. I take it you've fought Giygas?"

"Mmm." Hikari confirmed. "We lived."

"Do you have any clothes?" Marigold was desperate to get decent. "I could really use some clothes…"

"Not that I'm aware of." Tilting her head back and forth, Eirin glanced at the potion rack next to herself. "...My ship has a few chest plates on it, but those aren't necessarily meant for you four. And, considering your task is complete… I don't think you'd necessarily need them."

' _...That would've helped. I think._ ' Hikari would've liked more than a cloth vest, even if it was pretty sturdy.

"Gah…" Mokou pulled herself up from the ledge outside the smashed doorway Eirin opened earlier. "Di-didn't find anything…"

...She saw the party, noting that half of them were naked. "Eirin, the _fuck_ did you do now?"

"I made evil clones of the kids." Eirin monotoned. "Little did you know."

Mokou rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah…"

"The key we had for the gate was vaporized, too." Hikari stated. "So, uhm… help."

"Ah." Eirin promptly stood up. "Let us go, then. I'll reactivate it."

' _Cool._ ' Smiling, Hikari and her friends began to follow Eirin down the staircase, and out of the clinic…

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

As always, time slowly ticked by at the Hakurei Shrine.

Restless, Reimu sat inside, looking at the new hole she made in the roof from launching her previous guests. She considered getting more water, or walking around, but didn't really feel like it.

Satisfied with the hole's state, she stared at a random section of walling.

…

Then, snow began flowing in through the hole.

…

"What...?" She uncrossed her legs, and began fighting gravity to get back onto her feet. "Hn~h…"

Walking over to it, Reimu held out her hands, looking up.

The sky was a dim, faded blue. To Reimu, however, it was as if the sky was a bright blue in the first time since its color was lost many years ago.

A few scattered flakes landed in her hands.

"...It's… snowing."

She moved to walk outside the shrine, moving through the door her daughter's oni friend had smashed open not too long ago.

Outside, the faint blue took her breath away, as did the sudden sensation of cold.

"A-ah…" She hugged herself. "...Did… she do it?"

Floating into the air, Reimu looked around, able to see farther than previously allowed by the slight fog and the red atmosphere.

…

Before going to explore, Reimu drifted towards the shrine to see if she still had any warm clothes.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

The howling wind made the remaining boards of the Scarlet Devil Mansion creak.

A jagged island hung in the air some distance out from the three central ones, and it held the remaining half of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. It was the right side of it- right as if one had the perspective of walking up to the gates. It was split down the middle some time ago.

It had no walling around it, and since no spatial manipulation was taking place inside anymore. The disjointed rooms inside reflected this, the few remaining rooms all walled off from one another and full of disorganized piles of furniture. The entire island was tilted, the remains of the mansion hanging loosely off the side.

…

"Hhh~..."

Between all of these disjointed rooms, many of which walled off one another, holes exposed their inner contents to one another, and the outside.

"Hhh~..."

The mangled, enlarged front lobby of the manor was a sight to behold. The front door hung open, the interior full of the cracked fragments of walls, and the remnants of the second floor landing.

"Hhh~..."

For the first time in a long time, Flandre Scarlet opened her eyes, finding herself in a dark, dusty pantry. Some ripped up, scarlet towels sat next to her.

"Hhh~..." Inhaling deeply, she forced herself to move.

Click, click. Her ruby red claws clicked against the tiles of the pantry floor as she worked her way out of it.

Eventually, she found her way to the front lobby, where the mangled, grey remains of the fear device sat. It still crackled with pale blue sparks now and again, but it hadn't worked correctly in many years.

Next to it, a table sat. The table had a notebook open, the pen that had written on it still lying on its pages, no longer in use.

Pink and purple clothing were strewn about the floor next to the broken fear device.

…

Clack. A piece of wood dropped from the bent section of some broken flooring above the lobby.

" _Raa~gh!_ " Reacting on instinct, Flandre swiped her claw towards the direction the noise came from-

Bam! Red energy lashed out and blew a crater in the lobby flooring.

…

"Hhh~..." Inhaling deeply, Flandre pushed ahead, moving on her hands and knees as she did to get into the lobby. Her piercing, glowing red eyes slowly stopped glowing as her body disengaged itself from combat mode.

Cree~k. She nudged the loose front door aside, and looked out into the muted blue sky.

"...Aa~h." She breathed out happily.

With that, she took to the front yard to scout around, because she didn't know what to do with herself.

The few spots of snow on the ground outside didn't hinder her four-legged trek around the wilted garden, her powerful claws rending dirt to get her where she wanted to go.

That was just it, though. She didn't know where she wanted to go.

Aimlessly, she proceeded around the side of the house, towards an uprooted awning that hung a few feet from where it used to be mounted in the foundation. Instead, it now hung loosely from the side of the mansion.

…

"Nnh!" Flandre got onto her hind legs, and leapt up onto it.

Something was missing, and she could feel it.

…

Allowing herself to fall, she let her long claws skid off the side of the awning.

"Ahn…" She landed on her butt. Quickly rotating around, she had an idea…

…

Shakily, she put her hind legs under herself, and tried to stand on them. The bone-thin legs shook as she tried to stand on them-

"Aah!" She fell forward again.

Her numb legs didn't feel the new scrapes they sustained.

…

Spontaneously, Flandre changed her mind, and decided to go inside, for the time being, even if it was really pretty outside.

Crawling away, Flandre dug into the side of the mansion, making herself a way in.

On the inside, she continued this process, making her way to the very left end of the mansion. There was something she wanted to see, something she couldn't remember, but she knew where it was. On her way, she passed many rooms, most of them filled with ruined furniture, wall debris, and weather damage.

Bam!

Her powerful arms rended the woodwork keeping her from the large room.

Cracked columns sat on the right, while the left of the room was exposed air, the sky's blue showing outside. The room was at an angle that any regular human would slip and fall into the void below.

Flandre, however, remembered this.

Crack! Crack! She inserted her claws into slots she made long ago. Too long ago for her to remember.

Hanging from these slots she made, she looked around the large room. A throne was still mounted to what was technically the precise middle of the room.

Next to it, a space was marked for Flandre- that much she knew- but had nothing there.

That must mean the space next to it… was important.

…

Flandre remembered her sister.

Her wings brightly glowing, she thrust herself through the already open hole above the slots, repeating a process she'd repeated before- something she also remembered.

Bam! Boom! Blam!

She began reducing more of the inner rooms to rubble, her limited reason giving way to rage, once again.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Sitting nostalgically under an umbrella-adorned table, a tired Keine smiled at the pale blue sky. "...I don't know what happened, but it's snowing again."

"Oh?" A woman sat across from her, looking up from her spell tome. "...Wo~w. I haven't seen that since… wow."

The kids of the village- the few there were- ran around, playing with the cold, white substance that fell from the sky.

"What is this stuff!?"

"Dude- when I was one this happened! Du~de…!"

"Mom told me about this…"

...

"Hey Kosuzu, how many more days until you think everything blows up?" Keine jeered, before slowly rubbing her face with her hands.

"I dunno, Keine." The well-aged Kosuzu smiled at her tome again. "I was gonna give it ten more years, but at this point I really can't say."

...Things fell back into silence as Keine went back to watching the kids play, making sure there were no more assassinations.

…

Then, Keine saw something in the sky. Her brows furrowed.

…

As the object closed in on the village, Keine could tell it was a humanoid.

"Hakurei…?" Keine's brows raised. "Another one of those Hikari-bots, I'm sure."

Keeping still, she waited for the Hikari-shaped droid to close in. With any luck, it would be fooled into thinking she trusted it, so that she could swiftly deal with it in private.

…

Once it touched down on the village roads, however…

"That doesn't look like a regular model…" Kosuzu scratched her cheek.

They let the woman's figure walk towards the table, after it caught its eye. Keine relaxed, noting it wasn't heading straight for the kids, like some Hikari-bots were known to do.

Finally, the aged-looking woman stepped up to the table. "Wo~w. Is that you, Keine? I didn't think youkai aged _that_ badly…"

Keine jerked her head back. "Do I-... know you?"

She jerked her head back. "...We-well, it has been, like… twenty years." She composed herself. "...It's me, Reimu."

…

"Why would you fly here?" Furrowing her brows, Keine was still very skeptical. "You know you can't do that. You'd be shot down."

"That's just it. I didn't see anything on the way here…" Reimu was momentarily thrown off by Keine's hostility, before shrugging it off.

With that, Keine was pretty adamant. "...I don't think you're Reimu."

...

She blinked. "Wh-what?"

"You're not Reimu." Getting up, Keine took a fighting stance, as Kosuzu quickly leapt away from the table, floating away. "Reimu wouldn't do something so careless as fly here in her old age, even if it is snowing again."

…

Reimu smirked. "If you want a fight, fine."

With that Keine ran at her-

"Cautionary Barrier!" Reimu summoned a barrier.

Ti~ng! Keine punched it.

"A-agh…" She shook her hand. "I guess that's still holy magic, then..."

"But!" Tiredly, the elderly Reimu held up her finger. "We do this Gensokyo style."

…

"What?" Keine wasn't sure what she meant by that.

"Four cards." She expected Keine to follow. "You know, spell cards? I'll leave if you win."

…

"Alright…" More unsure of her previous assumption, Keine awkwardly grinned. "...I, um, can't really fly well, anymore. If I fly too long, my power will-"

"I'll use my easy cards, then." Reimu smiled. "C'mon."

…

With that, the two began walking off to a more remote area of the largely abandoned village to have their spell card duel.

...Kosuzu watched on from the sidelines, curious.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

"There…" Eirin stood from the temporal gate's side. "You four should be all set to go. I don't have to change any settings, the gate is just as I left it thirty years ago."

"Alright." Confidently smiling, Hikari moved for the gate. "Thanks a lot, Eirin."

"Oh, don't thank me." Eirin grinned. "Thank the other me."

...Stopping, she turned to the doctor again. "Will the land ever fully recover?"

Her smile turned more natural. "While those that are dead will never come back, and those alive will never forget, seek solace in that you have saved this timeline from a far worse fate."

' _I see…_ '

"Cool." Osamu nods. "We actually fuckin' did something, for once."

Marigold snorted at his comment. "...Well, I think we're a little more useful than _that._ "

"I'll never forget everything I've seen here." Hiyori smiled. "Or on this journey, either."

…

"Well." Hikari looked into the temporal gate. "Let's go."

"Aight." Osamu moved next to her.

"Don't think too hard, Eirin." Marigold waved at the doctor, moving next to the two.

She snorted in response. "Thinking has never been hard for me."

"Alright…" Stepping up behind the three, Hiyori stood tall.

…

Then, all four moved at once, nimbly running for the portal and leaping in-

Fwoaom!

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

A gap hung open before Yukari Yakumo. Inside, she saw Eirin move to de-activate the portal, now that the party had traveled back to the past.

"...We have a lot of work to do, Ran."

Behind her, her trusted shikigami was carefully inspecting the immense damage their house had taken in their absence.

"Indeed…" Ran sighed. "The barrier has been shattered for some time."

...With that, Yukari closed her gap.

Chen was attempting to sit at a three-legged chair, using her legs to stop herself whenever it tilted to drop her. "How're you gonna fix Gensokyo, Yukari-shama?"

...Slowly, Yukari brought up the cup of water she had fetched for herself up. "Right now, there is little that can be done. Especially since all the land was somehow obliterated."

...The response made her shikigami's shikigami pout. "Awwh…"

"Our best bet…" Yukari considered, "is to wait, for now."

Ran looked over from the smashed stove she was inspecting. "...How long?"

"For mankind to rebuild. Just a little." Yukari slowly nodded her head. "...Perhaps we could stake a claim on the grander scale, this time. It will be a long time before we find a clan similar to the Hakurei that can support our endeavors, I'm sure… though, perhaps I could find some way…" She opened another gap.

Within it, she saw Reimu and Keine leisurely flinging danmaku at one another.

"Perhaps…" Yukari grinned. "The Hakurei might have not outlived their usefulness, yet. It truly is a miracle that Reimu is still alive."

"...I see." Ran nodded, staring at the gap from behind Yukari. "I trust your judgment in this."

…

"I'm just happy our house is still here!" Chen got off the broken chair, and looked around. "...Even if almost all the walls are missing, and the furniture!"

Outside their very smashed kitchen was largely piles of wood, plaster, drywall, and metal. Beyond that was the mounds of overgrown, uneven dirt piles that were kicked up many years ago, and beyond that was the fragmented edges of the pocket dimension, which were there due to the barrier's shattering.

"...Me too." Yukari nodded.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

END OF STORY

Protagonist: Hikari Hakurei, Disciple of Paradise

-Inventory-

Weapon: Aether Gohei - Vastly powerful weapon constructed by the alternate timeline's Marisa Kirisame, who was killed trying to deliver it to her friend Reimu. Immensely increases chance to deal critical hits. Not very agile to use, as it's large and made of many powerful metals. Allows Hikari to jump without interrupting her combo. Inflicts minor wind damage on targets upon combo finisher, potentially air-tossing them. On critical hit, energy lashes out from the gohei to deal damage that bypasses defense to deal direct pain to enemies.

Arms: Nothing

Body: Nothing

Misc: Nothing

-Skills-

Attack: Quickly! Swing your gohei at them for massive damage! Sometimes happens twice from the Jet Black Gohei's dark impulse. Has an additional strike due to Hikari's Shade Sleeves.

PK Fantasy α, β, γ, Ω - Bombards the enemy with pain in the form of flashing colors. Deals magical damage. Heavy mental strain that increases with each tier. Third tier forms a barrier, which breaks upon moderate damage. Final tier is a non-elemental nuke of immense magical power.

PK Flash α, ß, γ, Ω - A bright flash that distributes very random status effects to enemies. Usually makes people cry. Higher tiers increase chances, and introduce possibilities of fainting or dispel. Higher tiers can instantly destroy more varieties of foes, and make people feel weird.

Hypnosis α, Ω - Puts weak enemies to sleep for a short time. Works better on tired or exhausted foes. Can also be used in a far more costly form that works on multiple opponents.

Shield α, ß - Halves damage the target takes. Only works against physical attacks, and enough strikes, or powerful strikes, will dispel it. Higher tier turns it into a power-shield that protects even better and even reflects a fraction of protected damage.

Lifeup α, ß, γ, Ω - Heals target a little. Higher tiers heal more grievous wounds, like bone fractures. Highest tier heals everybody in the party.

Healing α, ß, γ - Heals basic status ailments. Higher tiers can cure more dire effects, like burning alive.

Teleport α, ß - Allows instant transport to the general location of an area remembered by oneself or one's party members. Requires a long, fast run-up to execute, however. Higher tier allows a circular motion to control the run-up instead, giving Hikari more control over the teleport.

Ofuda Toss - Throw a holy ofuda that does massive holy elemental damage to youkai and dark elemental foes. Effect lessens the more holy the thing you're attacking is, to the point of healing holy things. Only works if you actually have ofuda, though.

Cautionary Barrier - Summon a barrier that deflects attacks and magical attacks of all elements. Can be broken by stronger attacks, and is holy elemental.

Lightshine Ofuda - Two ofuda which explode into orbs of light. Area denying holy attack.

Summon Koishi - Using the Heart Gem's power, Hikari summons Koishi Komeiji. Casts three random HK spells on enemies, before using a higher tier one that depends on her current mood. Typically can manage two uses before she's out of mana. Costs sizable mana. Doesn't work across time, apparently.

God's Blessing - With direct prayer to the Hakurei God, Hikari can receive vastly increased abilities in any situation. The time and effect of this form depends on how much faith the Hakurei God has accumulated to spend.

Ω-Ω-Ω-Ω

Mage: Osamu Katsumi, the Wannabe Mage

-Inventory-

Weapon: Lunar Riot Baton - A lunarian riot suppression armament. It saw use in the Genso-Lunar war, and then proceeded to see further use in rebellion suppression and the Giygas-Lunar conflict. Allowed largely only in the lunar capital, and under normal circumstances loses power when not on the civilization's electrical grid, though Eirin knows how to get around this. Deals electrical damage. You can hit yourself with it like an idiot, too.

Arms: Imperial Bracelet - Gives slight knockback resistance. Doubles the strength of the last cast of magic used before running out of mana.

Body: Super Rugged Robe - A sturdy robe enchanted to resist damage. Made partially with sturdy cloth from deep underground. Grants fifty percent resistance to fire elemental damage.

Misc: Rugged Red Mage Hat - A red colored mage's hat made from cloth in the Human Village. Minor resistance to thunder, ice, and fire magic from its well worn usage in the past. Didn't see much action… until Osamu bought it! Grants ten percent resistance to fire elemental damage.

-Skills-

PK Thunder α, ß, γ, Ω - Very random thunder attack that deals limited damage. Higher tiers increase number of bolts, and sometimes power.

PK Hydro α, β, γ, Ω - Gets everyone wet. Usefulness with PK Thunder and PK Freeze depends on whether you hit yourself or not! Creates whirling water spirals at higher tiers.

PK Freeze α, β, γ, Ω - Generates ice crystals at the target's location. Medium damage and effect; may freeze some targets, especially wet ones. Highest tier has a near-guaranteed freeze chance and immense ice damage, at the cost of being very taxing.

Fireball - Manipulate mana to make a shoddy fireball. Low damage and effect.

Static Hands - Not a real spell. Result of a very undercharged PK Thunder that can accidentally go off.

PSI Telepathy α - Speak to friends you haven't met yet! Unstable connection and only works if they have the skill or are asleep.

PSI Shield α, Σ, Ω - Halves damage from magical and psychic attacks. Thunder spells fry it instantly, and harder blows dispel it. Second tier applies basic shield to entire party at higher mana expense.

PSI Magnet α, Ω - Costs no mana to use, and steals a very tiny amount of mana from the enemy. Enemy has to have mana in the first place for it to work, though.

Offense Up α, Ω - Get pissed! Boosts strength and confidence depending on caster's power and receiver's power.

Defense Down α, Ω - Throw the enemy off their game. Makes them slightly more vulnerable to physical attacks.

Ω-Ω-Ω-Ω

Inventor: Marigold Knowledge, the Tri-Magi Love Child

-Inventory-

Weapon: Big Freakin' Gun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Uses a NF Burst Gun as the base, which irritates the energy core with an inner Pop Gun. Spamming the trigger doesn't make it go any faster, unfortunately. The batteries inside are only there for mana circulation, meaning their power is really inconsequential. The addition of extra parts, blast shielding, and the energy cored turned this into a vastly powerful weapon, capable of shooting a non-elemental arc-lightning ball. The weapon's cooldown is more dangerous than its projectile, the exposure of which rapidly causes enemies to go through violent chemical reactions.

Arms: Stolen Thunder - Electric elemental ring crafted sometime in the distant future. Forged from mysterious, electrical gems and adamantite, it provides one hundred percent electric resistance, granting immunity to electrical damage.

Body: Nothing

Misc: Sun Swirly Glasses - Lets Marigold not be blind. Grants immunity to the effects of PK Flash, and to blinding light attacks. Allows Marigold to stare straight into the sun.

LunarStorage: Recreational Model - Allows extended inventory. No weight limit, but has a huge size limit. Allows Marigold to draw any item she wants, at any time.

Unnamed Lock Opening Device - Opens locks very precariously. Made with steel, burnt cloth, packaging peanuts, thumbtacks, string, and wooden wheels. Don't even ask…

Ruler - Lets you measure the world around you!

Protractor - Lets you find the angles of anything ever. Totally overpowered.

Scotch Tape - Transparent adhesive from the outside world. Weak, but handy!

Deck of Cards - Allows Marigold to play Strip Poker with the party. Just kidding… or am I?

Shield Killer - Electrical device used to subdue harassers. Has settings ranging from Tickle Torture to Arse Blaster. Fires electrical projectiles, of unknown power.

Holmes Brand Designer Hat - Village swag! A retro village hat that ceased production ten years ago. Sells for a pretty penny nowadays, but it's pretty useless otherwise.

Slime Generator - A bulky box that shoots a small splat of slime. Doesn't seem good for much.

Counter-PSI Device - A weird device Marigold found from a flying saucer. Works in strange ways, and seems to disrupt everyone's concentration. Marigold is immune to its effects.

Charm of Sleep - Grants immunity to sleep while equipped, or held. Can be equipped to Arms or Misc.

Moon Beam - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Constructed with a controlled flame crystal and metal parts, it fires a beam of sustained microwave energy that cooks biological foes alive. Fire-elemental at its core, it's also very inefficient against machines. The lens used in it was switched with a Moon Lens, allowing it to instead deal moon-elemental damage and silence foes. Silenced foes are unable to use spells.

Defense Shower - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Made of a broom, a showerhead, some magnets, and uses jars of water as ammo. Slapped together with ofuda, giving it a holy defensive effect. The jars are usually filled with Talcum Powder, for alchemical purposes. The liquid that is dispensed becomes auto-applying lotion.

Heavy Bazooka - An invention developed in part by Kappa Tech and Marigold Knowledge. It shoots heavy fire-based blasts of fire magic, and deals high knockback. It was constructed by stuffing some fire and gravity stones into a tube, adding a cap on one side to direct the fire, and hooking a magical wire to the handle. Nitori did most of the work, though…

Eternal Band - Band made from a time transistor. Allows melee attacks to deal time-elemental damage and statuses.

Spectrum Shotgun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Filled with foil chip bags to conduct the mana, and it is transmitted into a wind stone. Upgraded to draw mana from a simple wooden block filled with immense magic reserves, giving it virtually unlimited ammo. The addition of a battery and a prism allow it to fire seven rainbow colored beams at a wide spread, which deal non-elemental damage. Firing long enough allows them to focus and deal incredible damage, at the cost of insane recoil and instability. The use of a topaz instead of a prism allows it to fire star-shaped bullets and non-elemental, aimed lasers.

Neutralizer - Unused component of the Fear Irrigation Devices, and invented by Eirin Yagokoro.. When activated, all PSI and magical effects on the battlefield are wiped, including area-denial spells, status effects, buffs and debuffs… everything. Levels the playing field! Affects party members, too.

Jet Black Gohei - The gohei once wielded by Sendai Hakurei no Miko. Theoretically, anyway. Boosts attack power, and critical hit rate. The dark impulse of the gohei frequently allows Hikari to strike twice instead of simply once, even when unprepared. Given to Marigold to hold onto by her friend.

-Skills-

Helped Kill an Eldritch Abomination - ...I mean, that kind of speaks for itself!

Invaded Giygas' Barricades - Not… that he had any.

Struck Her Blade - She doesn't wield a sword-

Saved The Maid - That's not really accurate!

…

Very Skilled - She… she's got a lotta skills, yo, lemme tell ya… I dunno, dude- I dunno if I can list all the _skills_ she _possesses!_

Ω-Ω-Ω-Ω

Fighter: Hiyori Hashimoto, the Buddhist Oni

-Inventory-

Weapon: Mace of Devas - The last of the four treasures held by the Devas of the Mountain. Ability to whack stuff really hard. Increases critical hit rate by lieu of being a really big, blunt, spiky weapon. Allows partial blocking of magic attacks.

Arms: Shackle of Devas - The first of the four treasures held by the Devas of the Mountain. Grants immunity to sleep-inducing magic. Grants fifty percent resistance to wind and thunder magic.

Body: Kimono of Devas - The second of the four treasures held by the Devas of the Mountain. Grants immunity to paralyzing magic. Grants fifty percent resistance to fire magic. Insanely durable. Has a floral design to it…!

Misc: Bows of Devas - The third of the four treasures held by the Devas of the Mountain. Grants immunity to confusion-inducing magic. Grants fifty percent resistance to ice magic.

-Skills-

PK Starstorm α, Ω - Summons forth the stars from the night's sky to rain down upon enemies. Hits all enemies, and deals high magical damage, at the cost of being highly mentally taxing. Can hit allies if they're in the effective area, as the white stars don't have homing properties. Power proportional to amount of enemies, as well.

PK Fire α, ß, γ, Ω - Creates an igniting blast of flames at the target's location. More impact comes with higher tiers.

PK Freeze α, β, γ - Generates ice crystals at the target's location. Medium damage and effect; may freeze some targets, especially wet ones.

PK Thunder α, ß, γ - Very random thunder attack that deals limited damage. Higher tiers increase number of bolts, and sometimes power.

Shield α, ß, Σ - Halves damage the target takes. Only works against physical attacks, and enough strikes, or powerful strikes, will dispel it. Higher tier turns it into a power-shield that protects even better and even reflects a fraction of protected damage. Highest tier applies a basic shield to the entire party.

Lifeup α, ß, γ - Heals target a little. Higher tiers heal more grievous wounds, like bone fractures.

Healing α, ß, γ, Ω - Heals basic status ailments. Higher tiers can cure more dire effects, like burning alive. Highest tier heals entire party, in addition to dire illnesses and ailments.

Teleport α, ß - Allows instant transport to the general location of an area remembered by oneself or one's party members. Requires a long, fast run-up to execute, however. Higher tier is largely automatic and requires little room to execute.

Martial Arts - Skilled in hand-to-hand combat.

Ω-Ω-Ω-Ω

Author's Note:

well folks

here we are

this is the end of the REGULAR CHAPTERS

(...there's an epilogue coming, so don't touch those dials!)

also extras but don't count on 'em… and they'll likely be cheeky non-canon stuff anyway, like slice-a-lifey things or uberbosses

So… how'd I do, yo? Both on this chapter, and on the whole story thing. 'Cause this story's been a pretty big freakin' journey…!

My first time writing something with an actual planned ending. Can't believe back in like, october of 2015 I was debating writing this after thinking up Hikari for like a few months, but then was like "you know what this has to start existing". And, here we are!

Also, hope this chapter didn't like, kill you, 'cause it's pretty much three times as long as a standard chapter… and the standard chapters ain't slouches in terms of scale, either!

Some things I really tried to do with this fic were incorporate game mechanics and stuff, because I always was into translating the craziness of RPG battles into like, literature I guess, or at least a more literal sense. There's some sort of neatness to it…! I'm really into arcadic things.

The boss fights in here probably kinda took forever, both to write and probably to read, but I think that goes hand in hand with Earthbound's pacing by that point. Although, you probably nuke Porky and Giygas a lot faster than in here because they're the enemies you're saving up the big kaboom for.

I decided to make the Giygas fight as grueling as possible because, when you don't know to pray and you get bad RNG, this is basically what happens, except you die instead of getting saved by a god. Originally, when I was writing this for awhile, I really wanted Hikari and her friends to kill Giygas with just brute force, but close to fighting him I was kinda like "...well, not only is that not really possible, but I also literally didn't have any major plans for this fight despite thinking about it a lot". As a result, it was ki~nda ad lib most of the time! I wasn't sure how I'd write Giygas, how I'd make him interact with anything, or, well… anything. Freakin' eldritch abominations, yo. That, and I had no idea how I'd get the party out of the whole 'Giygas goes nuclear' thing at the end, especially since I wrote out the robot bodies thing from Earthbound. I'm satisfied with the pray thing being replaced with the Hakurei God interaction (...and the fourth-wall molesting it did!) because it wasn't quite how Earthbound did it. I basically didn't want it to be like Earthbound's, mostly because the party traveled to the future, and everyone praying for the party in the future didn't really make sense. At least, not _in_ -universe… Earthbound has a lot of different feels than this work does, 'cause I touch upon the darker side of things a bit more here, being able to acknowledge it sorta literarily, while at the same time presenting it objectively to the audience.

Porky, however, I had plans for, because 'giant mech' gives me something to work with. Although, the only part of the fight I really had planned was the bit where he charges into Hikari and Hiyori and makes them skid along the round arena's walls in a loop for awhile, because 'Porky Means Business!' made me think of that during one of its segments. Oh, yeah- that also gave me the idea for the thing where he walked around jerkily and threw grenades everywhere. Everything else was pretty on-the-spot.

The bionic kraken was just kinda what it was, I thought about it a little beforehand and decided "yes we'll beat that up". I originally planned for them to fight the Final Starman, too, but I figured that'd make things too tedious. We really didn't need _another_ chapter right before the final boss. Oh- my proofreader just reminded me- we pretty much turned the bionic kraken into a boss fountain, partly to make up for everything not dropping loot, and because I wanted some way to shoehorn in the Gutsy Bat / Aether Gohei. He gave the idea for there being more loot inside of it than just the gohei, and I just rolled with it and was like "you know what we're DOIN' THAT YO". So, yeah, we accidentally adapted boss fountains into literary form!

As I write this, I still haven't reread the entire chapter for any critical errors so I've still gotta do that. Honh.

My proofreader's also been a pretty big help with constructing this, in terms of checking ideas and keeping a watchful eye on things. He's also had some pretty good ideas, too! Now that I take a moment to think about it, he was pretty integral to the design of Marigold and Hiyori's characters- pretty much all of Hiyori's conceptualization prior to me writing her. Marigold was a character I obsessed over prior to writing, kinda like Hikari, but my proofreader also had some ideas for her, so that was fun.

So, the rest of this chapter… it was pretty much wrap-up and declining action from the big boss battle. We get to see a freakin'... feral Flandre, and the somewhat blown-away other places of Gensokyo that remained.

I'm not sure how strong my prose has been outside of dialogue, but I'm confident in my dialogue! By that, I mean I'm worried about my prose… but I'm always worried about my prose, so that's not really something new here at all.

I've been writing this chapter for like, the past _week_.

Now, in terms of all the characters… foreword from here: I'm gonna be talking about the entire story in general now!

When I started writing this, I'd made Hikari very similar to myself, but moreso similar to… I dunno, my real-life identity? Whereas the version of me in Brad in Freakin' Gensokyo was kinda more like my idealized version of myself that I often act like on the internet, I projected kinda a lot of who I was in real life onto Hikari. That's why she swore a bit, and that's where she got some of her sorta blunt humor traits from. As the story went on, I kinda drew more lines between myself and her, partially in the creation of Osamu- more on him later- and generally throughout just playing her role straight in the writing. I wanted to allocate more of her personality into this sort of really cute frankness she has about her, and less into the other things that make me me… because she's not me!

Osamu originated from an innate desire I had to put myself into the story- my Freakin' Gensokyo me. Instead of doing that, because that would've been terrible and super super hard to do with any amount of tact, I went for some nobody instead who kinda acted like a maniac, too. Although, I stripped him of the resourcefulness and the other traits I allowed my other character, and made him more like the kids from my school in that regard. When writing him, I had jocks in mind, Eddy from Ed Edd N Eddy, Donald Duck from those disney shorts, so forth… pretty much short fused characters in general. In this way, he kinda became the dedicated comic relief, which I wanted from him. So, in the end… he turned out to not be terribly like me at all!

Marigold, as I said earlier, I obsessed over the design of. Months prior to writing her in, I'd be listening to Winters' White and some covers of it- particularly that Brentalfloss one for awhile- and sort of visualizing and imagining a believable scenario. As I listened and imagined, I'd connect the dots. Like, "okay, we've got a lonely child in winters- who could be the neglectful parent? would it be someone within the mansion, or outside of it? which fits more thematically?" It's a sort of weird process, but eventually I iron everything out and once I'm really satisfied and pleased with it, I'm just super compelled to write it. I decided to solve the great magi love triangle of Touhou by just making it a threesome. I dunno why it's not always that simple. But anyway- that created a very interesting dynamic of custody, and I decided to amplify Marisa's fickleness and pettiness by having her totally just ditch responsibility for her, for the most part. I suppose I created a pretty screwed dynamic in the end- but that's pretty realistic, I think. I like that.

Still talking about Marigold! I decided to give her super-resourcefulness, which also comes inherently with a ton of inventory space. When I think about it like that, it might seem like I was transferring my Freakin' Gensokyo guy's mechanics over, but I actually had Jeff from Earthbound more in mind when doing that… mostly because Marigold's smarter than me when it comes to science and magic pretty much all the stuff that goes into building makeshift guns in Gensokyo. This is what an actual education from Patchy can get you! Although, the crazy improvisation definitely came from her own volition. There's also the fact I made her not able to use magic to keep in line with Jeff, because I thought that was _pretty neat_. That actually has an explanation, too, although since I never explained it in-story I don't think, you can probably consider it a "just because" thing.

Hiyori~. When it came to making a fourth party member, I had no idea who I was gonna put in that slot. My first idea I liked was perhaps someone from Hakugyokurou- maybe Youmu's potential daughter, or something. I was about to say my proofreader suggested that, but then he informed me that he didn't! Aaa~h! What he did suggest, though, was an oni. At first I was thinking to myself, "how the hell would that work", but considering Poo from Earthbound comes from literally bumfuck nowhere, I was like "actually that WORKS". Provided, she's not a kid/late teen; I wrote around that by giving her a severe alcohol addiction! Them oni, yo… but for clarification, I'll say that she didn't have any real alcohol problem (compared to oni norms), but she didn't like how getting shitfaced kinda made her shitbrained too, so she got out. That, and the oni city doesn't have a lot of books. Or schools. It's more accurate to say she's a recovering alcoholic now, I'd suppose.

I also got no idea why they've not somehow evolved to be super geniuses with those lifespans. I didn't write Japanese folklore, yo…

Hiyori ended up with a variant of blunt humor a lot of stoic characters get. It's fun. Oh, yeah- oni can actually cast magic and spells and shit, they totally have mana pools- decent ones, too- but y'know… when you can lift entire buildings over your head and chuck them like boxes, you don't really need to know a lot of magic! That said, Hiyori admittedly has a bit less physical strength than notable onis. She's more or less on par with the garden variety, if not a little under since she hasn't been keeping up with strength training and is more into trying to get into magic, now.

...Now, then.

I've looked back at my first chapter!

Boy, was I _shit_ when I first wrote this. I remember being proud of that chapter, too! And I still am- I think it's that opening- but I've revised it because I couldn't live with the rest of it. Plot's all the same, I just added different flavor and made things make more sense and took out times when thought/my mannerisms bled into the prose.

Also, PK beam no longer exists there, yo. It will be missed.

The revised chapter's been uploaded, by the way, but it's not really worth checkin' out for the sake of checkin' it out. At least, I don't think so.

That reminds me- I wanted a good Porky quote in my first chapter to book-end with Porky's appearance here, but I couldn't find one. I made him say a lot of things that needed to stay in their respective contexts!

I still need to probably revise like the first seven chapters of this, which I'll do eventually, just to see how I can improve on my old crap, and to boost reader retention.

...So, yeah.

Plot pacing: look in vague direction of where it's supposed to go in terms of Earthbound's plot, and then try to steer things and characters in that direction. Tha~t's about it.

Oh, yeah! I should talk about all the chapter titles, up until now. Just to explain their madness to those curious.

Rise And Shine, Hakurei - "Rise and shine, Freeman" - G-man, Half-Life 2

One Small Step for Hakurei - "One small step for man... one giant step for mankind!" - Neil Armstrong, moon landing.

Hakurei Fight Night 2016: Starring Noobs - I~ did not derive this as a reference to anything, except maybe stereotypical WWE fight titles or something. It amused me, yo...

Happy Hakurei Blues - No real reference, except maybe to Blues. Just a generic original title indicative of chapter content.

On The Highway To Hakurei - "We're on the hi~ghway to Hell!" - AC/DC - Highway To Hell.

Hakurei Hospital: Dead from the Neck Up - Reference to the saying I heard repeatedly in Ed Edd N Eddy, "dead from the neck up". Also a reference to generic hospital horror-esque names.

Hakurei of the Hill - "King of the Hill", common game mode title and also a show.  
Of Magi and Hakurei - "Of Mice and Men", a book by John Steinbeck about some doofs in old America.

Hakurei Hideout - I don't think there was a reference here...?

Natural Hakurei Exterminator - Natural Killer Cyborg, an enemy in Mother 3... I'm pretty sure everyone got a lot of these!

Super Hakurei Sunshine - Super Mario Sunshine, yeah.

Hakureivania: Symphony of the Afternoon - "Castlevania: Symphony of the Night", an awesome game by Konami and developed by the mighty Koji Igarashi. S'good!

Hakureivania: Dance of Illusions - A nod to Dracula's boss theme in the Castlevania series, because Remilia got beat up this chapter.

Hakurei: Microwave on High - Microwaving instructions!

The Hakurei in the Sky keeps on Turning - "The Wheel in the Sky keeps on Turning", a song by Journey. Heard it in my car radio incessantly, but it's okay I guess.

The Sky, The Earth, and the Hakurei - Oof, typo in grammar... but there was no real reference in mind. Does make me think of a similarly named name to a Katamari Damacy OST.

Hakurei Metal - "Heavy Metal", the genre.

Heart of Hakurei - "Heart of Fire", Julius Belmont's theme in later Castlevania games, and also the same name of a different track that inspired that song in the previous classicvania games.

Hakurei on the Rocks - "X on the rocks" is kinda a common generic phrasing for drinks served at bars. It means the drink has ice in it!

Mind, Heart, and Hakurei - No real reference, aside from generic "mind heart and body" phrases as inspiration.

Hakurei Fried Chicken - Kentucky Fried Chicken, yeah. Freakin' Okuu, yo.

Hakurei Sobriety Patrol - "Samurai Abstinence Patrol", a song by Ninja Sex Party. Yeah.

Achievement Hakurei - "Achievement Hunter", the~... people who play games and might be a company! They hunt achievements, as their name might suggest...!

Hakurei in the Lamp - "Genie in the Lamp", stock thing.

Hakurei Tracking - "Backtracking", the game concept. Eheh...

Travels To The Hakurei - "Travels to the North", a song by Phyrnna for Epic Battle Fantasy III. Fun game!

Fragments of Hakurei - "Fragments of Sorow", a song in Kingdom Hearts I and II, played in the End Of The World section in one, and I totally forget where in two.

The Cliff That Hakurei Forgot - "The Cliff that Time Forgot", theme of... its namesake, in Earthbound.

We Dream of Hakurei - "We Dream of Booty", another song by Phyrnna for a sea area in Epic Battle Fantasy III.

Hakurei to the Future - "Back to the Future", the movie.

Hakurei Utopia - "Private Utopia", a really grim and atmospheric MMD short about Satori and Koishi after the world ended, it seems.

H,,,A,,,K,,,U,,,R,,,E,,,I - Reference to how Giygas talks. I wanted to use periods, but the site obliterates them, so I had to not.

...I've run out of things to say, for now! I'm gonna let my proofreader speak. By the way- don't forget to catch the epilogue!

Ω-Ω-Ω-Ω

Actual Proofreader's Note:

I like how the google doc for this got so big that it lags every now and then.

Proofreading this was fun, mostly because I got to add my own ideas quite a lot, and influence the story several times. As a reminder: if I wasn't proofreading this, there wouldn't be bits of Marigold's backstory, the Microwave Gun, Hiyori would probably be something else entirely, large chunks of certain chapters and dialogue would be different or not be there, and the Mr. Saturn replacements would fluffles instead of yukkuris.

Yeah.

For the characters, I didn't have much influence in Hikari or Osamu, my contribution in Marigold was mostly that she does have an incredibly large mana pool but due to the… circumstances, of her birth, she was born with a birth defect where she can't conduct magic, rather than just straight up having no magic.

But Hiyori was almost entirely me, she was born out of my like for characters that go against their racial traits for the most part, and you can't get much more different than a buddhist oni. Sometimes I feel like the author doesn't quite represent how I imagined her, mostly in her dialogue, but it's whatever. For a definitive idea on what her horns look like, they're supposed to look like oryx horns. One of our friends actually drew art of what she looks like but is a bitch when it comes to linking shit, maybe we'll put it on that website that the author is making, oh yeah, by the way, the author is making a website.

It was nice doing this for you guys, I am going to miss proofreading this, and if anymore of you actually read this, I hope you enjoyed it, laters.

==== and now the author is talking again ====

I suppose this is goodbye for now, yo. As always, though, I'll see you all… _next time!_


	33. Hakurei Fantasy

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: TIMELINE B ====

There was still a hole in the shrine's roof, but considering it was still warm and it just snowed, there wasn't a rush to fix it.

Sitting beneath it, since it let some nice light in, Reimu sipped the tea she got from the village during her previous visit.

"Mmm…" Considering she hadn't had tea in some years, she was loving it.

Like this, time passed as usual, at the Hakurei Shrine, if a bit more enjoyably than it has all these years.

…

A gap opened in the middle of the shrine's common room. Reimu only noticed when she heard the clicks of a certain gap youkai's heels.

Tensing up, she whirled around. "Wh-who…"

...She saw Yukari step out. "Hello, Reimu~!"

…

Fwish, fwish, fwish!

The gap youkai was forced to twirl out of the way, a spread shot of ofuda ripping by her.

"Now, now, Reimu…" She spoke chidingly. "Is that any way to greet an old friend?"

"Go away." Shifting her legs from their crossed posture, she struggled to get up, before just relying on her flight to carry her onto her feet. "I was having a good day until you came along. Where even _were_ you?"

...Smiling, Yukari continued towards Reimu. "Around."

"...Yeah. Hiding until everything blew over, huh?" Still bitter, Reimu sighed. "That was always like you. You… cost me my daughter."

Pausing, Yukari thought that over. "...It seems that I have."

…

Glaring at her, Reimu summoned her two gohei to her hands, which flashed into existence. "Is… is that all you have to say!?"

"...Yes." Yukari held herself, her arms wrapping around her stomach. "Not every plan I had conceived across every iteration of Gensokyo went well. Though, all things considered, I wasn't-"

Fwap! An ofuda landed on her forehead, and began glowing brightly.

...She sighed. "I suppose I deserve this, though."

Expression flaring, Reimu threw herself towards Yukari. "Hra~h!"

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

In the corner of what was once Kaguya's room, a vat sat. In it, the exposed and bare form of a earthen rabbit girl was drifting in stasis.

"Alright, Mokou…" Eirin stood before it. "When the modifications to her biology are complete- which will take some time- you are to aid me in rehabilitating her for a youkai life style."

Mokou was staring into space, sitting against the wall on the opposite side. "...Didn't you say that that'd take like, years?"

"I simply want you to be ready when that time comes." Turning around, the doctor stared at the vat. "I still have many procedures to perform on her to ensure that she is completely biological and no longer hindered by the consumption of fear. I have some decisions to make regarding her diet in the meantime, however…"

"That's great." Mokou monotoned, rolling her head to look at another section of ceiling. "Real happy fer ya."

...Eirin frowned. "Glad to hear it."

Then, a gap opened,

Both immortals drew their attention to it, unsure what to say at its sudden appearance.

...Two individuals walked out, one being a particularly ratty looking Yukari, and a less than pleased aged Reimu.

"...I see you've sensed it." Eirin gave Yukari a nod.

"Ind-... indeed…" Opening her mouth, the gap youkai reached in and took out an ofuda. "Nn…"

Mokou's face lit up. "O-oh, Reimu! How the hell have ya been!?"

...When Eirin turned to the miko, she was right up in her face, scowling at her.

"Ah…?" Taking a step back, she gave herself room. "Hakurei, are you-"

Thwa-thwack! Two gohei strikes sent Eirin hurtling back into the wall behind her. "Gagh…!?"

Mokou clapped her hands, ecstatic. "Hell yeah! Fuck her up! Fuck her-"

Fwap, fwap, fwap! Three ofuda met the immortal's face.

...They slowly began glowing, a soft sizzle coming from them. "A-ah… Aaa~h! Sh-shit, it _burns!_ "

Yukari sighed.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Once the commotion was over, the four sat with their legs crossed next to the fear device mounted in the center of the room.

Reimu glared at the floor.

"...Once again, I apologize." Eirin had her arms folded. "It was nece-"

Mokou put a hand over Eirin's mouth. "No. Just- for now? ...Ya should shut up."

...Eirin rolled her eyes.

"Regardless," Yukari folded a fan before her face. "I've brought you all together to discuss how we can restore Gensokyo."

...Mokou furrowed her brows, resting her head on one of her arms. "Yer shootin' a little high there, buddy."

"Can't we just move on?" Reimu was tired. "Everything's broke enough as it is. Things can't be the same."

"Now, I'm not saying we should drastically _change_ anything… we needn't shoot for Gensokyo's former glory." Yukari tried to get everyone's attention with this statement, which she did. "...I'm simply saying we should start by restoring a few conveniences."

Mokou snorted. "Like what? You gonna build a bridge between all the islands?"

...Yukari smiled. "Sure. We could go with that."

...This made Mokou decide to flop onto her back, arms behind her head. "He~re we go. And how're we gonna _make_ it?"

...Making a compensating sort of expression, Yukari tilted her head back and forth as she folded up her fan. "...Well, there are plenty of inoperable robots simply being left to rot across the world. If we round them up and reprogram them, we'd surely be able to build anything."

"You say this as if you couldn't just materialize the bridge yourself." Reimu's monotone voice cut in.

"Hush now." Yukari didn't bother to glance at her to address her.

"I'd like to not spend _that_ much of my time cleaning up your mistake." With that, Eirin stood up. "While I'll extend some of my personal resources to aid you, I will not spend a millennium reprogramming you a robot army."

"I suppose the kappa would aid in that regard." Yukari decided. "...On that note, the Moriya goddesses still live, even if severely short on faith."

"Oh?" Eirin was vaguely intrigued as she moved over to what was previously just a mana potion production station. "Perhaps they can aid with the bridge situation. One of them was a goddess of Earth, if I'm not mistaken."

"...I suppose." Looking between Reimu and Eirin, Yukari nodded. "It seems we all have some thinking to do."

Eirin snorted as she sat at the chair before her station.

"Mmm." Mokou couldn't really care.

Reimu was glaring at Yukari.

With that, the youkai abruptly retreated into a gap, smirking back at Reimu as she did so.

The gap closed.

…

"Hey…" Reimu called out for her a moment later. "...Hey!"

...Mokou sat up. "Hmm?"

"Don't just leave me here!" Springing to her feet, Reimu brandished her two gohei. "Get back here!"

…

Taking this moment, Reimu looked around the purple metal fashioned room. "Wow. What happened here…?"

"I had a lot of time to my fuckin' self, that's what happened." Mokou growled as she sprung into her own standing posture. "I got a little stir crazy."

...Reimu smiled at her. "I don't blame you. Actually…" Turning to Mokou fully, she informed her of the skies. "It's safe to fly, now. I flew to the village not too long ago."

"What…?" She blinked. "Really?" ...Then, her face fell. "...I can't fly that far. I have to use my stupid wings to do it, and they eat a fuckton of mana… which, as you might know, is kinda a limited resource now."

"I could remedy that." Eirin spoke from her station.

"...What, you gonna give me one of those retarded straw hats and make me sip mana potion the whole way?" Mokou scowled at her brief input.

...Eirin considered the idea, for a moment. "...We could do that, but I was thinking a basic jetpack would suffice."

"...Huh." Mokou nodded. "Yeah, that'd be cool. As long as that shit doesn't run out of fuel."

"Mmm. I'll give you the electricity and plasma variant, then." Eirin stood up, and began moving for the staircase. "There should be a few emergency ones on the ship."

Reimu and Mokou followed her, the former's curiosity piqued. "Ship…?"

"...Yes. Ship." Eirin's reply was prompt.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Despite having a lowered population, the tengu village was about as active as it always was. Guards and trainees alike found transit through the common roads of the rather quaint, almost town-looking village.

Also in spite of the walls around it being wooden log palisade, the buildings themselves were also of log. In the few places of common re-structuring there were tents instead of cabins.

A more recent development in the past thirty years, however, was the hexa-ballistas mounted to the roofs of the cabins, intended to blow Giygas' forces away to kingdom come. Each one had a box-like shape, six pointy logs resting on two different rows inside. They also didn't look very much like traditional ballistas, and were moreso hand-operated box turrets, a feat only possible since tengu were quite superior to humans in terms of strength.

A gap opened in the middle of the village, and Yukari stepped out.

...All of the tengu on the main road stopped, and stared at her.

…

All of the manned hexa-ballista turrets shifted to point at her, whereas the armed tengu drew their bows and blades.

Holding her hand up, a round barrier generated around the gap youkai, shining as it solidified.

Blasts resounded across the rooftops as the stout, log-shaped projectiles were launched at Yukari.

Ti-ti-ti-ti~ng! They were all deflected into the floor, her barrier sporting many new cracks to show for the strikes.

Rolling her eyes, Yukari retreated into her gap, an extra of herself floating out to sit inside the barrier.

The blades of the other tengu rained upon all sides of the bubble-shaped shield.

Ti-ti-ti-ti- Cra~ck!

Once the barrier was down, the other tengu floated up, and fired their arrows all into the center.

The Yukari clone inside blurred out of existence as the arrows flew straight through it.

…

"I'm not here to fight you." Yukari drifted above the village as she made her presence known. "I simply wish to-"

More projectiles flew towards her, ranging from lightning-fast, metal-tipped arrows to more logs from the mounted hexa-ballistas.

Gaps opened beneath her to consume all of the projectiles. "-speak with a few guests of yours."

"What are you doing here, Yakumo!?"

Looking down at the town hall, Yukari saw an extremely muscular, armored tengu step out. Red, black, and white portions of cloth showed through his steel plates which were attached to his shoulder and to a few places along his torso.

He rose his steel broad-sword, which was about as long as he was tall, over his shoulder. "You hold no custody over our land, any longer! Gensokyo is no more!"

"Oh, I was simply paying a visit." Yukari casually addressed him. "I just woke up from my nap, you see."

The tengu below her produced a low murmur, mostly of disdain for her sleeping habits in Gensokyo's time of need.

She began to drift downward towards the heavily armored tengu. "Surely we can still talk as friends, Tenma?"

...Tenma scowled. "We were never 'friends', Yakumo. Despite what you may have told yourself."

"You hurt me, Tenma." Yukari unexpressively stopped before him.

In the next moment, his large blade's tip was at her neck, faster than the human eye would be able to read. "I'm gonna _really_ hurt you! Don't think I don't know your limits, Yakumo."

"Is that so…?" Yukari had a small smile. "Show me my limits, then. I seem to have forgotten, after all these years."

Tenma drove his blade through the neck of the form before him, before it blurred out of existence.

Cla-cla-cla~ng! In the next instant, a myriad of colorful street signs were erected from the floor and air, locking his blade and his limbs in place.

Twisting his torso, his powerful arms rended through the thin metal beams of the signs. "Wh-what-"

Cla-cla-clang! Cla-cla-cla-cla~ng!

More shot out, this time aggressively jabbing into his joints in an attempt to cut their force and stop him from articulating them. "The hell-"

Cla-cla-clang!

Six signs dug into him from six very distinct directions all around him, locking him in place. "Is this…!?"

Clang!

A single, triangular sign reading 'yield' in English shot from a small gap, piercing his chest, but not poking through him entirely.

"Gugh…!?" His eyes widened.

...Yukari floated down from above, still looking lazy and unexpressive. "I think now would be a good time to yield."

...He grinned. "O-oh yeah? I'm just gettin' started, here!"

Clenching his fists tightly, he put in great effort in empowering his limbs again. "Hra~h!"

The wretched sound of metal bending and snapping became audible, as he jabbed his sword towards Yukari again.

She let it jab into a gap. "...I'll have to do this the boring way, then." Yukari held herself with one arm, as she outstretched the other.

A reflective, purple barrier generated around Tenma, the cylindrical form stretching to the sky.

"Hah!" He grinned widely. "You think that can stop me!?"

With a spinning leap, he rocketed up a great length of the barrier shaft, his sword's incisions in it made visible up the entire way.

An ear-rending 'ting' sound made Yukari scrunch her face. "Really, now…"

… He landed loudly against the ground within the barrier, dust flying up as his metal sandals dug into the stone they landed on. "... Hmph. Impressive barrier, Yakumo."

...Yukari put her hand on it, smiling. "It's what I do."

...As Tenma began thinking about how to experiment with his magic to smash the barrier, a gap opened up above him-

Vrrrrr~!

The shaft was filled with danmaku energy. " _Aaaaaa~h!_ "

The bright, violet laser continued for a few seconds, before Yukari snapped her fingers, and both the barrier and the danmaku laser firing gap dissipated.

...Tenma fell to his knees, then onto his stomach, unconscious.

"I found them, anyway." Yukari's eyes scanned the village as she turned, her gaze triggering her other illusionary doppelgangers to blur into non-existence, before too many tengu were alarmed by their scouting.

She drifted into a gap she made on the floor.

Now inside a building, Yukari walked forward and used her hand to dissipate the clone of herself that was before her.

Kanako and Suwako sat there, both of them the size of young girls, sitting on the edge of a bed that was way too big for the both of them combined.

...Yukari gushed. "My, my! You're both so _cute!_ "

"That's what not-you said, already." Kanako was unamused.

"But was she wrong?" Suwako turned to her fellow goddess.

...Kanako was conflicted on how to reply to that.

"In any case…" Yukari tilted her head forward, slightly. "I would like to ask a few favors of you two."

"Yeah." Kanako rolled her eyes. "Like you're in any position to ask favors from _us._ Especially after what you let happen."

...Suddenly melancholic, Suwako smiled. "...Yeah."

Yukari smiled. "I'm sure you're aware that the rest of the outside world is in chaos, correct?"

...Kanako considered this. "I thought about it. Apparently now I know it is, not that there's a lot we can do about it. We can't even _fly_ anymore."

With that, Yukari revealed a plan. "Well, our answer is simple, then. We'll reintroduce the concept of gods to the outside world… and we'll do it by teaching them fear, again."

…

"I can't say that's not tempting." Kanako frowned.

"I think it's really all we have." Suwako lazily turned to her partner in crime.

"...Alright." With that, Kanako hopped from the bed. "We'll participate in your little world domination plan, then. Keep in mind, we know fully that you're not doing this to help us, specifically."

"Can't I help out an old friend?" Yukari pouted. "I mean… you're a few feet shorter than I remember. And, you seem to be missing a dear friend-"

"You will _not_ speak of her!" Kanako's voice boomed, despite her body being small. "Yo-you…"

Suwako got close to her. "Calm down, Kana-chan…"

"Do-don't call me that…" Kanako gently nudged her away.

...Grinning, Yukari turned away, towards her gap. "I'm glad we could reach an agreement. I will be back when things are ready."

With that, she left through the gap she came in, departing from the tengu village.

…

"Ngh…" Kanako grimly flopped back onto the bed. "This sucks."

"Yeah." Suwako nodded, flopping down next to her. "I know…"

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Reimu kept a moderate distance from Mokou, the loud jetpack grating on her ears.

"Hahaha~!" Mokou was pretty hyped, though.

The two drifted through the pale blue sky towards the human village's sky island.

Once they got to the edge of the main road, they slowed down, and glided towards the floor…

Reimu made sure to land with care, her legs not like what they used to be. "There~ we-"

Thud. Mokou slammed into the ground. "Ah, shit…" After she fumbled for the controls on the straps a bit, she managed to turn it off before it dragged her along too far. "...Eheh."

"...Good job." Reimu grinned at her, before moving forward on the dirt road.

Mokou quickly climbed back onto her feet, and followed behind. "Hey, Eirin didn't tell me this thing sucked with landings."

With that, the two continued to move down to the village square.

Keine and Kosuzu were at a table in the midst, again, and no one else seemed to be out at the moment. There was another individual at the table, who Reimu wasn't sure of from this far.

"Who's that?" Mokou wondered aloud.

"Maybe a villager…" Reimu would have to get closer to really be sure. "Those bright blue clothes are a bit much, though."

The three turned to them as they neared. Once Reimu made the hair color out as green, she knew who the blue-clad girl was. "...Eiki?"

Mokou jerked her head back. "...Who?"

"Hello, Reimu." Eiki gave a somewhat worn smile to the two newcomers. "Why don't you both take a seat with us?"

Mokou was more transfixed by the one she came to see, though. "Keine!"

The teacher gave her a bright smile, and a short wave. "Hey, Mokou. How've you been?"

Snorting, Mokou pulled up a seat next to her. "Well- okay… kinda shitty, really, but okay overall, I guess."

Before they went off onto a conversation of their own, Eiki spoke. "I'm here to talk about the recent… catastrophe, which had occurred."

"As opposed to the one that didn't." Reimu grinned.

Eiki's lips curled in amusement. "Yes, well… I'd like to start by saying that the administration and I did all we could to prevent it from happening, but it seems to have been something beyond our capabilities as a whole."

Reimu felt like rolling her eyes. "Yeah. Why didn't they send you?"

...Eiki slouched. "Well, if I ended up trapped somewhere, or incapacitated indefinitely, that would most definitely not be good for the flow of the afterlife. It's simply too much risk for too little reward."

"...Right." Reimu had no patience for politics these days.

"Hello~!" Yukari stepped onto the scene, from nowhere.

Keine frowned at her. "...What are _you_ doing here?"

"Stopping by for some tea, and a nice chat." Yukari's own pink-tinted version of the chairs they were using rose underneath her, from a gap. "That, and I figured with the judge being here for the first time in many years, it would be worth a look-see."

Eiki nodded at that. "Good. I won't have to go looking for you, then."

"Oh?" Yukari smiled. "Looking for little old me?"

"...Yes." Eiki continued, "I'm here to remind you that, despite the Hakurei Barrier's shattering, you are to do your best job at keeping youkai influence within Gensokyo. We cannot have what few influential individuals who are left do whatever they want just because the world is in a state of chaos."

Yukari nodded. "Oh, certainly. I'll have to find out who's where, first, so right now I can't make any promises. For all we know, someone's made a run for it, already…"

"I'm sure we'll find out soon enough." Eiki smiled at that, before looking Yukari in the eyes. "I mean it, now. The administration will give me further messages to give to you in the coming years. You are expected to play your part, as are the rest of those expected to take charge."

"Ye~s, ye~s." Yukari felt the urge to express dismissal, but simply settled for looking bored. "How dare I overstep my boundaries, yes?"

"Indeed." ...Eiki blinked, giving Yukari an examining look, for a moment. "...As long as you understand what is expected of you, and the consequences of disobedience. After all… I suppose this bubble, if you will, is still considered Gensokyo. We'll most likely allot you more land as we see fit, knowing you like that sort of thing."

"Ah, yes. You understand me so well." Yukari smiles widely, locking her hands together in dull but appreciative glee.

Eiki blinked again, "...Right," before she stood up. "Alright. I'll have to be leaving, now. It was nice meeting you again, Keine, Reimu, Mokou…"

Mokou's stare was dry. "Where didja learn my name?"

"Immortality upsets the administration." Eiki smiled. "Unfortunately, it seems in your case it is irreversible. Or so we believe… but our solution to many problems is to just throw shinigami at them until they stop moving, so it may as well be irreversible."

Mokou frowned, keeping her arms folded as she relaxed her posture. "Yeah. Wish I was dead, sometimes, too."

"Mokou…" Keine was a little worried by that statement.

...Eiki felt like she did more harm than good. "Alright. Also, Reimu?"

"Hmm?" Reimu focused on her, looking away from the immortal and the teacher.

"...I'm sorry. I mean it." Eiki gave her a small smile.

"...Sure." Reimu didn't really want to talk about everything that happened.

...With that, Eiki walked off.

…

"How does she get home?" Kosuzu, who was awkwardly sitting between Reimu and Yukari the whole time, finally spoke.

"O~h, she just flies for awhile." Yukari provided, despite not knowing exactly how it was done herself. "Maybe opens a portal when she's isolated enough."

"Got plenty of isolation out here." Mokou smirked. "Everyone's dead."

"Fufufu…" Yukari got up. "Oh, I think it's about that time, too…"

"You just got here." Keine's expression was flat. "Unless all you came for was really to hear Eiki speak with you."

"How did you know?" Winking at her, Yukari turned away, moving for a gap. "Next time I'll make it more of a visit. I promise."

"Mmm…" Keine wasn't very enthused.

"Fuck off." Mokou was even less enthused. "Keine's tired of your shit."

...Yukari paused for a moment, but decided against doing anything unnecessary, especially with Reimu around. Quietly, she proceeded into her gap.

Then, it closed.

…

"Why'd she even come back?" Mokou stared at where Yukari was moments ago.

"She probably sensed that Giygas was gone." Reimu concluded. "So she's just out doing her thing again."

"Always gotta be _something_." Kosuzu grinned.

...With that, Mokou turned to her friend. "So, how's everything? The village, everyone…"

"Aah." Relaxing, Keine sighed, leaning back in her chair. "...At the moment, it's okay. I'm sure you noticed the huge shortage of pretty much everyone."

At that, Mokou smiled somewhat awkwardly. "Yeah…"

"...I see you've got a… jetpack, now." Keine made conversation of the new device Mokou had, after taking a moment to recall the name of the device.

"Oh, yeah, that crazy doctor gave it to me." Mokou tugged on the straps of it a bit. "She came back a few days ago, to talk with those stu-... those kids from the past." She watched her words, with Reimu just across the table.

"...My daughter and her friends." Reimu noted, lighting up instantly. "You talked with them, then? How were they?"

Mokou blinked. "Uu~h… good. We hit it off."

...Reimu smiled. "I'm glad."

"...Anyway," Mokou continued her previous thread of thought, "Doc went to the moon to get Kaguya's ass back down here. That'll give me something to do."

Keine snorted. "I see…"

...With that, Mokou thought of another possibility. "Probably gonna tell the moon how fucked the planet is, too."

"...Probably." Keine sighed. "Yakumo's got her work cut out for her, if she plans to contain all of what Gensokyo was within this bubble."

"...If she planned to do that in the first place." Reimu doubted such a notion, making a thoughtful face. "It probably doesn't matter to us, though."

The four girls continued to talk into the day, getting re-acquainted and familiar with one another again.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Space was dark, but also very illuminated at the same time. It really depended on which side of you was facing the sun. That is, if one didn't consider all the stars in the sky as illumination of their own.

Sitting in the pilot seat of the scouting craft, Eirin stared ahead at the advancing form of the moon. Next to her was a rabbit girl with mint green hair, and a communications helmet, though it wasn't on her head at the moment.

"...You _could_ engage the legacy jump drive, y'know." The regular pilot, who was seated in the co-pilot seat, sassed her.

"I know." Eirin casually ignored her.

...Looking around the many territory, miniature displays, Eirin saw a broad view of the Earth from the craft's rear.

...The lunar rabbit relaxed. "Just gonna be a joy ride, huh?"

"Mmm." Eirin took in the Earth's appearance. "...You're a lot more sassy than the typical lunar scouting pilot."

The mint green haired rabbit snorted. "Yeah, well, when some of the cushier scouts went to look at the Earth, they kinda got put through a blender. The superiors didn't learn their lesson for awhile, and after burning through like a hundred scouts, they decided to forget training quality ones."

Eirin began to grin. "How often would they send the scouts out?"

"Once every two weeks." The pilot shook her head. "For the first five years it was the same course. They started to change it up when they couldn't get past Gensokyo's sky islands. Really, all they did was fly around the ocean a bit more, and when they got to land stuff usually turned them to scrap metal."

"Was it anti-air?" Eirin was curious.

"We only sent our long-range scouts." The rabbit grinned. "They were only equipped with distance tracking."

"...Those are for other _solar systems_ , not Earth." Eirin shook her head. "Whose orders were these?"

"Watatsuki no Toyohime." The rabbit informed her.

"...No wonder." Eirin was amused. "Oh, well. The way should be clear for other scouts, now. Though, I should probably pass along that she should be informing scouts to have auto-evasion on at all times. Earth wasn't like it was before thirty years ago, after all."

"You need _orders_ to use auto-evasion?" The rabbit furrowed her brows. "Why the hell's something like that locked behind orders?"

"Burns fuel. Which, in turn, burns resources." Eirin revealed. "That, and it decreases the range of crafts significantly, since they have far less fuel to work with… which should be irrelevant in and around Earth."

"...Ah." The rabbit nodded. "Still stupid."

...After a few minutes of silence, Eirin pushed a few buttons on the dashboard. A few lit up, while others deactivated upon each press.

…

"What's your name?" Eirin seemed to make idle banter.

"...Ruri." The pilot consented.

"After the return trip," Eirin turned to her. "I've got a request for you."

"Lock my credit allowance at triple and I'll _consider_ it." Ruri grinned.

"Sure." Eirin didn't really care.

"...Wh-wait, really?" Ruri blinked, surprised. "N-no, I meant quadruple! Uhm, whatever six-tuple is!"

"When we land at Eientei again, you are to disable all your tracking sensors. I'll override the anti-rogue failsafes, and I want you to go to a few key coordinates across Earth, and take pictures. In addition, I've got a device I must attach for this operation."

...Ruri was curious. "This sounds awfully specific. I'll _totally_ take sixtuple daily credits."

"You must tell no one of this." Eirin smiled at her. "And you will get what you want."

"Awesome." Ruri nodded enthusiastically.

With that, the two looked ahead at the moon quietly.

…

"Did anyone ever tell you you're awesome?" Ruri turned to her again.

She received a monotone response. "Don't push it."

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

The meeting room of the lunar council was dangerously shiny. It was one of the few places on the moon that bothered to have a fascination with brass trims, as well, though someone could easily mistake them for gold.

Chairs with tall backs, composed of white alloys trimmed with brass were arranged all around a glass table. The table's top was suspended in the air by broad anti-gravity pad underneath it, which also supplied soft, blue light.

Eirin's heels clicked on the white alloy that also composed the floor. This same alloy was also used for the walls, and the ceiling, and a majority of the non-notable furniture.

Moving for the chair reserved exclusively for herself, she took a deep breath.

"Lady Yagokoro!?" Watatsuki no Toyohime, a lunarian with long, pale blond hair and a peach hat, gaped at the appearance of her former tutor.

Her sister, Watatsuki no Yorihime, was less impressed. "Lady Yagokoro informed us over radio before she entered the planetary sensor array. You were in the same room, even, sister."

...Toyohime tilted her head. "That was her? I was busy playing with the pretty buttons…"

...This caused her sister to sigh. "Right. Well-"

"And the radio was really hard to hear…" Toyohime looked contemplative. "You know what? I think we need to allocate our funds to giving all the ships new radios! We have video streaming, why don't we have good radios?"

"Please." Yorihime put up a hand. "...Let us discuss this later."

...Looking around the wide table, Eirin took in the other faces, which were all largely the same as she always remembered. Many were rather typical aristocratic-looking princesses, all of which were about as unamused as ever.

"Hey, Eiri~n!" Kaguya waved an arm from across the table. The two women next to her, who had similar hime-cuts, turned to her and made shushing motions. "...What? Oh, fuck off…"

Eirin stared at the scene dryly, before scanning the rest of the faces…

There was the hunched over, somewhat bulky form of a person with a large, rectangular box over their head. It was built into their torso, as well. Eirin saw the optical dial on the front face turned in her direction, showing her that the mechanized person was looking at her.

...Turning to the largest chair to her right, the form of Lord Tsukuyomi rested there. He had vaguely relaxed posture, and wore a grand kimono, which included a hood. Turning to Eirin, he gave her a smirk. "On what occasion do we honor this visit, Lady Yagokoro?"

...The girls across the table quieted down once he spoke, allowing the discussion to flow uninhibited.

Giving him a curt grin, Eirin stiffened her posture before she addressed the rest of the table. "...I am here to report my findings from my personal scouting of Earth… specifically, Gensokyo."

Toyohime spoke up. "I'm so glad you came back! I thought you'd get blown up like all the other scouts!"

Eirin gave her sardonic smile. "Yes, well, let's say I was a little more equipped than the long-range scouts you sent to what was essentially our back yard."

...Toyohime smiled widely. "O~h, you're right! I'll give the next set of scouts chain-lasers. Duh."

Yorihime sighed loudly.

"What is the condition, then?" Tsukuyomi requested, to get things back on track.

"I'm sure you already know." Eirin gave him a glance. "Although, now the knowledge will be more public. Human civilization on Earth has all but collapsed."

There were a few hushed whispers around the table.

"...Very well." Lord Tsukuyomi looked forward. "I would like to divert our efforts to Earth colonization."

Toyohime yelped in protest. "What!? But-... that place is _dirty!_ "

Other aristocrats joined her. "The Earth is but a _banquet_ of impurity!"

"Surely, not _all_ of the imperfections have been stricken from their soil."

"I'm sure they left their _toys_ out for us to step on, as well…"

"The solution is simple!" Tsukuyomi held up an arm, a pale blue orb generating above it. "We _purify_ the land we stake." The orb flared to life, burning with moon elemental energy.

…

"That… sounds like excessive effort." One of the generic, hime-cut aristocrats spoke out.

Tsukuyomi lowered his arm. "Those who aid in this effort will receive sovereignty over various territories."

...Members of the council began to nod in approval.

"However." Raising an arm, Eirin draws everyone's attention. "Gensokyo, the core parts of it, still stand."

…

"How?" Yorihime had her brows furrowed. "They are but a crater and a few rocks. Surely that doesn't count as 'standing'."

"Simple." Eirin lowered her arm, her eyes scanning the room. "Yakumo still lives."

...Once again, contemplative silence overtook the meeting room.

"Hey! Uh- I mean…" Kaguya clears her throat. "Would Yu-Yakumo really mean anything to us? I mean… we got capital ships with _guns_. Even if she's still got that shrine maiden, and that… _phoenix_ , I'm sure we can just like, vaporize her."

"You imply we could find her." Eirin stared at her dryly.

Kaguya grinned. "If we aim a cannon at that crater, I'm sure we'd find her."

"I'm also sure we'd lose a cannon." Eirin countered. "Even if it did fire, the residents of Gensokyo are now few enough that Yakumo could likely evacuate the entire premises multiple times if she really wished, islands and all."

…

"Fucking hacker." Kaguya folded her arms. The aristocrats around her scowled at her language, but it didn't visibly bother her.

"The Yakumo will likely be only a trivial concern." Tsukuyomi spoke. "Without her pawns, she can do little but observe the world around her. Though the world is ripe for the taking, together, we are many, and our adversaries few. With proper procedure and execution, the Earth's surface shall become ours, and we will profit as a civilization."

Eirin nodded at that, despite doubting the benefit of ignoring Yukari, knowing that most of the council was dismissive of the youkai's existence at best.

There was a quaint murmur of agreement amongst the others.

…

"Now, the next issue on the table…" Lord Tsukuyomi looked down, pressing into the air-

A blue panel formed from nothing before him. "...We are to discuss the daily credit allowance for the Lunar Rabbit Civilian Division. Again."

"U~gh…" There was an audible groan of disapproval, except from the single lunar rabbit in the entire room.

She had sleek, white hair, and wore a very decorated suit, which had multiple badges and arm bands. "...I mean, really. Ten credits? They'll buy a coffee table by next _year_."

Eirin stood up, knowing how unbearably long these meetings could go on for, at the worst taking the better of three days if nearly every point was a source of contention. Which, often, they always were, since all the points were more often than not complaints from the large majority of the society that the aristocrats always found a new way to write around or circumvent.

"...I see your concern, General Hanazawa." Tsukuyomi continued business as usual. "However, the amounts of acts passed regarding the Lunar Rabbit Civilian Division credit situation has… exceeded the allowed amount, so to say."

Hanazawa furrowed her brows. "...When was such a… mechanism in place?"

"It's actually been there for awhile…" Tsukuyomi brought his hands together, and interlocked them. "You see, it was conceptualized back when civilian life was being held in greater consideration by the-"

Eirin tapped the table, giving him an unenthused stare.

He wasn't quite sure what she meant by that. "...I'm not going to hurry up, if that's what you're asking for."

"You can give her the entire history of civilian care legislature after I've made my announcement." Eirin shafted the current train of discussion.

...Tsukuyomi nodded unexpressively. "Very well."

"I am to continue my scouting on Gensokyo's premises." Eirin declared to the council. "I will also be bringing Houraisan with me."

Kaguya stood up, launching her arms into the air. "Holy _shit_ , yes! Get me the fuck _outta_ here!"

…

Tsukuyomi coughed. "...What good would this serve? Especially now that we need your leadership as much as we do now?"

"Simple." Eirin addressed him directly. "Well- actually, to begin with, it's not terribly hard to assemble 'purification committees'. My advice would be to start 'training' portions of the civilian and lesser military divisions. I'm sure you can figure out the rest from there." She put portions of her speech in different tones, so that he could determine the actual meaning of some of her terms.

Getting out of her chair, Eirin progressed to the door. "Further, you underestimate Yakumo's influence. By having me- and by extension, Kaguya- scout there, we can not only see what she does with great accuracy, but we can instill complacency in her that may slow her ability to act." Eirin completely made up that last part.

However, Tsukuyomi didn't know Yukari like she did. "...I see. Your presence would likely give her comfort, and through that comfort, we may have yet another advantage. I am humbled by your strategy, Lady Yagokoro."

An aristocrat spoke up. "How do we know she's not just running off with her girlfriend, again?"

…Tsukuyomi frowned at her. "Do not speak such a way of your superior. Since her return, Lady Yagokoro has done nothing but tremendously accelerate the progress and growth of our society and our assets. To doubt her resolve is to doubt our society itself. Do you doubt our society?"

"...We-well, no…" She blushed, looking away. "But-"

"This discussion is over." Tsukuyomi ended the discussion.

...As Kaguya rounded the table to meet up with Eirin near the door, she turned to him and gave him two middle fingers. "You just got blown _ou~t!_ "

Promptly, she followed Eirin out the door, and slammed it behind herself.

…

Sagume Kishin's eyes flickered open; she was resting in the seat to the left of where Eirin sat the entire time.

"...You know you just got played, right?" One of the other hime-cut girls spoke.

"Further insubordination will result in immediate revocation of privileges."

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Eirin stepped into the craft, the princess following behind her.

"Thank fucking _god_." Kaguya was very happy. "I can't believe I was ever happy in this hellhole. It's just so… boring. Everyone just wants to talk about their shitty fashion- fashion _I designed_ in the first goddamn place- and then they mock me for not following it anymore! God, I was so… _stupid!_ "

...Eirin tapped the white alloy next to one of the ship's rather obviously crafted audio sensors, which was a speaker-like port on the wall.

"I don't give a shit if they hear me." Kaguya walked right up to the port hole. "Hey, assholes! You're all a bunch of porcelain-skinned sluts!"

...Ruri, the pilot, was eying the princess with a mixture of bafflement and amusement as she sat along the interior wall on a cushioned chair.

Saying nothing, Eirin quickly moved to the cockpit,. Ruri followed behind her, but Kaguya pulled her out of the way. "Hey, hey…! That's not how this works!" Ruri grappled with Kaguya.

Kaguya snarled at her. "Fuck off! What- you're some fucking bum pilot we got on the side of the road? I've played Plane Simulator, I probably know more than _you!_ "

"Princess," Eirin spoke up, "Procedure dictates the licensed pilot of a military aircraft must be in the control deck for the craft to be authorized to leave."

...Kaguya shrugs. "Fuck it, she can sit in my lap, then."

"What?" Ruri jerks her head back. "No."

"You want me to sit on _yours?_ " She gets in her face.

"...Well, no." Ruri looks conflicted.

"Then get out of the way." Pushing her aside, Kaguya moves inside, and sits on the cushy seat to the right of Eirin. "Aa~h…"

...Ruri awkwardly looked into the pilot bay, unsure how she'd get in.

...Noticing that, Kaguya spread her legs. "Just sit inbetween. I'm not gonna _eat_ you."

With that, Ruri slowly complied, bending her limbs precariously to get in between Kaguya's. After some trial and error, she managed to fit on the seat ontop of Kaguya.

...Kaguya sunk back into the chair. "Even with her on me, this is so much better than those stupid white metal chairs you guys use in the club room, or whatever the fuck that place is. Seriously- they don't even bend. It's no wonder everyone's such a bitch. Like, twenty million years of technology and we still haven't invented round chairs."

She proceeded to press down on the soft material of the pilot chair with her hands. "Except for in our ships, for some reason…"

"Okay, I don't care if I get axed for this: does she ever shut up?" Ruri turned to Eirin.

Eirin was almost through the takeoff procedure. "No."

The engines of the craft hummed to life, barely audible inside the craft itself, while they were a roar outside of it.

Noise flooded the cockpit from the intercom. "Yagokoro, you are set for takeoff."

...Kaguya furrowed her brows. "The radio's just _fine_. That stupid bitch..."

Eirin snorted. "Yagokoro to control, proceeding takeoff."

The intercom sounded one last time. "Acknowledged."

With that, the craft began moving, the large doors opening before them to allow them out into space.

Once they left the scout port, all was quiet.

…

"As nice as space looks, just engage the FTL drive." Kaguya complained about the vastness of space. "This is gonna take like a day otherwise."

"That's what _I_ said!" Ruri complained, too. "...Also, it's a legacy-"

"Don't care. Teleporting bullshit is teleporting bullshit." Kaguya didn't discriminate between lightspeed drives.

Eirin didn't take her focus off of the empty space over Earth. "...Relax a little, princess. It's good for you."

"No." Kaguya refused. "I've had like ten years to relax, and trust me, I'm the most relaxed I've ever been in my fucking… so and so long life." She took a moment to reflect. "...Actually, scratch that. Nothing could beat how zombified I was before I went to Earth. _That_ was true relaxation. Being a living corpse."

"This is gonna suck…" Ruri rested her body on her half of the dashboard, her torso pressing down on random buttons.

Eirin simply pressed the few buttons on her end to recalibrate. "Alright, alright. I'll jump us."

" _Thank you_." Both girls replied at the same time.

...Eirin lowered her arm, and pulled a lever along her side back a single notch. Then, she pulled it forward-

Fwoaom!

…

Eirin and Kaguya retreat to Gensokyo to live as they please, sending periodic, uneventful reports back to the moon now and then. The fate of the world was left up to the devices of the Lunar Capital's political gridlock and colonization ambition, and Yukari Yakumo's Gensokyo expansion plans… and who will come out on top is anybody's guess.

Gensokyo, however, would remain as is, for better or worse, though Yukari had many, many plans for the few individuals she had left. They would come to see the renovations she promised, and perhaps more. Giygas' destruction salvaged the last of it from otherwise total annihilation, and the echoes of this action have permanently shaped this universe.

This is not this Gensokyo's story, so for now, it will have to be left at that.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND: TIMELINE A ====

Fwoaom!

Emerging from the temporal gate, the four friends landed firmly on their feet. They were greeted by the dark, pre-dawn sky once again. Tall bamboo hung around the party familiarly. Before them, the return party was were they always were.

…

"Wh-why are…" Reimu's mouth was open. "Why are two of you naked…?"

Dropping her giant club of a gohei, Hikari ran over to her mother, and glomped her.

"Wo-woah…!" Stumbling back, Reimu wrapped her arms around her. "Hey, hey…"

...

...Pulling back, Hikari flashed her a smile. "I love you, Mom."

...Reimu smiled back. "I love you too, Hikari." She wasn't quite sure what brought this on, though.

"...I was off by a few seconds." Eirin sighed. "Oh, well." Reaching into her pocket, she took out a yen bill. "Here."

Yukari's hand slipped out of a gap, and took it. "Tha~nk you!"

Hikari felt like grinning. ' _They bet on how fast we'd come back…_ '

"We did it!" Osamu threw his arms into the air. "We saved the entire goddamn _world!_ Hell yeah!"

...Marigold sighed, before smiling. "That was an experience."

"Mmm…" Hiyori looked around herself. "I certainly won't be forgetting that."

…

"So…" Reimu looked over her daughter up close. "Why are you naked?"

...Hikari shifted awkwardly. "It's… a long story."

Snorting, Reimu nodded. "I'm sure. Well… we have time, now. How about we head back to the shrine?"

With a casual nod, Hikari agreed. "Sure… I'd like that."

"I'm comin' too!" Osamu suddenly was next to them. "There's no _way_ I'm lettin' you tell that story without all the awesome details!"

Before Reimu could say anything, Marigold stepped up to them. "I'd like to come, too. Since… yeah." She continued to conceal her details. "...Hikari's my friend."

"This adventure meant a lot to me." Hiyori announced. "...If it's okay, I'd like to be there, too."

...Reimu had a dry stare. "Well, I never said you _couldn't_ come…"

Yukari slowly drifted over the five. "I'd like to be there, too. Can I, please, Reimu~?"

"Except for you." Her dry stare shifted up at the gap youkai. "But you'll probably be listening whether you're there or not, anyway."

' _I didn't even see her, in the future…_ ' Hikari stared up at the gap youkai neutrally.

"Aw~." Yukari's whine was more teasing than disappointed. "Just for that, I'll let you find your own way home. Tootaloo~!"

With that, she slipped into her gap space, the gap she was resting in closing up after her.

' _She's probably still listening._ '

Osamu snorted. "Good thing we can freakin' _teleport._ "

"Yeah. There's no way we're flying back like this…" Reimu was somewhere between amused and distressed as to why her daughter came back from the future naked.

Eirin walked over to the temporal gate, to shut it down. Within a couple moments, she inserted her key into a very mechanized, clunky slot, and turned it, jiggling it when it hung.

The gate powered down.

"...I'll have to remember to add an adamantite casing, later." Standing up straight, Eirin began walking away. "That would surely stand the test of time."

...Marigold looked away from the party, over at Eirin. "Hey, Eirin!"

Pausing, Eirin turned to them. "Hmm?"

"Thank you!" Marigold gave her thanks.

...Eirin smiled, before turning away. "You're welcome."

The glass doors in front of Eientei slid open to let her in.

…

"Alright…" Turning back to the party, Marigold rubbed her hands together. "Let's get this naked conga line going."

Returning to position, and having gotten her gohei off the floor, Hikari grinned. "Alright. Get behind me, everyone."

Marigold was first. "We're gonna have to stick together, for this." She put her hand on Hikari's shoulders, covering her rear.

Grinning, Osamu began to strut towards them. "A~nd I think I'll just go right-"

Reimu walked in the way, and pushed him behind her. "There."

...He gave her a dry stare. "Yeah. Good." Like this, Reimu also concealed Marigold from Osamu.

Hiyori was last, solidly positioning herself behind Osamu. "...We seem to be good."

"Alright." Hikari braced herself. "On the count of three."

' _This is exciting…!_ ' Hikari was ready to relax, after everything she's seen.

Snap! Snap!

' _Wh-what…?_ ' Hikari blinked, the bright flashes blinding her in the darkness of the evening.

...Reimu excused herself from the line, for a moment. "Hold on."

She marched towards the brush where the flashes came from.

"Sh-shoot…" Disgruntled whispering came from a bush. "I forgot to shut the flash shutter off…"

Leaning over, Reimu opened up the bush.

...A black-haired crow tengu gave her a sheepish smile. "Aah-..." Then, she stood up, popping right out of the bush. "Hello~!"

...The party stared at her blankly. Reimu's dry stare was slowly becoming more menacing.

"I~, um…" She looked down at her camera, before having an idea. "Photographs taken instantly! I'm a photographic genius, if I do say so myself!"

"Aya…" Reimu slowly marched towards her.

Exiting the bush, Aya began to drift in a circle, staying just ahead of Reimu. "Okay! Get ready for an instant memory…!"

"Aya~...!" Reimu began power walking.

"Ready?" Aya held up her camera, grinning. "Look at the camera…!"

Marigold held her limbs over her features. "He-hey…!"

Hikari also did so, after a delay. ' _Uhm…_ '

"Say, 'fuzzy pickles'!"

Hiyori raised her mace, intending to interrupt the tengu.

Osamu was amused, but perplexed. "What the hell kinda…"

Marigold turned around. "No!"

Hikari blinked. "Fu-fuzzy pickles?"

Snap!

"This'll surely make the greatest memory!" Aya held up her camera victoriously.

Woosh! She hung in the air, splaying her body out horizontally to dodge a swipe of Reimu's gohei. "Hoo~!"

Hiyori brought up her mace. "Hra~h!"

Aya was behind her by the time her mace hit the ground, pretending to yawn.

That gave Hikari an idea…

Hikari tried Hypnosis α!

Energy rippled around Aya's form…

"Wo-woah…?" Her eyes fluttered momentarily-

Thwack! Reimu's gohei connected with her forehead.

"Wa~h!?" Aya spun in place from the attack's strength.

Thwack! A consecutive hit from Reimu stopped her spinning, colliding with her arm and causing her camera to fly out of it.

Quickly, Reimu flew to grab it. "Gotcha!"

...Aya looked down at her hands. "A-ah- hey!"

Knowing she couldn't keep it safe from Aya forever, Reimu darted over to Hiyori. "Here."

...Accepting the camera, Hiyori held it tightly with one arm.

In the next moment, Aya was on her side, trying to pry it out. "Hn~gh…!"

"Give it a rest, Aya." Moving back into the line, Reimu positioned herself behind Marigold. "Now's not the time for that."

"Ye-yeah, sure…! Hnn~...!" Again, Aya tugged, trying to get her camera free.

...After that disruption, the party promptly moved into positions again.

Reimu pushed Osamu behind herself nonchalantly, again, before complaining about the tengu. "Geez… she just doesn't know when to quit."

"Seems not." Marigold anxiously paced behind Hikari. "...Let's hurry. It's… really cold out here."

...Hikari had hardly realized it in the excitement, but she was getting some shivers, herself. ' _I forgot how cold it was in the present. The future's climate was unnaturally warm…_ '

Within moments, the party was back in formation… although Aya was still clinging to Hiyori's side with a focused expression, trying to wedge her camera out like it was some sort of puzzle.

"On three…" Hikari began again.

Everyone tensed up.

"One…" Hikari began calling wind to herself.

Hiyori latched her hand onto Osamu's shoulder resolutely, intent on holding on with just that. Her other arm was reserved for keeping the camera snug.

"Two…" Hikari smiled, ready to move.

Everyone was anticipating moving.

"Come o~n…" Aya whined, straining herself as she tried to pull on the camera-

"Three!" Stomping a sandal to the floor before sprinting, Hikari gave the signal for everyone else to begin mobilizing.

Hikari tried Teleport ß!

Quickly, the five and the additional bird began to speed up.

Hikari watched the world around her speed up slower than when she usually did this, though. ' _Must be all the people…_ '

She took in Eientei's familiar darkness for a few more moments, before-

Krakoo~m!

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Elsewhere, a campfire burned. In the outskirts of Gensokyo, in one of the somewhat-wooded outreaches, a boy sat shivering before the flames.

Porky sniffled, holding his hands up before the tiny fire. "Stu-stupid… Id-idiots…"

Around the fire were the smashed and dented forms of the few Spinning Robots he could salvage from the army's grand siege of Gensokyo. There was also a Nuclear Reactor Robot, but it didn't respond anymore, so he left it behind.

"Gi-Giygas' robots…" Porky grinned through the cold, and the snot running down his nose, "are the greatest. If-if only they didn't… just _stop working!_ "

...Leaning over, he picked up a rock, and chucked it at one of the idle Spinning Robots.

Bo~ng. The strike echoed off of the metal.

…

"I-I bet that stupid idiot Hikari…" Porky shivered violently. "Ge-getting stupid miko cookies from her _mom_ … a-and her stupid… friends..."

…

The bushes behind him rustled, causing him to freak out. "Aaaa~h! Stupid youkai! Stupid youkai!" Reaching into the pocket of his suspenders, he pulled out a funky looking plasma pistol he'd ripped off from some mooks. "I'll shoot! I'll kill you!"

...More bushes rustled, this time across the small clearing.

...Eyes wide, and legs quaking, Porky aimed his plasma pistol at the other bush. "I-I _mean_ it! I have robots! They'll tear your arms off, and kill your families!"

A third bush rustled.

Porky began firing.

Choo, choo, choo! Three bright blue bolts flew into the brush, doing little but singing a few leaves.

Turning to the other bush, he began firing. "Hahaha~!"

Choo, choo, choo!

He repeated this process with a nearby tree, before progressing to the other bush.

"Yeah, take that!" With that, he grinned victoriously, seeing as he wasn't attacked. "Die! All youkai should just _die!_ "

"...Is that so?"

Porky froze.

In the middle of the clearing, there was a tall woman with long, blonde hair, and a purple dress.

Porky aimed his gun up at her. "...Ye-yeah! All youkai do is- like… be _stupid!_ "

"And so you campaign relentlessly in the name of genocide." The woman's purple eyes stared down at him, her lips curling into a smile. "Simply because you don't know how to change your selfish ways."

Porky bares his teeth. "Shut up! You don't know anything!"

"You'd rather go through the effort to destroy everything… than change your own ways." The woman smiled widely, tilting her head. "My, you humans never seem to get dull. You're all a very… _unique_ bunch. A uniquely dull bunch, at any rate… the only surprise is just how far you go to try."

With shaky hands, Porky fired.

Choo, choo, choo!

Tiny rips in space opened to absorb the plasma bolts.

"That's where there are people like _you_." The woman walked through the air towards him, taking her time. "The human with strong resolve. The human who knows he's fighting for the right cause."

"Sh-shut up!" Porky continued to fire, but the shots did nothing. "You're not my _mom!_ "

"...Fufufu~..." Focusing on him more intently that before, the woman spoke more conversationally. "You don't deserve my name. You may call me 'the eight purple clouds'."

She spread her arms out, and two sabers of danmaku energy generated in each. "I suppose I'll play with you until I tire of you, little boy."

Choo, choo, choo! Porky's plasma shots worked as well as they did the first time he tried them.

Stepping onto the floor, the woman continued to slowly walk towards him.

...Porky grinned. "Even Hikari wouldn't survive _this…!_ " Pressing a few buttons on his blaster, he aimed it at the gap youkai.

Fw-fwaa~sh! A maelstrom of sparks whirled out, the cone of electrical energy moving towards her-

"Fufufu~..." She seemingly divided into two clones, the two copies of herself twirling away from the cone leisurely, like they were spinning on ice.

"A-ah- cancel! Cancel!" Porky quickly cut the energy to his pistol, and turned it to the rightmost woman. "Hahaha~!"

Choo!

The bullet passed through her, and the form of the woman blurred out of existence.

"Wh-what…!?" Porky was baffled.

Thwash! The real woman's handheld danmaku beam passed through his hand, sending his pistol flying. "O- _oo~w!_ "

Thwash! She swiped the other arm's beam through him, causing his entire body to have a flush of pain. "Aa-aaaa~h!" Shaking violently, he stumbled back-

Clang! A mangled, rusty stop sign erupted from the ground behind him, locking him in place.

Cla~ng! The stop sign was knocked out of place by a sign depicting a stop light, the angle at which it came from launching Porky forward. "Gugh…!"

As he flew towards the woman, she swung both beams at him with both arms.

Thwa-thwash!

"Angh…" Danmaku energy traveled all throughout Porky's body, making him feel drowsy, as he landed on his side against the dirt floor…

As he rolled over, the woman loomed over him.

"...You're not like them." She observed. "You don't feel… in the way they do. How interesting."

Through teary eyes, Porky punched at the air. "Go-go away…! I-I hate you…"

"...What has that influence done to you?" The woman tilted her head. "...I suppose it doesn't matter anymore."

"Hi-Hikari sent you, didn't she!?" Porky blamed this problem on the obvious cause. "Tell her to go to _Hell!_ In- infact..." Shifting to crawl away, he grinned up at the woman. "I-I'll kill her! I'll finally kill her! Just you wait and see!"

The woman snorted. "You will lose."

...Porky slowly frowned. "Bu-but Giygas, if he-"

"Giygas will lose." She shook her head. "It is inevitable."

...Bitter, Porky rapidly shook his own head after a moment's delay. "Wh-what… what do you know?"

"I know that you shouldn't play these sorts of games with beings far beyond your comprehension." She smiled down at him. "...I, myself, know not how the pieces fell into place as they did, but I do know that I knew when I set them up." She turned away, and began floating off. "Hikari, as a Hakurei, is merely my trump card. Though things did not go as expected, nor as soundly as I had hoped, this strategy is nearly without flaw. Knowing the fortitude of the Hakurei, you are destined to die painfully, your plans in vain and hated by all."

...Porky had stopped struggling, opting to stare up at the youkai-

"And no matter what you do." Her face was suddenly against his. "It will always end the same way. You will never be happy."

The woman was gone.

…

Porky sniffed.

…

"Sh-she… doe-doesn't kn-know…" Struggling to stand, Porky began to hobble towards the fire. "Gi-Giygas… is more powerful than her. He's smarter, a-and stronger, and stronger than Hikari- and…"

...Porky smiled, as he lurched back onto the log he sat on before the fire. "Ye-yeah… they'll see…"

The fire was, unfortunately, already out.

"Everyone wh-who doesn't like me… will be gone."

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Krakoo~m!

The party briefly skid to a stop before the stairs of the Hakurei Shrine.

' _Smooth…_ ' Hikari was quite pleased with their exit velocity.

"Wo-woah!" Aya jerked back, still mounted to Hiyori's side. "...So that's what that teleport thing feels like! ...Not as exciting as I hoped."

Reimu began to float up the stairs, like a cheater.

' _Hey…_ ' Turning to Hiyori, Hikari had an idea.

"Hey, hey!" Osamu began running up the stairs. "That's cheatin'!"

Marigold walked up two steps at a time, quickly outpacing Osamu. "You too!?"

"Hi." Hikari greeted her oni friend.

"...Hey." Hiyori still had Aya molesting her left arm.

"Toss me up." Smirking, the shrine maiden got into position next to Hiyori.

"...Sure." Lowering her arm, she allowed for her friend to plop down onto it.

"I-I need a picture of this!" Aya freaked out, using both her legs and arms to try and pry the camera out. "Hnn! Hnn! Hn~gh!"

Reeling her arm back, Hiyori looked up at the arch atop the stairway, and tossed Hikari up.

' _Woa~h!_ ' Soaring ahead, Hikari had her gohei ready to attack anything that was in the way of her ascent.

She flew by her mother, who double-took. "Wh-what?"

As Hikari neared the top of the stairs, she noticed herself nearing the top of the arch just above the stairs, instead.

To stop her impact with it, she swung the gohei down. "Ho~h!"

SMAAAA~SH!

Kri~ng! Yellow energy ran along the woodwork.

Crack!

…

Hikari found herself stuck hanging to the side of the arch's apex, the gohei jammed in the wood.

"...Oops." Hikari sheepishly grinned as her mother neared.

"...Why?" Reimu was amused.

"Well…" Hikari looked over at the arch, then at her mother again. "Why not?"

Floating up to it, Reimu pulled the gohei free with a few tugs, before carrying her daughter to the shrine by holding onto it.

Marigold was the first at the top of the stairs, sprinting towards the two. "Co-co~ld…!"

Osamu was behind her, halfway torn between complaining about being behind her and being glad that he got the view he did. "...Yo, wait up!"

Leisurely, Hiyori followed behind him, bounding up many steps at a time from her position at the bottom.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

Inside, Reimu sat her daughter down next to the kotatsu, curiously eying the giant club her daughter apparently wielded.

...Then, her attention turned to the oni lying underneath the kotatsu, passed out.

"Ye~s!" Marigold quickly darted up to the kotatsu, and slid under it. "Aa~h… so warm…"

Hikari quickly claimed the opposite side. "Mmm…"

"Let me get you two some clothes…" Reimu moved towards Hikari's room.

"Dude, save a spot for me this time…" Osamu marched in, Hiyori following behind him. "It's cold as shit out there."

"You have _clothes_." Marigold was covering her chest, before she decided to slip under the kotatsu almost entirely save for her head. "Ooo~..."

The party heard shuffling from the kitchen area of the shrine…

'... _Um?_ '

Aya sighed. "Okay, look… I'll cut you a deal."

"No." Hiyori shook her head.

Her response frazzled the tengu. "I didn't even give ya an offer yet!"

One of the shrine's alternate doors slid shut, out of sight of the party. ' _Who is that…?_ '

...In moments, Reimu returned with two shrine maiden outfits. "You'll just have to do with this, Marigold."

"That's fine…" Marigold's voice came from inside the kotatsu. "...It's pretty cramped under here…"

Osamu sat under the kotatsu. "Well, it's about to get _more_ cramped."

...Popping out, Marigold quickly darted over towards Hikari's room, doing her best to cover herself as she accepted the shrine maiden attire from Reimu.

Hikari nonchalantly got up and walked over there, taking an outfit as she passed her mother.

...Inside the room, Marigold looked through the outfit. "Oh, right. No bra or underwear…"

"Mmm." Hikari moved over to her dresser to get some chest bindings. "We have bloomers, though. I could wrap you, too." She raised her binding material to emphasize it.

"...Sure." The young mage was curious.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

The two walked from the room, both clad in shrine maiden outfits.

...Osamu shrugged. "Kinda liked ya both better without-"

Reimu punted him in the back as she passed him. " _Ow!_ Shit…!"

Marigold giggled. "Don't worry, Reimu. I was planning on taking him out back to shoot him, anyway."

He chuckled at that. "What, 'm I a dog now're somethin'...?"

"You act like one." Marigold grinned.

With that, the two girls moved to get under the kotatsu again. Hiyori, Osamu- and by extension, Aya- shared a space, while Reimu was debating whether or not to drag Suika out from hers…

"I've got photos to ta~ke!" With her second wind, Aya tugged at the camera once more.

"What photos do you even take?" Reimu was getting tired of the crow tengu's presence in her shrine.

"All kinds!" Aya didn't focus on her.

...Moving away from Suika, she walked up to Aya and pushed her aside. "How about we see?"

"No!" Standing resolutely, she yells at Reimu. "They're for my next issue! I gotta type it up as soon as possible- I've been holding out since the new year for it!"

...Hikari had an idea. "Me and my friends just came back from the future."

"Yeah, yeah- I know, but-..." Aya turned to her, her mind taking a few moments to process the possibilities such an open-ended statement could imply. "I'll let you look at the photos if you let me interview your daughter!"

Reimu dryly turned to her daughter.

' _I know she's not reliable… but if she publishes an article on time travel, I don't think anyone will really take her seriously. Not that they did in the first place._ ' Hikari nodded, smiling at her mother.

"...Fine." Reimu folded her arms, moving back over towards Suika. "Only this once."

"Woohoo~!" Aya threw her arms in the air. "...Can I have that camera _now?_ "

"Sure." Hiyori handed it over.

Leaning over the table, Aya pressed a few buttons on the undercarriage of her camera, and-

Woosh. A pile of photos fluttered across the table.

...Hikari picked up one. It was a blurry shot of some dolls. ' _Uhm…?_ '

Marigold lifted another. "...How did she take _this?_ "

Hikari leaned towards her, and she showed her the photo…

It was the party, stationed at the top of Youkai Mountain, with Hiyori embedded in the rock at the top of it, right after they had leaped from the closest stone of Heaven.

"Dude…" Osamu grinned. "This pic is _sick._ " He passed it towards Hikari.

She looked down at it. It was a shot of the zombie fairies that were infesting Eientei some time ago.

...Reimu cleared her throat. "So when was _this?_ "

She held it facing opposite herself, so Hikari could see it from where she was.

Hikari leaned in…

' _...That's me. I'm… oh._ ' It was a shot of her dragging an unconscious, paint-smeared Byakuren and Osamu up the side of a hill, practically on her knees. ' _Wow._ '

"...Awhile ago." Hikari tactfully revealed.

...Hiyori slid a picture towards Hikari. "This one's… interesting."

' _Interesting, huh?_ ' Hikari looked down at it…

It was a shot from the doorway of Remilia's room, with the vampire's hand piercing through Marigold's chest.

' _Pffft…_ ' Hikari was impressed by that one.

"Interesting…?" Marigold slid the picture towards herself. "...Oh, yeah. It's interesting alright."

The use of the word 'interesting' interested Reimu. "Let me see…"

' _Oh, boy…_ '

Reimu took the picture, and focused on it. "...Oh. _Oh._ " ...She looked up at Marigold with a worried look for a moment, before shaking it off. "Considering you're alright now, I'm not sure if I wanna know."

Marigold raised another picture up. "...Ah." It was a picture of the party standing outside Marisa's house, the witch talking to them from the doorframe. "...Kinda wish my family was here."

…

"I just said that out loud, didn't I?" Marigold slowly nodded, reading everyone's stares.

Hiyori nodded back. "Yeah."

...Taking her gohei, Reimu attacked the floor.

Thwack. "Yukari!"

…

"That's it…" Reimu slid Suika out of her spot at the kotatsu, and entered it. "There…" Then, she banged the base of her gohei into the floor repeatedly. "Yukari~!"

A gap opened over the table. "You rang?" She hung out upside-down, her long hair splaying down and getting in the way of everyone's vision.

"Get Patchouli, Marisa, and Alice over here." Reimu commanded her.

Yukari giggled, before unfurling a fan. "You're only too kind, Reimu. And what if I refuse?"

"Then we all take turns beating you up." Reimu decided. "Just do this for us."

"For _us_. Oo~h." Yukari grinned. "Well, if it's for _us_ , then okay."

Three gaps opened.

Clack! A thick chair dropped from the first one. The shrine shook from its impact, and the purple mage seated in it looked up from her tome, her tired eyes slightly wider than normal. "Wh-what…!?"

From the next one-

Bam! A western style bed dropped from the large gap. Alice sat up, surprised. "Hu-huh!?"

The next gap was vertically aligned. Marisa shot out of it, a sack slung over her shoulder as she rode on her broom. "Wo-woah-woah-"

Bam! She rebounded off the wall, the bag falling to the floor as she was thrown from her broom. "Agh…" She landed on her side uncomfortably. "Shi-shit… my arm…"

' _...Good one, Yukari._ ' Hikari gave the gap youkai a glare as she rapidly retreated.

"Have fu~n!" She was gone a moment later, the three gaps and her own shutting.

Hikari tried Lifeup ß!

...Sitting up, Marisa felt herself, stretching her previously injured arm.. "Wo-woah… I feel like I just downed a keg of beer!"

"For all we know, you may as well have." Patchouli cynically addressed the human mage. "Why was it I was summoned here?"

...The party looked amongst themselves, before pointing at Marigold.

...Patchouli blinked. "I see."

"Oo~h, this is so exciting…!" Aya bounced in place. "I'm gonna have the biggest scoop _ever!_ " Flipping out her notebook and doing a little pose with a pen she accrued from her sleeve, she quickly formed posture fit for note taking.

"...Wh-wha~t...?" Alice was still waking up.

Standing up, Marisa looked around. "We havin' some kinda party?"

Hikari shrugged. "I mean, technically."

"Pretty much." Reimu shrugged. "No beer yet, though. I still haven't restocked after that last new years party we had."

"Awwh…" Marisa pouted.

...Marigold was a little shy. "I-I didn't expect this to just, uh… happen."

"Oo~h! We lookin' at pictures!?" Grinning, Marisa leaned over Reimu and plucked the one right before her. "Don't mind if I do! What poor sap's panties are these, this… time…" Marisa's face fell as she focused on the photo of Remilia piercing Marigold's chest.

...She looked up at Marigold, then down at the photograph.

"...What the hell kinda pictures you taking!?" She proceeded to yell at the tengu.

"I-I just took what I saw!" Aya put her arms up. "Honest!"

"When the hell…" Marisa was unsure what to make of the photograph… "Did… this actually happen?"

Marigold nodded. "Yeah. It hurt."

"...And you're somehow okay." Marisa flatly confirmed.

"Mmm." Marigold nodded. "Hikari knows healing magic."

"...Ah, yeah…" Marisa looked away at the miko, for a moment. "...Wait, what?"

Patchouli rose a brow. "Pictures, hmm? Also…" She held a hand into the air, and a softly glowing orb of solar energy formed, producing heat. "There we go."

"Yeah, uhm…" Marisa grinned, moving over to the mage. "Check this one out."

Marigold blushed, folding her arms. "Really, now…"

Patchouli took, the picture, and looked it over. "...I suppose a talk with Remi might be in order, at some point."

"How did my _bed_ get here…?" Alice climbed out of bed in her pajamas…

"You didn't know?" Marisa smirked. "You moved in with Reimu a week ago!"

"I-I _what…?_ " Alice rubbed her eyes. "Of course you'd be here… this is probably your fault."

"You know, there's a _lot_ of pictures like those…" Aya states casually. "These four got beat up a lot!"

' _Hey, now…_ ' Hikari furrowed her brows at the tengu. Then, she held up another photo. This one had the party standing before one of the village's 'Destroyer' guards, which was lying on the ground and charred.

' _...That may've been the guard we accidentally killed that one time._ '

Hikari quietly slipped that photo into her clothing…

"This one has Porky in it." Hiyori handed a picture over to Hikari.

The miko flinched, surprised and hopeful that Hiyori didn't see her hiding the picture. "Ah…?"

Taking the picture, she looked it over…

"Porky?" Reimu rose a brow. "...O~h, right, that fat kid from the village. How's he doing, anyway?"

' _...If only you knew._ '

The picture was of Hikari and Porky standing near the meteor, a small yellow object hovering near Hikari, and what looked like a starman not too far away from them.

"He turned his dad into a robot and blew him up." Osamu nodded smugly.

...Reimu blinked.

"Oh! I think I have a picture of that…!" Aya leaned over the scattered pile of pictures, and took one out. "See?"

...Reimu took it, and soaked in the image of the former captain decked out with a gatling gun arm. "...Oh. Okay."

Marisa leaned over, grinning. "Wh-what the hell!? _That's_ what happened to him!? When I asked Akyuu the other day, she wouldn't tell me! Keine didn't know shit, either, ze…!"

"He self-destructed, though." Osamu wobbled his head back and forth. "And, uh… yeah. Wasn't pretty."

Marisa pounded a fist into her hand. " _That's_ why she threw out like ten trash cans worth of bloody towels!"

' _...She just casually threw them out?_ '

"She should've burned them." Marigold tilted her head, somewhere between amused and disgusted.

"Porky did that, then…?" Reimu confirmed, curious and somewhat worried.

"Yeah." Hikari nodded.

" _Why?_ " She sought further confirmation.

"Dude was nuts." Osamu did a good job of explaining it.

"...I'm honestly not sure." Marigold concluded. "He had some kind of problem, though…"

...Giving it a moment of thought, Hikari gave an answer. "I think he just wanted a world where everyone who didn't like him was gone."

"...'Just'." Reimu dryly critiqued. "That's kinda a dangerous mindset…"

"Where'd that Porky kid go, ze?" Marisa rose her brow. "He still in the village?"

' _...I honestly have no idea._ '

…

The witch folded her arms behind her head. "Guess that's a 'no', then…"

"You four fought the source of our latest incident, I take it?" Patchouli commented from the sidelines.

"...Yeah." Marigold nodded. "It was work."

"I'd imagine." Patchouli snorted. "...Considering you all look alright, I take that it wasn't too much trouble?"

Osamu shook his head. "Nope. No~. It was a freakin' _nightmare_. It was like… It was like when ya eat peanut butter toast before bed."

Marisa tilted her head back. "Oo~h, damn. Was it really?"

"Who caused it?" Patchouli continued to press questions. "...Oh, right. This Giygas individual… What did he look like?"

...The party members were a bit stumped on how to describe that one.

"How about this…?" Hikari shifted herself to get a little comfier. "We had to travel to the future to actually… yeah, fight Giygas." She decided to leave out the whole timeline ordeal for the sake of simplicity, and because she didn't fully understand it herself.

"O~h, no way!" Marisa lit up. "What was it like!? Was I a kickass old lady, too? Or didja go ahead even further!?"

"...It was thirty years ahead." Marigold clarified. "And, uh… we didn't see you, technically."

Aya was furiously scribbling notes on the sidelines…

Marisa blinked. "...Didn't see me, technically? Were ya watchin' like, a danmaku battle from afar?"

Marigold reached into her backpack, to the mystification of those who didn't know where it came from, and pulled out the letter she saved from within the Bionic Kraken.

"Well…" Marigold looked away. "...Hikari, should we tell them?"

' _...Now we_ have _to tell them, when you put it like that._ ' Hikari stared at her dryly, before continuing herself. "...As a, uhm… forewarning, I guess, the stuff that happens in the future we saw won't exactly happen in this one."

...Reimu blinked. "...That's weird."

"I don't think that's how time works." Patchouli annotated from the sidelines. "...I say this with confidence despite only dabbling in temporal magic."

' _Whelp._ ' Hikari took a deep breath…

"Well, the thing is…" Marigold put her arms up, to make gestures. "Let's say we've got two timelines, right?" She holds her two hands side by side. "Well… This timeline and the other timeline- the one we went to- run parallel until the point Hikari and us jumped forward."

"Ah." Patchouli nodded. "I see, then. What would the main differences be?"

Alice got up from her bed. "I'm getting a drink…"

...Hikari continued, "Well… in this other timeline, we never came back from going to the future. Also, uhm… the world ended, I think, and the Hakurei Barrier shattered."

…

Alice slowly turned away from Reimu's bar counter, eyebrows raised.

Patchouli's eyebrows raised.

Aya scribbled furiously into her notebook, grinning maniacally.

"Wha~t!?" The incident resolvers were a little more than surprised.

"The- the barrier shattered!?" Reimu slammed her arms on the kotatsu. "How!?"

Hikari subtly cringed back. "...Well, I think it had something to do with how all the land except for a few sky islands was obliterated."

Osamu chuckled. "The future's kinda fuckin' weird, dude…"

"Where was me!?" Marisa pointed at herself, incredulous. "Who did it!? I'll blow 'em up!"

Marigold extended her hand, offering her the letter. "Here. We found this where we found Hikari's new gohei."

...Hikari rose her club of a gohei.

Reimu was snapped out of her outrage. "... _That's_ a gohei?"

"Gimme that…" Marisa took the letter, and rotated it multiple times. "Hey Reimu, can't stick around for long, mmhmhrm…" She trailed off, focusing more on reading the letter's contents. "...Ooh. I _made_ that, huh?"

Hikari nodded. "Yeah."

Marisa grinned. "How'd Reimu like it?"

Reimu stared at the 'gohei' dryly. "I wouldn't imagine very much."

"...She never got it." Hikari revealed, unsure if she should say more.

...Marisa furrowed her brows. "Did I forget to deliver it ta her?"

"Nope." Osamu was always willing to deliver the bad news. "You got eaten by a fucking magic robot dragon and died."

…

"Wow." Marisa grinned. "That future sounds shitty! Did I at least put up a fight?"

Osamu shrugged exaggeratedly. "Eeh- I dunno. You were probably dead for awhile, 'cause the mansion was blown up, and you somehow got tea from it."

"Aw, shit." Marisa was disappointed in her future self's performance. "Guess I gotta look up how to kill magic robot dragons, ze…"

"...You mentioned the mansion." Patchouli spoke up. "How did we fare?"

...Osamu looked back at the girls, who stared at him dryly. "...What, _I_ gotta tell her?"

"Apparently not well." Patchouli theorized. "Were any of us left?"

That was easier for Marigold. "Flandre."

"...Just Flandre?" Patchouli expressed dull surprise. "Must have been hard on her, no doubt."

"Mmm…" Marigold wasn't able to see Flandre's mental state… nor was she sure she wanted to.

"Was it known how we died?" Patchouli questioned further, positioning a bookmark in her tome for the time being. "For planning's sake."

"The barrier was smashed." Marigold reiterated. "You guys probably just disappeared."

...Patchouli nodded. "Ah. Right. It seems I forget how integral the Hakurei barrier has become for our extended lifespans."

Sitting down at her bed, Alice had a glass of water. "What did this Giygas thing look like?"

...The three party members decided it was Hiyori's turn to tell things, silently staring at her.

...After a moment, Hiyori noticed, and elaborated as best she could. "...From what I could see, it was a swirling mass of red mist. It engulfed the entire area within which we fought it, and cast some of the most powerful magic I had ever seen. I don't know if our attacks did anything to it."

Marisa snorted. "Sounds like fun, ze. How'd you beat it?"

...Only Hikari really knew the answer to that, so she spoke. "Once we did enough damage to it, the space around us solidified, and began to crush us. I was holding onto you guys," Hikari looks over her party members, "and I believe… Osamu and Marigold were frozen solid, Hiyori was knocked out, and I…" Hikari smiled. "I teleported us out of there. From Eientei's sky island, we saw something really big blow up, and figured that was it."

...Reimu was looking over some of the pictures, baffled by the amount of which were of Hikari or one of her friends being attacked by magic or sporting ghastly wounds. "I know you guys have Hikari to heal you, but… I feel like some of these injuries are just a _little_ unnecessary."

Holding up a picture, she hands it over to Marisa. "Like- here… see that black stuff?"

Marisa blinked. "What am I even lookin' at?"

"Look here." Standing up and positioning herself next to Marisa, Reimu pointed to a spot on the black, charred mass that was in the photo. "See that?"

Marisa nodded. "Yea~h?"

"That looks like Marigold's glasses." Reimu half-smiled, feeling she got the message through.

...Marisa suddenly jerked her head back. "Holy _shit_ , I think you're right."

To get off the topic, Marigold brought something else up. "Hey, Hikari, uh- didn't you say you got into contact with the Hakurei God right after the fight ended?"

"Ooo!" Osamu beamed. "You were all glowing and naked and shit! It was badass!"

' _Aah…_ ' Hikari felt put on the spot. "Yeah, that was… an experience."

Excited, Reimu slipped under the kotatsu, and propped her arms under herself as she leaned forward. "Wh-what!? How? I've been trying everything!"

Hikari scratched her cheek. "Well… I died."

…

"I mean…" Hikari clarified quickly, watching her mother's face quickly grow panicked. "I-I wasn't quite!"

"You said you _died._ " Reimu blinked rapidly, shaking her head. "How is there a 'not quite'!?"

"...I mean, that's what I was told." Hikari shrugged. "I _was_ dead… but not quite."

...Reimu didn't look satisfied with that answer, her eyes narrow.

Hiyori intervened with an attempt to better translate it. "It might be better explained by saying she reached the Hakurei afterlife and talked with the god there."

...Reimu slowly nodded, much more satisfied with that answer.

"I _was_ told, however, how we could properly contact the god." Hikari revealed.

...Marisa folded her arms, looking smug. "See? Toldja ya were doin' it wrong."

Reimu swung her gohei backwards randomly and wildly, but Marisa quickly hopped away.

"...Well, if we can get it down here, then I can at least start interrogating it." Reimu resolved.

' _Was that really the first thing that came to mind?_ ' Hikari grinned at her mother's intentions…

"This is gonna be _aweso~me!_ " Aya was having one of the best journalism days of her life, right now.

As the many people in the Hakurei Shrine conversed about the previous incident and all of the tomfoolery that went down as a result of it, the sun slowly rose over Gensokyo. The pale blue winter sky was slightly cloudy, but very calm. In a few moments, things would be slightly less cold, too.

==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====

...Although, despite that, Hikari felt like going to sleep.

Moving into her room, now that all the discussing was said and done, Hikari moved towards her bed, and belly flopped onto it.

' _So soft…_ ' She felt like she was sinking into the mattress...

...Marigold grinned as she pulled the guest futon from the nearby closet. "Yeah. Me too..."

...Sighing, Hikari felt herself slow down.

The door slid open, and Reimu leaned in. "Should I think about making you breakfast, or, uh…" She noticed her daughter sacked out on the bed.

…

"So, how long were we up, overall…?" Yawning, Marigold sloppily positioned the futon on a random spot on the floor, and slipped into it. "...Hikari? ...Oh, wow."

Stepping towards the bed softly, Reimu smiled at her daughter. Leaning in, she planted a kiss on the back of Hikari's head. "Good night..."

Hikari Hakurei was asleep.


End file.
